Laura M. (scoutgirl) reviewed History Real and Painful on 8/31/2008 + 5 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 6

This is one of those books that you want everyone to read. I absorbed this over a two-day period in which I didn't want to do anything else. It is a painful read that left me still unsettled at the end. The Secret River follows William Thornhill from his poverty-stricken childhood in London to the life he creates in Australia. Thornhill is a compelling main character full of emotional extremes--overwhelming love for his wife and children, despair at his inability to provide a comfortable life, a deep hunger that he struggles to feed. His story becomes the story of the British invasion of Australia and brings to life the historical struggle for ownership on an individual level.

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