Terra Nullius is the debut novel of Claire G Coleman, an author from WA who identifies with the South Coast Noongar people and a recipient of a Black&Write Fellowship in 2016.
The novel is a retelling of Australia’s colonial history from a disconcerting new perspective. Chapter One begins with an escape…
Jacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was getting anywhere, no plan, no destination, no future. All he had was a sense of what was behind, what he was running from. Jacky was running. (p.1)
…and an irritable, frustrated nun stuck on a mission in the middle of nowhere:
Sister Bagra paced the oppressively dark, comfortably stuffy halls of her mission in silent, solitary contemplation. She was dedicated to her duty, to bring faith to these people, if they could be called people; to bring religion, to bring education to these savages. An almost completely thankless task, a seemingly pointless, useless task. The recipients of her efforts seemed totally incapable of appreciating what was being done for them, even going so far as resenting her help. (p.2)
So, if the reader knows anything about Australia’s Black History, the story seems familiar: it’s about the settlement of Australia and the colonists’ project to ‘civilise’ the ‘natives’. Jacky escapes into the bush, and Sister Bagra sends the Troopers out after him. But by Chapter three, something seems not quite right: a colonial administrator has been told many times it was important to be a people person. A ‘people person’? That 21st century expression seems anachronistic for the colonial period, doesn’t it?
Always have faith that an author knows what she’s doing! As the novel progresses there are odd little incongruities here and there, details that seem like mistakes that an editor should have picked up, until about half way through the novel when the penny drops and the reader’s assumptions fall away…
It is very difficult indeed to share with you the sense of excitement in reading this daring, clever novel, without spoiling the surprise and delight of discovery. All I will reveal is that it tells the story from the perspective of the settlers and the people they dispossess in an utterly unexpected way.
It’s always such a pleasure when an author creates a story like this: a feat of imagination cunningly crafted to make a reader look at things in an entirely different way. Don’t miss out on this one!
***
Black&Write Fellowships are an initiative of the State Library of Queensland and the Hachette publishing company, and they’re designed to provide support and encouragement for Indigenous writing by providing prize money of $10,000, manuscript development and a publishing opportunity with Hachette. I’ve read some novels by fellowship recipients, and I look forward to reading more.
- 2013 Jared Thomas for Calypso Summer (see my review) and Tristan Savage for Rift Breaker (see my review)
- 2014 Adrian Stanley for Could Be Worse (I read an excerpt from this novel in progress in the Griffith Review ‘State of Hope’) and Jane Harrison, Becoming Kirrali Lewis
- 2015 Jannali Jones for My Father’s Shadow and Alison Whittaker for Lemons in the Chicken Wire
- 2016 Dylan Coleman for Clear Water White Death and Claire Coleman for Terra Nullius.
Claire G Coleman is a writer from WA who identifies with the South Coast Noongar people.
Author: Claire G Coleman
Title: Terra Nullius
Publisher: Hachette, 2017
ISBN: 9780733638312
Review copy courtesy of Hachette
Available from Fishpond: Terra Nullius
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
Ah, you have set my curiosity off and wondering (or is that wandering) 😊
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By: sharkell on August 28, 2017
at 6:57 pm
Good! If your library hasn’t got it, ask them to get it in:)
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By: Lisa Hill on August 28, 2017
at 8:01 pm
The only library in the Swift Group of libraries that has it is Ballarat – I can get it on inter-library loan.
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By: sharkell on August 28, 2017
at 8:28 pm
Give it a week or so, it’s very new, just published this week.
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By: Lisa Hill on August 28, 2017
at 8:51 pm
Down to Crow Books, my local indie, I go.
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By: wadholloway on August 28, 2017
at 9:11 pm
Bill, trust me, you are going to love this!
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By: Lisa Hill on August 28, 2017
at 9:36 pm
” A ‘people person’? That 21st century expression seems anachronistic for the colonial period, doesn’t it?
Always have faith that an author knows what she’s doing! As the novel progresses there are odd little incongruities here and there, details that seem like mistakes that an editor should have picked up, until about half way through the novel when the penny drops and the reader’s assumptions fall away…”
I’m trying to write a review, so I came back to see how far you had gone. It’s very difficult, and I may go a touch further than you, but only a touch!
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By: wadholloway on October 10, 2017
at 10:39 am
Ah-ha! It’s difficult, isn’t it?!
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By: Lisa Hill on October 10, 2017
at 11:34 am
Now you’ve intrigued me! I started by just reading the first para, as I usually do with books I haven’t read, but decided to read more, and you have me intrigued.
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By: whisperinggums on August 28, 2017
at 10:10 pm
I hope so! It’s really difficult to write about books like this without spoiling them, but at the same time, you want people to seek out the book because it’s good to read!
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By: Lisa Hill on August 28, 2017
at 10:56 pm
Yes, I could see that was a particular challenge with this one. I’d say you achieved it.
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By: whisperinggums on August 29, 2017
at 8:56 am
I’d love to see what you think of it, #NoPressure I hope you get to it soon…
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By: Lisa Hill on August 29, 2017
at 11:12 am
I have to get it first though, before I get TO it!!
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By: whisperinggums on August 29, 2017
at 6:01 pm
The Reading review whet my appetite for this one and you’ve confirmed it. I’ll avoid all other reviews until I’ve read it now – don’t want to risk spoilers.
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By: Kate W on August 30, 2017
at 11:41 pm
Yes, yesterday I saw a Tweet from the author herself, warning people not to read reviews.
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By: Lisa Hill on August 31, 2017
at 6:03 am
[…] with my recent reading of Claire G Coleman’s Terra Nullius, I’m going to have to be careful of […]
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By: Soon, by Lois Murphy | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on August 31, 2017
at 11:34 am
[…] not see Claire at the festival. However, I read an intriguing review of this book by Lisa Hill at ANZ Lit Lovers which made me think I had no choice. I had to read it. It’s a retelling of colonial […]
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By: Pretty Tsundoku | Fiction Fix on September 10, 2017
at 5:33 pm
Hello Kathryn, I am so glad to have tempted you!
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By: Lisa Hill on September 10, 2017
at 6:40 pm
[…] the recently released Terra Nullius by Clare G Coleman (see my review) Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossom is an emerging trend in Indigenous fiction: subversive and […]
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By: Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms, by Anita Heiss | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on September 12, 2017
at 7:46 pm
[…] her review, Lisa at ANZLitLovers (here) writes, “Always have faith that an author knows what she’s doing! As the novel progresses […]
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By: Terra Nullius, Claire G. Coleman | theaustralianlegend on October 13, 2017
at 9:27 am
[…] Terra Nullius by Claire Coleman (Hachette), see my review […]
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By: 2018 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 4, 2017
at 5:41 pm
[…] Unwin) Wimmera by Mark Brandi (Hachette Australia) Australia Day by Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing) Terra Nullius by Claire Coleman (Hachette Australia) The Last Man in Europe by Dennis Glover (Black Inc.) The […]
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By: 2018 Indie Book Awards longlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 6, 2017
at 12:59 pm
[…] Terra Nullius (2017) by Claire G Coleman […]
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By: 2017 ANZLitLovers Australian and New Zealand Best Books of the Year | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 30, 2017
at 4:27 pm
[…] with my recent reading of Claire G Coleman’s Terra Nullius, I’m going to have to be careful of […]
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By: Soon, by Lois Murphy #BookReview | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on January 27, 2018
at 2:53 pm
[…] Terra Nullius, Claire G Coleman (Hachette, Hachette Australia), see my review […]
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By: 2018 ABIA Book Awards Longlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on March 8, 2018
at 5:59 pm
[…] (Anzlitlovers) loved the book, as did Bill (The Australian […]
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By: Claire G. Coleman, Terra nullius (#BookReview) | Whispering Gums on April 5, 2018
at 10:00 pm
[…] created both utopias and dystopias at the same time, suggesting The Swan Book by Alexis Wright and Terra Nullius by Clare G Coleman, and also the TV series […]
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By: 2018 Rare Book Week | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on July 3, 2018
at 11:29 pm
[…] Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang Brother by David Chariandy What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman The Last Beothuk by Gary Collins Acts of Allegiance by Peter […]
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By: 10 Aussies & Kiwis nominated for the 2018 Dublin Literary Award | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 20, 2018
at 8:38 am
[…] Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang Brother by David Chariandy What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman The Last Beothuk by Gary Collins Acts of Allegiance by Peter […]
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By: Aussies & Kiwis nominated for the 2018 Dublin Literary Award | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 20, 2018
at 9:13 am
[…] see the review at The Guardian What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons, see the review at The Guardian Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman (Indigenous Australian) The Last Beothuk by Gary Collins Acts of Allegiance […]
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By: Aussies & Kiwis nominated for the 2019 Dublin Literary Award | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on November 21, 2018
at 11:36 pm
[…] phenomenal biography of Tracker Tilmouth, Claire Coleman’s harrowing speculative fiction novel Terra Nullius winning the Norma K Hemming Award, and the shortlisting of four fantastic releases for the […]
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By: 2018 ANZLitLovers Australian and New Zealand Best Books of the Year | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on December 17, 2018
at 5:01 pm
[…] Terra Nullius, see my review […]
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By: 2018 Indigenous Literature Week – a Reading List of Indigenous Women Writers | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 5, 2019
at 11:30 am
[…] Terra Nullius, see my review […]
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By: Indigenous Literature Week – a Reading List of Indigenous Women Writers | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on June 5, 2019
at 11:34 am
[…] would suffice? But from a partial list in one of the participants’ posts, I learned that Terra Nullius by Indigenous author Clare G Coleman was one of the nominees. I’ve read it, but that was […]
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By: 2019 Reading Women Challenge (Goodreads) | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog on September 21, 2019
at 11:51 am
[…] Nullius by Claire G. Coleman, shortlisted for the Stella Prize and many other awardsReview by LisaReview by […]
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By: Indigenous Literacy Day | looking up/looking down on September 3, 2020
at 1:01 pm