The Untold

Jessie is on the run in 1920's Australia. In the opening chapter, she kills her captor (to whom she was indentured after serving time for horse rustling), buries the premature infant fathered by him and flees into the Phantom mountain range on her beloved horse Houdini. In pursuit are an Aboriginal rustler who may love her and a lawman with a mysterious interest in her, as well as any number of opportunists who have heard tell of the bounty on her head.

Loosely based on fact, The Untold is a kind of credible tall tale that manages to be both epic and intimate. Best about it are its bold narrative choices and eerie, lyrical prose.

This historical fiction by Australian author Courtney Collins, originally published with the title The Buried, was inspired by the life of Jessie Hickman, a female bushranger born in 1890, who went bush in the 1920s after killing her husband. It is an Australian Western but written in an interesting style that could be called Australian Noir.

Jessie is assigned to work for Fitz after she finishes a jail term for horse rustling. Her new freedom soon becomes its own kind of hell and she is eventually forced to take drastic action to escape to the mountains. She is pursued by Aboriginal tracker Jack Brown and the heroin-addicted Sergeant Barlow and then a host of bloodthirsty bounty hunters.

I found myself caught up with the action and show more willing Jessie to survive. The writing was vivid but lyrical and almost surreal. It felt a little like watching a Baz Luhrmann movie. Initially I felt very uncomfortable with the dead baby narrator but I became accustomed to it. I would be interested to read another Courtney Collins book. show less

The Untold by Courtney Collins is a debut novel that tells of desperation, fury, sacrifice, redemption and love. Set in the Australian outback during the 1920s the story is about Jesse Hunt, a woman who life has not treated well. Released from prison into the care of a brutal man who forces her into marriage as well as using her horse skills to steal horses, she feels trapped but when she becomes pregnant, his ill use of her causes her to worry not just about herself but her unborn child as well. Making a bid for freedom, she attacks him and goes on the run.

Now she is tracked by two men who actually care about her as well as a wild pack of men who are simply after a bit of sport and a healthy reward. We learn that Jesse has lived a show more colorful and adventurous life having been a circus performer, a convict, a horse thief and cattle rustler. Over the course of the book she becomes a sympathetic character that we want to see move on to a better place.

The Untold is a beautifully written, lyrical novel that is based on the real life of Jessie Hickman, a female bush-ranger in 1920 Australia. This is an unorthodox Western that certainly brings to mind the work of Cormac McCarthy, who the author names as her favorite author. I was totally spellbound by this story and will certainly be looking for more by this author. show less

"My mother was not one to say oh dear or oh my. She was one to say fuck. And often."

A hauntingly beautiful story that brings to life the story of Jessie Hickman, a woman who made her way through life in the Australian wilderness in the 1920's by traveling with a circus and then stealing horses. Jessie lands in prison and is released to Fitz Henry as a horse trainer, but Fitz has other ideas. Forced into marriage and worse, Jessie takes matters with Fitz into her own hands and becomes an outlaw once again.

The choice of narrator for the story was the most compelling aspect for me. From the perspective of Jessie's dead and buried child, Jessie's character is built in a magical light from the person who loves her the most. The writing is show more in a beautiful prose that made for easy reading and there were many phrases that made me stop and think.
" That is how we differ, my mother and I: I do not know death as a river. I know it as a magic hall of mirrors and within it there is a door and the door opens both ways."

While Jessie's story is captivating and her exploits could easily hold on their own, I actually wanted to know more about the buried child. It's story in death begins, but we don't really hear any more about it. A lot of interesting things were happening in the dirt! The secondary characters of Jack Brown and Andrew Barlow add another layer of mystery that I really did not see coming in the end! Overall, a unique and expertly written story of an Australian folk hero.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

In The Untold the author tells us the story of a mythical woman known to have lived in a remote area of New South Wales in Australia in the early 1900s. The author's note at the end of the book, best read before reading the novel itself, explains that, although rumoured tales of the woman's life that still circulate amongst the locals cannot all be authenticated, there are records proving her existence and some facts surrounding her life are documented. Based on what little is known of the woman, the author has weaved together fact with fiction to create a vivid picture of Jessie and her life in the rugged, harsh environment in a sparsely populated and unforgiving terrain.

The author effectively brought Jessie to life, and her story is show more told in fragments from the perspective of her dead infant who Jessie gave birth to two months premature. The child survived only briefly, and, alone and on the run from the law, Jessie was forced to hurriedly bury her child in a shallow grave. Although I admire the imagination and creativity of telling the story from the dead infant's perspective, I found it awkward. However, it didn't necessarily detract from the story the author so brilliantly and beautifully weaved together.

Jessie's life was not by any means an easy one, but she used her wits and talents to survive multiple circumstances that could have easily ended the life of one less well-equipped. She fearlessly does what she must while struggling to retain a sense of humanity that was lost to many of those she encounters along the way. The harsh, untamed territory of that part of Australia is vividly brought to life and is in itself an essential character in this novel.

The Untold is a good story of suspense and survival that I would recommend.

I received this book as an Early Reviewer in exchange for a fair review, but that did not influence my review. show less

Dark, fast-paced, and gripping this mesmerizing debut novel will be the defining definition of Australian noir. From the first line spoken, “If the dirt could speak, whose story would it tell?”, to the last line, “She said: I am here.”, the tender carefully affectionate narration by a dead baby of her mother’s life was a risky chance by the author may make the reader uncomfortable at first but so surprised me by how much empathy I had for the mother, the story’s main protagonist. It is 1921 and twenty-six year old Jessie has already been a circus performer, horse and cattle rustler, and convict. Seeking a slice of freedom that she defines for herself, Jessie is now escaping into the harsh unforgiving Australian bushland show more where freedom and death are often interchangeable. A substantial bounty on her head has bands of roguish of men hunting her down with dreams of relief from a hardscrabble life. But, two men hope to find her first; Black stockman Jack Brown and lawman Sergeant Andrew Barlow each harboring their own secret demons.
This story is loosely based on the life of Elizabeth Jessie Hickman, and through imaginative storytelling makes the landscape as much a character as the embittered soldiers, aborigines, convicts, and others who populated the unforgiving terrain. It was a heart-stopping adventure which took me to the edge of the precipice and back many times as despair, hope, and faith imbued the characters. I look forward to reading more books by Courtney Collins. show less

The Burial is a poetic, reimagined tribute to the extraordinary life of legendary Australian 'lady bushranger', Jessie Hickman. Set in the 1920's, as Jessie flees the law after murdering her brutal husband, this is a brooding novel narrated by Jessie's dead newborn child, whose spirit remains tethered to her mother.

I admire the lyrical nature of this novel with it's spare yet evocative phrasing. Collins paints incredible scenes, Jessie lying bleeding by the river barely conscious, the menace and beauty of the landscape of the Widden Ranges and the idyllic camp high in the mountains, home to a group of desperate children. Yet I must admit the narrative style is not one I am entirely comfortable with. As an omniscient observer, show more accompanying the narrator, there is a distance created that for me blunts the connection with the characters, even though I appreciate that it is a technique that allows Collins to move in and out of past and present to reveal Jessie's genesis.

While The Burial is dark and melancholic, dwelling on loss and death, it also celebrates the triumph of survival against all odds. Jessie refuses to let go, refuses to give up, no matter the sacrifice and despite being dogged by ghosts, both living and dead. Her bravery and her determination is laudable and her trials unimaginable as she searches for grace and freedom.

Gritty yet glorious, The Burial is an impressive debut. Collins has revealed an extraordinary voice sure to be embraced by the literati. show less