Say a man catches a bullet through his skull in somebody's war, so where's the beginning of that?This perfectly fine question is posed by captain Illiam Quillian Kewley at the beginning of English Passengers. The year is 1857, and Kewley and his crew of Manx sailors only wished to transport some duty-free liquor from the Isle of Man - strategically located right in the middle of the Irish Sea - to mainland England, where the ruthless British Customs officials were waiting for them to do just that, so they could impose a fine on the more prosperous sailors. The enormous fine forces Kewley to rebrand his vessel (whis is named - wait for it - Sincerity) into a travelling ship, and offer to take anyone pretty much anywhere, as long as it's soon and sufficiently away from British customs officials. This is when the Reverend Geoffrey Wilson enters the scene: he is a vicar devoted to proving the accuracy of Scripture and through close reading grew convinced that the Garden of Eden is located not in Arabia, as it was previously thought, but in a small island called Tasmania, south of Australia. Accompanying him is Timothy Renshaw, a botanist, and Dr. Thomas Potter, a racial theorist who has his own reasons for taking the journey. Captain Kewley has little choice but to take them on board, and Sincerity sets the course to the distant island.Now, for a bit of historical trivia! The English passengers of the title are not limited to those aboard the Sincerity. The 19th century was the age of British colonialism, a time when the nation had no equal in global dominance. Even the loss of the thirteen colonies in North America, which were among its oldest and most populous, did not stop the empire from growing: it soon expanded into Asia and Africa, along with Australia and various other islands on the Pacific. The English people colonized and settled, and traveled around the globe - many of them with malicious intent of benefitting from the new colonies, paying little heed to the native populations; even the colonist which intended to spread education and progress could have inflicted harm by their ignorance. Not all emigrants left willingly: 19th century Britain was ridden with poverty, unemployed and crime, and one of the main reasons for British settlement of Australia was the establishment of penal colonies there, and subsequent transportation of convicts from overpopulated British correction centers. Approximately 165,000 convicts have been sent to Australia, where they had to work for the government as a part of their sentence, thus freeing Britain from spending money on them and offering almost free labor for its colonies. What's slightly less known is that not all British deportees were adults: the infamous "Home Children" program forcefully sent more than 100,000 British children from various child care organizations to provide for labor in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other parts of the Commonwealth. Not all of them were orphans; many parents gave their children to such organizations during hard times, and when they came back they were told that the child has died. The practice continued well into the 20th century, and thousands of children were expatriated to Australia between the 40's and 70's. Men who smiled and wore suits, and told them about this wonderful place called Australia - where the sun shines all the time and where you can pick up oranges straight from the trees and eat them for breakfast, where they will ride to school on horses. They were told that their parents died, and they had no family in Britain - why not go?The colonists paid little attention to silly kid dreams of oranges and horses. They saw children as particularly attractive immigrants; they thought of them as able to accomodate to new conditions much more easily than adults. Children also had a long working life ahead of them, and it cost much less to feed and house them in the colonies than in the UK. After arrival in Australia they were immediately placed in state institutions and orphanages, where they often experienced psychical and mental abuse. To earn their keep they were forced to work in severe conditions - out in the open, without any protection from scorching weather, or deep down underground in dangerous mines. Some of these children found foster families, but the majority were not as lucky; they would help build the empire worth millions for pennies. Child miners in Australia in the 1800's. Thousand of British children deported to Australia are remembered today as the "Forgotten Australians".Now let us get back to the book. Structurally, it is a small wonder. Kneale pays homage to the polylogic epistolary novel, and employs over 19 separate narrators; this is no mean feat of literary ventriloquism, as his characters have distinctive voices and personalities. He makes full use of discrepant awareness - the unequal distribution of knowledge among the protagonists, used to heighten suspense and dramatic tension. This device allows the reader to cross-examine the characters, often to comical and/or ironic effect. The quirky voice of Manx captain Kewley is probably the favorite and funniest, as his sense of irony and biting humor are spot on and a delight to read. The old salty smuggler who is always scheming could easily fill up a whole novel, and the bad luck which seems to send plague after plague upon his person will gain him sympathy even in the most hardhearted of readers.The animosity between Reverend Wilson and Doctor Potter - both men of immense egos - is fantastic, especially because the omniscient narration does not get in the way and we can see what both men think of one another - Wilson brands Potter as a heretic, while Potter thinks Wilson is an old lunatic. Their respective approach to the journey and what they consider to be their goals reflect the conflict between Biblical creationist and naturalistic evolutionists, prominent in the 19th century. Hit heavily by the discoveries of Darwin and Wallace, creationists still sought ways of defending the Biblical story of creation - as does Reverend Wilson with his own theory of "Divine Refrigeration" which makes it possible for the Garden of Eden to be located in Tasmania. Dr. Potter is convinced that the Saxon race is above all in intelligence and capabilities, destined to rule above other races: he keenly observes the people and notes down their behavior, being most efficient with his words and underlining a lot, making sure that his observations confirm his already made conclusions - which interestingly they always do. He has his own interest in the Australian aborigines, and works tirelessly on what he considers to be the accomplishment of his life: a volume he titled The Destiny of Nations, which he is sure will bring him fame and recognition. Their utter cluelesness combined with the vivid animosity for one another serves for many a comic moment.Beside the sailors, scientists and a priest, the novel features the voice of Peevay, a Tasmanian aboriginal. His storyline begins in 1828, 30 years before Sincerity will begin her fateful journey. Back in 1828, Tasmania was experiencing what could be called a British Invasion - only it's not the Beatles, it's the settlers! They have been slowly sneaking into the island, swallowing it piece by piece, until relations with aboriginal tribes escalated into violence. Peevay is a half-bred child, whose aboriginal mother was kidnapped and raped by an escaped convict. She is now fueled with a hatred towards all whites and Peevay, who reminds her of his father - and her only desire is to find and kill him. Wanting to win back her love, desperate Peevay joins her in her fight, even though he does not understand why the whites are in Tasmania, their greed for his land and atrocities against his people. Peevay's narration is almost Faulkneresque; written from a perspective who is intelligent and interested in words, but wholly separate from a culture which invented and used them. Therefore, each discovery of a new word requires capitalization; one can almost feel his sense of wonder.Truly it was a mystery to confuse how they ever could kill all my ones and steal the world, or even why they wanted it, as it was no place they could endure. Why, they couldn't live here just alone but had to carry some HOBART TOWN with them hither and thither.Peevay's sections progress towards the future, where Sincerity is sailing for Tasmania, and are alternated with chapters narrated by the crew and those composed of letters and dispatched from other English settlers: the two eventually intersect, and merge. Kneale never lets the reader drown in his sea of voices, and although the sails of his ship might feel to be losing wind at times the currents will carry it through to its very end, along with reader. And is it some story! Well written, rich with everything one can wish for in a novel, and best of all - it really works!Matthew Kneale managed to skilfully weave so many voices into a tale which could easily ended up as incoherent babble, full of insulting stereotypes, hopeless cliches and lame jokes. But not only is it genuinely funny - it's also genuinely moving, as it tackles serious issues with respect they deserve, reserving the pokes for the silly ones. It's cast of characters is wonderful and memorable, and the storyline is quite brilliant because of them and it's a pleasure to see them interact and explore that wild land, untamed by man. Kneale obviously did his research to render both the setting and characters authentic, as he even provides a 75 word lexicon of Manx words at the end of the book to understand captain Kewley's more seasoned retorts. Full of intelligence, wit and feeling, which are so rare to find together, English Passengers is an undiscovered gem which I am so glad to have found and will happily return to again in the future.
Originally posted on the Motley Fool UK Bookclub boardI'll start off by saying that I enjoyed the book, and enjoyed the feeling of being part of the [Motley Fool UK] book club. I wouldn't have read this book otherwise.NarrationI found the style of narration easier to follow than I expected. Then again, a multi-person narrative isn't uncommon in the fantasy genre which is where I'm usually to be found. Such narratives generally lead to a more-favoured and less-favoured but in the case of this book, there weren't really any narratives that I dreaded. If I had to pick a more- and less-favoured, the former would be Peevay and the latter, Potter. More on that to follow.I think the author had to do a little toying with time in order to bring the narratives together and it seemed a little contrived to me. Jack Harp's demise was a bit sudden and the minor thread pertaining to the prison system seemed to vanish. I guess they were minor parts and supplemented the story both in terms of its plot and to add a bit of historical significance. CharactersThe three English Passengers were quite obviously caricatures with little depth to them but they played their parts well: Wilson on the "religious" end of the scale, Potter on the "scientific" and Renshaw sort of in the middle. I agree with Greatrakes that Renshaw could have had more to do. He should at least have been given a bit more airtime to allow us to see an Englishman's view of the other two. I found that Potter's style of narration gave a good impression of the sort of character he was, but it did get annoying to read.The scene with Potter and Wilson battling it out on the ship's pulpit was a particular favourite of mine and showed just how ridiculous both characters were. Potter got his just desserts, with his remains being showed at the exhibition; I found that to be most satisfactory for the reader. Wilson did seem to have a bit more depth than the other two but not much; it was funny to note that his "unselfish" wife encouraged him on his quest - no doubt she couldn't see the back of him quick enough!The Manxmen were my favourite characters in the book, although for a crew who were as unfamiliar with a ship as they were at the beginning, they seemed to handle such a long voyage with some ease. The Manxmen's attitude towards the English was well done. I found Peevay's style of narration quite endearing and him a likeable fellow. I think it was a good choice to make the spokesman of the natives a half-caste as it showed from the outset the horror of what the colonials did. Overall, I found myself strangely compelled to read this book and I got through it quicker than I thought I would. That said, it's now two or so weeks since I finished it and it's not a book that will remain in my mind as one of my favourites but I'm glad to have read it. It's a shame my location means that I have to buy each book rather than borrow it as this one will take up shelf space and I'm quite sure I won't read it again. The main thing I'd say I got from the book was an idea of a part of history about which I knew absolutely nothing. If the conversation of the history of Tasmania ever comes up, I'll now be able to hold my own! Or indeed, a Trivial Pursuit question about the former name of Tasmania!
What do You think about English Passengers (2001)?
English Passengers by Matthew Kneale is a fast moving, incredible tale of a journey made by Manx smugglers who are forced to take boorish English passengers on an expedition to find the Garden of Eden in Tasmania. Each turn of the journey is characterized by bad luck, creative cursing and general head-butting on all accounts. The book features a different viewpoint every 5-10 pages,give or take, and you may find yourself cheating the cliffhangers to find out if a viewpoint you enjoy has met an untimely death or will resurface. Capt. Kewley, leader of the smugglers, is the most enjoyable sarcastic character I've read lately- even more enjoyable with the first person narrative. Also very moving is the account of Peevay- a Tasmanian native- as the world he knows comes to an end. This book, from beginning to end, is the most satisfying read I've had for ages.I edited this to add, this the only book I literally re-read three times in a row. Not because I needed to, but because the writing is so pleasurable and I start to miss the characters if I don't check up on them now and then. The only other book that I have also re-read as many times (although not in a row, more like once a year) is Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.
—Smokinjbc
English Passengers blends a funny and compulsively readable seafaring novel with a dark tale of the Tasmanian genocide. It’s an uneasy mix, I found. Whenever the story of Illiam Killian Kewley and his crew of Manxmen aboard the smuggling vessel Sincerity resumed, I felt a certain sense of relief. It wasn’t that the Tasmanian genocide threads weren’t well written — they were, quite, with sufficient tension and interesting, if not always very sympathetic characters. I guess it was that the subject matter was so bleak in the genocide sections that the humor in the sea story wasn’t quite enough to balance it. It may have also been my mood, given that I was sick with the flu for much of the time I was reading it. Anyway, I thought it might be instructive to weigh the pros and cons of Kneale’s choice to write the book in the first person from multiple points of view, as opposed to using a fully omniscient or alternating third person POV. This analysis is primarily intended for fiction writers. If you're interested, you can read it here: http://bit.ly/1Ilqnqb
—Tim Weed
The narration of English Passengers is situated on the two levels… The first is the high farce of the seafaring expedition in search of Eden:“Out through the door I went and behind me I heard what wasn’t any kind of word at all, but a kind of well-spoken howl. Well, given the right day I can be swift enough on my feet. Down those stairs I went, leaping three at a time, then through that sitting-room window clean as a ball through a barrel, and till I was dashing away towards the river. The rest of them hadn’t yet reached the boat and were taking daintiest little steps to keep from slipping in the mud. They stopped and looked round when they saw me coming in my chase, and looked like they were about to start asking foolish questions – which I was in no mood to stop and answer – but fortunately just that moment there was a bright flash from the upstairs window of the house, and also a mighty bang, that settled their curiosity nice as nip.”And the second – the low tragedy of the aborigines and convicts:“What our kindly friend Mr. Crane doesn’t understand is that His Majesty’s colony of Van Diemen’s Land is not intended to reform criminals, but simply to store them, like so much rubbish in a dust heap, so that England can be emptied of troublemakers once and for all.”And in the end these both seemingly immiscible genres merge into a fine tragicomedy.Pride is a deadly sin and what can be a better disguise for pride than to hide it behind humility and piety.
—Vit Babenco
