Mullumbimby (novel) explained

Mullumbimby (2013) is a novel by Australian author Melissa Lucashenko. It concerns Jo Breen, a Bundjalung woman, who buys some of her country and the conflicts that arises. Mullumbimby won the Fiction category of the Queensland Literary Awards in 2013.

Plot summary

Following her divorce, Jo Breen mows the lawns at a cemetery for white settlers in the small town of Mullumbimby, inland from the north coast of New South Wales. She works to buy herself a block of land and to care for herself and her teenage daughter. Breen is a Goorie, an Indigenous woman from the local area, and her relationship to the land she owns is deep-felt and defining.

Jo becomes embroiled in a local Native Title dispute between two rival Aboriginal families, which leads her to profound discoveries about culture, and her and her daughter’s place in it.

Notes

• Dedication: for my teachers
• Epigraph: "Thin love ain't love at all" - Toni Morrison, Beloved
• Author's note: This novel is set mainly on the Arakwal lands of the Bundjalung Nation. Like the characters, however, the specific locations of Tin Wagon Road, Piccabeen and Lake Majestic are entirely fictional. They exist only in the author's imagination.

Reviews

• James Tierney in The Newton Review of Books noted: "Lucashenko bursts the myth that Indigenous culture must present a unified face to Australia in order to be strong. The balance of voices here is a careful one, born of deep respect and a clear eye."^[1]
• Eve Vincent in The Sydney Review of Books found "The novel plumbs the depths of bitterness, conflict and destruction the native title claims process too often leaves in its wake. It brilliantly captures, in a robust vernacular style, the fury and cynicism spawned by the long-lasting and emotionally exhausting claims process."^[2]
• Also reviewed by Radio National,^[3] The Sydney Morning Herald,^[4] Australian Book Review,^[5] Southerly,^[6] and The Age.^[7]

Awards and nominations

• 2013 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year^[8]
• 2013 winner Queensland Literary Awards — Fiction Book Award — Deloitte Fiction Book Award^[9]
• 2014 longlisted the Stella Prize^[10]
• 2014 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award^[11]
• 2014 shortlisted Nita Kibble Literary Award^[12]
• 2014 winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for Indigenous Writing^[13]
• 2015 longlisted International Dublin Literary Award^[14]

Further reading

• Brookman, Victoria "Mothering, resistance and survival in Kathleen Mary Fallon’s Paydirt and Melissa Lucashenko’s Mullumbimby" in Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, Vol 10, Iss 1, 2019, pp148–159

External links

• Library holdings of Mullumbimby
• "Tree change: Melissa Lucashenko on ‘Mullumbimby’", Books+Publishing interview with Lucashenko about the book
• Griffith Review interview with Lucashenko about Mullumbimby

Notes and References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20180513113852/newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/2013/03/07/melissa-lucashenko-mullumbimby-reviewed-by-james-tierney/ "Melissa Lucashenko, Mullumbimby" by James Tierney, The Newton Review of Books, 7 March 2013
2. http://www.sydneyreviewofbooks.com/country-matters/ "Country Matters" by Eve Vincent, The Sydney Review of Books, 17 May 2013
3. Web site: Melissa Lucashenko's Mullumbimby . Daniel Browning . ...honest and nuanced in the way it treats the cultural warfare that can ensue in bitter disputes over native title. . 25 February 2013 . abc.net.au . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 4 September 2021.
4. News: Lorien Kaye . 13 April 2013 . Mullumbimby . An exploration of the relationship between indigenous Australians and their country, Mullumbimby gives readers a sense of the complexities of living as an Aboriginal woman in contemporary Australia. . The Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Media . 4 September 2021.
5. Tony Birch . May 2013 . Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko (subscription required) . Australian Book Review . 351 . Australian Book Review Inc. . 4 September 2021.
6. 2013 . Mullumbimby . Anne Brewster . Southerly . The English Association . 73 . 3 . 249–51 . 0038-3732.
7. News: 13 April 2013 . Fighting to belong in a gifted country . Lorien Kaye . The Age . Fairfax media .
8. Web site: Queensland Literary Awards 2013 shortlists announced . 20 August 2013 . booksandpublishing.com.au . Books+Publishing . 4 September 2021.
9. Web site: Queensland Literary Awards 2013 winners announced . 5 September 2013 . booksandpublishing.com.au . Books+Publishing . 4 September 2021.
10. Web site: Longlisted for the 2014 Stella Prize . stella.org.au . 4 September 2021.
11. News: 3 April 2014 . Miles Franklin award: seven women among the 11 longlisted . Helen Davidson . Guardian Australia . 4 September 2021.
12. Web site: Kibble and Dobbie awards 2014 shortlists announced . 4 June 2014 . booksandpublishing.com.au . Books+Publishing . 4 September 2021.
13. Web site: Lucashenko wins 2014 Vic Prem's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing . 4 September 2014 . booksandpublishing.com.au . Books+Publishing . 4 September 2021.
14. Web site: Mullumbimby . dublinliteraryaward.ie . Dublin City Libraries . 4 September 2021.