On the rocks. Binalong Bay, Bay of Fires, Tasmania. July 2021.
| Ridgeline by Michael Punke Richly evocative and deeply effective, Ridgeline offers a sensitive rendering of the destructive mythos of American exceptionalism and the 'settling' of the west. The novel roots itself in real events. In shifting from the perspective of the uneasy Oglala brave Crazy Horse and the lonely isolated wife of an impetuous and capricious cavalry officer, the book resists the tendency of centralising the experience of white male soldiers and settlers. I am not one too concerned with essentialising the gender or ethnicity of an author when it comes to telling stories, and I am certain that there will be some that may choose to question Punke's right to tell these stories. However, this is a well-researched and empathetic rendering. If not able to rectify the great crimes done to the first peoples of North America, it at least recognises the dignity of a people so often reduced to crude caricature. That's not to say that the book is simply a worthy gesture to reconciliation. It's an exciting and masterful tale of suspense, turmoil, survival and destruction all in one. I found the narrative flew by, and although we know how the (broader) tale is going to end - although I knew nothing of the immediate events described in the novel - I was gripped the whole way through. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
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