It’s not often I yell out “Holy Crap!” while reading historical fiction. But that’s exactly what I did smack in the middle of The Exiles. Let’s just say the story took a very unexpected turn. Bravo, Christina Baker Kline, for such a bold move.
I continually seek out historical fiction novels that doesn’t revolve around WW2, and when I saw the ad for The Exiles — a story about English female convicts and an Aboriginal girl set in 1840s Australia — I was immediately intrigued. Such a different topic! Such a different setting and time period! The ARC had to be mine.
I know very little about Australia, except that I’m deathly afraid of going there (reasons, in order: spiders, crocodiles, snakes, sharks, and kangaroos. Yes, kangaroos). I know that the country was used a long time ago as a penal colony, but apart from that…nada.
Well, now I know more than I ever wanted to about how this beautiful land was ripped away from its native tribes, ravaged by English settlers, and used as a dumping ground for The Crown’s unwanted masses.
Despite all that, I couldn’t wait to jump back into the world that Kline created in The Exiles. All I wanted to do was read this book. Its story of three resourceful young women sucks you in from the very first page. There’s Evangeline and Hazel, the English prisoners, and Mathinna, a native inhabitant of Australia. Each character brings fierce spirit, determination, and intellect to the novel, even during its loneliest and heart-wrenching moments.
Kline’s writing is gorgeous, brimming with imagery that makes the characters and their alternatingly harsh and beautiful worlds leap off the page. You move from bustling, exciting London streets to the damp, deplorable conditions of the English 19th century prison system. No details are spared as the horrific conditions under which prisoners were forced to live are described. What’s even more shocking is the fact that most prisoners were either unjustly or much too harshly accused.
And, once you get to Australia, life isn’t much better, particularly for Mathinna, a dark-skinned woman lost in the pitiless white world that’s rapidly engulfing her people, her land, and her Aboriginal culture. She may not be a prisoner like Evangeline and Hazel, but she’s a captive just the same, stripped of her freedom and shoved into a society that doesn’t know what to do with her. While the English women’s plight is shocking, I think Mathinna’s tale is the most haunting.
Overall, The Exiles isn’t a happy story. There are uplifting moments that made my spirits soar, but when the theme is the resilience of the human spirit in the face of monstrous oppression and adversity…you kinda know you’re not going to experience a laugh a minute.
But it doesn’t matter, because The Exiles is one of the most beautiful and richly detailed novels I’ve ever read. Sweeping, epic, immersive, stunning, exquisite…this one gets all the good adjectives.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this one should be on your shelf. I read Kline’s previous novel, A Piece of the World, which was good, but The Exiles is a masterpiece. I’ll be reading everything Kline writes from now on.
Be sure to check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Refreshing Mint Iced Tea!
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline will be available for sale on August 25, 2020 from HarperCollins. Although I received a complimentary advance copy of this book, all opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I was not compensated in any way for this review or for any other promotion/publicity I’ve done related to this book.
This one sounds incredible!
You crack me up. Afraid of kangaroos, really?😂
But seriously, this sounds like an amazing book. I definitely need to read this one! Gah! When will I find the time?
Kangaroos are TERRIFYING!! Have you seen videos of them “boxing”??? THEY ARE DEADLY. They could easily punch me in the face, stuff me in their pouches, and hop away with me. Never going to Australia.
But, yes, seriously, this was an amazing novel. Kline writes in a way I can only dream of doing one day. *sighs longingly* Treat yourself to this one.