Capricornia

By: Xavier Herbert

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 23 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is the book that inspired Baz Luhrmann's Australia, the sweeping classic film of outback Australia. This is a true Australian classic - now available in audio for the first time.

Spanning three generations, Capricornia tells the story of Australia's North. It is a story of whites and Aborigines and Asians, of chance relationships that can form bonds for life, of dispossession, murder and betrayal.

In 1904 the brothers Oscar and Mark Shillingsworth, clad in serge suits and bowler hats, arrive in Port Zodiac on the coast of Capricornia. They are clerks who have come from the South to join the Capricornian Government Service. Oscar prospers and takes to his new life as a gentleman. Mark, however, is restless, and takes up with old Ned Krater, a trepang fisherman, who tells him tales of the sea and the islands, introduces him to drink, and boasts of his conquests of Aboriginal women - or "black velvet" as they are called. But it is Mark's son, Norman, whose struggles to find a place in the world embody the complexities of Capricornia itself.

©2009 Xavier Herbert (P)2009 Bolinda

Critic reviews

"Big, powerful, irreverent... as timeless as the stars, as Australian as spinifex." ( Sydney Morning Herald)

One of Australia's Top Reads Made Easy.

This is a truly terrific book read by an excellent narrator. We listened to it travelling across the Australian Northern Territory, enthralled for the entire 22 hour performance. Humphrey Bower is a narrator at the top of his craft. I also loved 'Hand-me-down World' read by him.
Set in Australia's 'other country' of the Northern Territory, 'Capricornia' follows the story of a pair of brothers and their decendants as they learn to survive in this frontier society. Herbert's work is one of the greats of Australian 20 C. fiction and you don't have to carry the big bugger around! ( it's long) It is also a must-read for those interested in the history of black-white relations in Australia in the early 20th Century. Herbert writes with great understanding of the plight of the Aborigines and so-called 'half castes' in this violent post-colonial society.

Complicated and might need a couple of listens

Not easy to follow but complex and full bodied with heady overtones that make more sense to the Australian perhaps than others. That being said, worth it for long term repeat listening

I had hoped for better

I usually love stories of Australia, but this one is pretty incoherent, especially at the beginning.

Too Long

This book was too long. It dragged out and was quite boring. I love Humphrey Bower, who makes listening to just about anything worthwhile.

No Story Line

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This book is difficult to follow. The story line is nonexistent.

Any additional comments?

I am returning this book.