''Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray'' is a 2021 historical novel by

Anita Heiss Anita Marianne Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her memb ...

. Set around the time of

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...

's flood of 1852, it concerns the life of a young

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...

woman, Wagadhaany, the daughter of

Yarri ''Eucalyptus patens'', commonly known as yarri or blackbutt, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It has rough bark on the trunk and branch ...

, and her relationships with her colonial masters, and her people who live near Murrumbidya.

Reception

A review in ''

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...

'' of ''Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray'' wrote "With its strong emotional pull and its accessible female hero, this novel deserves wide appeal.". A reviewer for ''

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 2013 Australian fede ...

'' called it "a novel of the myopia and cruelty of “good” intentions." and "a joyful love story, and a literary celebration of the Wiradyuri language, which is woven throughout." ''Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray'' has also been reviewed by ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', ''

Books+Publishing A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arra ...

'', ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'', '' LSJ'', and ''

The Saturday Paper ''The Saturday Paper'' is an Australian weekly newspaper, launched on 1 March 2014 in hard copy, as an online newspaper and in mobile news format. The paper is circulated throughout Australian capital cities and major regional centres. Since i ...

''.

References

External links

Library holdings of ''Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray''Interview with Heiss about ''Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray 2021 Australian novels Australian historical novels Indigenous Australian literature Novels set in New South Wales Simon & Schuster books Fiction set in 1852 Novels set in the 1850s Gundagai