The Untold

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

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

Courtney Collins ‘The Burial’ is a slightly unusual reimaging of the life of Australian female bushranger Elizabeth Jessie Hickman. The narrative is told through Hickman’s dead child who tracks and reports on her mother’s journey.
There is a lovely rhythm to the writing, there are short bursts of beautiful descriptions and there is an array of characters that are wonderfully constructed. Yet there is bleakness, a true sense of loneliness that seeps through this novel and makes you wonder how any of this can end well.
The colonial Australian Collins has constructed is a man’s world and Jessie is trying to navigate a way through so she can survive. For that is really what the basis of the story is about is Jessie’s need to show more survive on her own terms. That survival commences with the death of her child and from there we discover Jessie has murdered her husband and is trying to make it to the relative safety of the mountains. Intertwined through this is Jessie’s past story, her family and involvement in the circus
Jessie’s situation is further complicated with her lover Jack Brown and Sergeant Barlow both with reasons of their own, are endeavouring to locate her. A local landowner frustrated by the lack of police response to his missing cattle accuses Jessie of murder, theft and witchcraft and places a bounty on her head, enough to attract a number of the wrong kind of men keen to claim it.
It would be wrong to sell the book as a bushranger adventure story as it is far more than that. What Collins captures is the loneliness of the bush, the isolation of living on farms and the harshness of making a living on the land. While death is everywhere the counterpoint is the will to survive. That the land and people are unforgiving and if you do not have the ability to meek out an existence you will be quickly cast aside. There is a wonderful exploration of the role of women and children in colonial Australian. Through the tales of Jessie’s early life the harsh reality for children is obvious. Many find themselves without parents at a young age and have to find the best way to survive. For the women there is nothing but a bleak existence at the violent hands of men who are drunks and boors.
As a debut novel it is impressive and does tackle some interesting themes but I am not wholly convinced that the novel overall works. I am not sure why but when I finished I was in a quandary as to whether I really enjoyed the story. For all the imagery and the themes, the story itself just seemed to be slightly under done. 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

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.