The Yield: Winner of the 2020 Miles Franklin Award
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
The yield in English is the reaping, the things that man can take from the land. In the language of the Wiradjuri yield is the things you give to, the movement, the space between things: baayanha.
Knowing that he will soon die, Albert ‘Poppy’ Gondiwindi takes pen to paper. His life has been spent on the banks of the Murrumby River at Prosperous House, on Massacre Plains. Albert is determined to pass on the language of his people and everything that was ever remembered. He finds the words on the wind.
August Gondiwindi has been living on the other side of the world for ten years when she learns of her grandfather’s death. She returns home for his burial, wracked with grief and burdened with all she tried to leave behind. Her homecoming is bittersweet as she confronts the love of her kin and news that Prosperous is to be repossessed by a mining company. Determined to make amends she endeavours to save their land – a quest that leads her to the voice of her grandfather and into the past, the stories of her people, the secrets of the river.
Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Elegantly structured and layered with meaning, Tara June Winch’s novel, the winner of the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award, explores how Aboriginal language and culture have been affected by colonialism. Returning home to mourn her grandfather’s death, August—a young Wiradjuri woman—learns that their land is under threat from a mining company. August’s battle to halt the development is interspersed with entries from both her grandfather’s personal Wiradjuri/English dictionary and the century-old diary of a German missionary with ties to the land. With a gorgeous, tapestry-like design, The Yield is a heartening story with an indelible sense of place, but its themes remain universal, celebrating the lasting legacy of words.
Customer Reviews
A powerful story!
I really enjoyed this book and the characters and the way that It tackled difficult truths in a gentle way. I liked the ending but thought it came a bit quick, almost like an after thought. There could have been more detail and suspense here.
Fantastic
I bit of a tough read but so beautifully written
Absolutely Devine.
This novel was breath taking, from beginning to end. An absolute must read.