Book Review: Red Can Origami by Madelaine Dickie #BRPreview

Red Can Origami

by

Madelaine Dickie

Publisher: Fremantle Press
Publication date: 1st December 2019
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 224
RRP: $29.99 AU
Format read: Paperback B+
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Better Reading 

 

Ava has just landed a job as a reporter in Gubinge, a tiny tropical town in Australia's north.

Gubinge has a way of getting under the skin. Ava is hooked on the thrill of going hand-to-hand with barramundi, awed by country, and stunned by pindan sunsets. But a bitter collision between a native title group and a Japanese-owned uranium mining company is ripping the community in half.

From the rodeos and fishing holes of northern Australia, to the dazzling streets of night-time Tokyo, Ava is swept in pursuit of the story. Will Gerro Blue destroy Burrika country? Or will a uranium mine lift its people from poverty? And can Ava hold on to her principles if she gives in to her desire for Noah, the local Burrika boss?

Red Can Origami is a powerful story of country and Australia’s indigenous people.

Dickie shows how big corporations, intent only on their own purpose, destroy the land with no regard to its original owners or their history.

Ava moves to Gubinge, in North Western Australia, to take up a low key journalist position. She is soon poached by the Japanese owned mining company, Gerro Blue, as the go between for the company and the indigenous owners of the land they intend to mine.

Red Can Origami is a beautiful story about the Kimberley region encapsulating the lifestyle and the different people who live and work in the region. Highlighting how big corporations don’t respect the cultural heritage of the area or the original land owners.

The plot was a slow burn and I didn’t see Ava as competent enough to do her job properly. She hadn’t lived in the area long and knew nothing of the local indigenous Burrika tribe’s culture or history which in turn did cause problems.

I recommend you grab a beer and read this story for the pure joy of Dickie’s vivid descriptions bringing to life the fishing, the weather, the heat, the residents of Gubinge and the whole desolation and beauty of the area.

Putting aside the talk of nuclear fallout (because we only get one side of that story) I read this with a heavy heart and deep concern for our country when big money is preferred over cultural heritage and ethical ramifications.

                                                        🌟🌟🌟🌟

My rating  4/5 

This review is part of the Book Lover Book Review Aussie author challenge

and book #35 in the Australian Women Writers challenge

 Madelaine's first book Troppo won the City of Fremantle T.A.G Hungerford Award. It was also shortlisted for the 2018 Dobbie Literary Award and the 2018 Barbara Jefferis Award. Madelaine's next book Red Can Origami will be published by Fremantle Press in 2019.