English Passengers - Matthew Kneale

I know that books are poorly served by comparison to other similar works but on reading 'English Passengers' I could only think of Jane Roger's 'Promised Lands' and how Kneale's book is a pale imitation. KNeales characters are too stereotypical and transparent to demand any sympathy from his readers. The tale of exploitation of the new colonies and their aboriginal inhabitants is too important to be treated in such predictable ways. Rogers unltimately uplifting tale seeks to show landscape gets under the skin of its inhabitants and how a collision of two cultures can be profound for both. Kneales book by contrast puts stock characters (scally ...  Read the complete review

English Passengers is a tale which begins with one mans’ search for the Garden of Eden in Tazmania. However the story soon divides into many others, with a view of the colonisation of Australia during the nineteenth century brilliantly told from over twenty different perspectives, including that of a young aborigine named Peevee and a convict exiled to Australia for various crimes in England. This is probably the best book I have EVER read. Kneale superbly combines tragedy and horror with comedy and humour in this very beautiful novel. I couldn’t put this book down because it was so interesting and captivating. The novel is not only extremely ...  Read the complete review

English Passengers could have been titled Jumped up Victorian English Twerps Behaving Badly, or something like that. It could also have been called; why Imperialism sucks or why do some idiots think that they are morally and culturally superior to others? You may have already gathered that this is a book with depth, with meaning and of no little critique of a certain period in English history. English Passengers was written by Matthew Kneale, Kneale's background is as a historian, he studied History at Oxford and then turned novel writer. His two previous books, Whore Banquets and Sweet Thames, were both critically acclaimed and English Passengers was a ...  Read the complete review

Only a labour of love could produce a work of such epic scale. When he received the 'Whitbread book of the year' award, Mathew Kneale spoke of how he worked on this book over 5 years. And it shows. Many books have been described a 'epic narratives', but 'English Passengers' truly deserves such high praise. It is the summer of 1857 and Reverend Geoffrey Wilson is tired of 'scientific atheists'. There is Darwin with is 'Origin of species' debunking the very foundation of the Holy bible. Science was fast becoming the new 'religion'. Rev Wilson is convinced he knows the geographical location of the Garden of Eden, he ...  Read the complete review