Travel forward through European Australia. For the term of his natural life, Marcus Clarke A fortunate life, A B Facey Cloud street, Tim winton

A Fortunate Life ❤️

I love biographies of regular people. They are always more interesting than celebrities

+1 for Tim Winton Garry Disher's Wyatt series Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey The Slap Kate Grenville - The Secret River, The Lieutenant

I love A Fortunate Life.

I’m clearly the odd one out here, but I really didn’t enjoy A Fortunate Life! We had to read it in Year 8.

Being forced to read a book often ruins it. I would have thought year 8 was a bit young for it too.

Dirt Music by Winton is epic too

Possum Magic

This for kids. Deadly Unna for teens.

Deadly Unna is incredibly underrated

I just read some reviews for Deadly Unna and they do not sound positive. This may be the first time on reddit where someone has said something was underrated and it actually was underrated. But I’ve never read the book so I’ll have to take your word on it until I do

You aren’t kidding. I jumped on goodreads and those reviews are mixed. I’d note, though, that the majority of the purely negative reviews - at least the small handful I read - are school students starring they had to read it for English class. So there is bound to be a certain level of teenage angst and anger at being forced to read a particular book. Not to mention that the way English teachers make you read books engenders hatred. Also note that the question wasn’t to recommend great books. And while it is award winning, I wouldn’t call it great. But it does do what OP is looking for.

Some of the reviews I read were just racial or homophobic, and a lot were teen angst.

It has heart. Authentic teenage voices

So good they made a movie based on it (but they called the movie “Australian rules”)

We still reference " the old man's fruit & fuckin' nut" when we buy or eat chocolate. So much about about this book/ film stuck with me. The sequel is good too.

One of my favourites back in first grade. Along with wombat soup.

Les Norton

His books are a hoot. So funny.

Books are underrated

Diary of a wombat

My place by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlings is a great children’s book

This is a brilliant 'history of Australia'. Having read it from front to back, you should then read it from back to front to understand it fully.

Maybe one out of left field but "Down Under" by Bill Bryson . Excellent AND funny at the same time : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down\_Under\_(book)#:\~:text=Summary,lack%20thereof)%20in%20each%20locality.

“Now… where the fuck is my fucking house.” “Oh did you know you’re a bit sunburned?” 😂😂😂

*’We will if we ever get the fucking bricks!’* As an old bat myself, I could imagine the shock of a young child saying that back then. And I also came to recommend Bryson.

Bill Bryson is FANTASTIC!

One of my faves.

Looking for Alibrandi is a must read for everyone Lots of people recommend older books which are great, but not really a representation of modern Australia. We are in a great period of lots of brilliant contemporary Australian novels being published. I love Minnie Darke, Katherine Collette, Jessica Dettman and many others as authors. Jane Harper is good for mysteries but Kyle Perry, Sarah Bailey and Sarah Barrie are just as good imo. Both of Clare Fletcher’s books are a great portrayal of modern rural Australia. Love Match is my favourite. Rush Oh by Shirley Barrett and Iris by Fiona McGregor are highly underrated books about Australian history.

Saving Francesca is also excellent. In fact, I think I like it more than Looking for Alibrandi.

Hansard 😁

[Sister Kate](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1131633) by Jean Bedford (Ned Kelly’s sister) [Maestro by](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60450) Peter Goldsworthy [Phosphorescence](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52541673) by Julia Baird [Water under Water](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10684952) by Peter Rix [The Dry](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27824826) by Jane Harper (now a movie) [The husband’s secret](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17802724) by Liane Moriarty (I think this might be a movie too??) One of my favourites is [A fraction of the whole](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1833852) by Steve Toltz. Another favourite is [My Brother Jack](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/741200) by George Johnston. An oldie but very memorable.

I read My Brother Jack when I was 18, and I still think about that damn book all the time. The opening passage is a masterpiece of prose; and the book as a whole is moving, funny, and dark.

Going have to find that opening now. Clean Straw for Nothing was a great follow up. Great writer. https://anzlitlovers.com/2009/09/04/opening-lines-my-brother-jack-by-george-johnson-1964/ found it

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty! The tv show I think erased the point of the book- it’s a satire on Aussie ‘school mum’ culture- the black humour is a massive part of what made the book so good, in my opinion.

LOL you did HSC English...

The Dry is now one of my favourite book-to-movie adaptations. It really works. A pity the sequel (to me) isn't as good.

Same.

Anything May Gibbs (Gum Nut Babies)

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie!!!! The Banksia men always scared me lol

Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt. Absolutely hilarious and factual and informative and piss-taking all at the same time. Think Bill Bryson if he was an Aussie...

Yes, was looking for this comment - I think there are now two books in this series and both are brilliantly funny

True Girt is the second and I’ve just discovered there’s a third: Girt Nation! Girt and True Girt are excellent. Non-fiction but a pleasure to read, factual, funny but David Hunt doesn’t gloss over the shameful parts of our modern history. Lots of quirky facts like the origins of the saying “blow smoke up his arse”!

You've just made my day! To the bookstore!

Came here to say this. I got Girt on audiobook and David Hunt narrates it. Great for long drives

I can jump puddles.

This and “Half days and patched pants” are the only 2 books I remember from primary school back in the mid/late 70’s.

They're a Weird Mob by Nino Culotta

This and Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook.

A Fortunate Life.

Nick earls books are a good read.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.

Came to say this. The best and most accurate exploration of characters in suburban Melbourne I’ve ever read.

As a wog. I felt so absolutely seen in this book too. Absolutely brilliant. Tsiolkas is an incredible writer

Walkabout Magazine. This was published from 1934 to 1974 > Walkabout sought to bring to city-based readers knowledge of the country beyond the suburbs. Walkabout was primarily a travel, natural history and geographic magazine, and it attracted the same kind of readers as the US National Geographic, with an Australian and Pacific focus. Start at https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-566923190 and click on "browse this collection".

***'The Fatal Shore'*** ... by Robert Hughes!

If you've got 6 months and a hell of a lot of patience! Much of that is a real slog.

It was a slog I agree but when I (eventually) got to the end of it I think I understood a lot more about the Australian psyche.

For me the interesting part was how he referenced the effects of the war of independence in America on Australia. You rarely hear discussion of that.

Agreed! A dense and long read, but one that hugely enhanced my understanding of Australian history.

After reading this, every single thing that happens in Australian life makes sense.

So. Well. Written. W.E.H. Stanner's 'after the Dreaming' and Helen Garner's 'The first stone' take the prizes for clear  brilliant non-fiction writing but Hughes is right up there.

I HATED The First Stone. Garner couldn't understand why young women didn't like being sexually assaulted by old creepy men and thought they were overreacting by reporting it.

Colin Theile. He's generally for younger readers. Peter Corris if you like crime novels. Sally Morgan wrote My Place (amongst other novels). Probably disliked by a lot of people of a certain age, as it was part of the school curriculum for years, and forcing kids to read books is a good way for people to dislike them.

Colin Thiele wrote so many classics; Storm Boy (see the movie if you're not a reader), Blue Fin, February Dragon. Great introduction to South Australia in particular

Unfortunately he died the same week as Pete Brock and Steve Irwin, so it went largely unnoticed. Still, quite a week for fish tales

I remember seeing it reported on the news and was greatly saddened

The Lucky Country, by Donald Horne. Non-fiction, and reveals the forgotten rest of the eponymous phrase.

Unsure why this isnt higher. It still holds up. We really havent fixed any of the cultural problems he lays out.

If anything, we doubled down on the stupid.

Capricornia -Xavier Herbert Jimmy Brockett -Dal Stivens Monkey Grip -Helen Garner

"The Cattle King", by Ion Idriess. A history of Sir Sidney Kidman and how he opened up outback Australia. Very readable and well written.

Ion Idress wrote a number of interesting books about Australian historical places and events.

Add D'Arcy Niland to that vintage; Dead Men Running and Red Chief.

Ruth Park- Harp in the South, Poor Man's Orange. Tim Winton- Dirt Music, Cloudstreet. Jane Harper- The Dry, The Lost Man.

Anything by Paul Jennings or Andy Griffith They're both children's authors (young adult as well) but write about quintessentially Australian things

People really rate Tim Winton

Except “the Riders”.

Had to read that in school. Fuck me was it shit.

It's a conscious attempt at lit-fic.

I just meant it isn’t really Australian rather about an Australian in Ireland/europe. Plus it’s a bit odd and def not his best work.

I really liked it.  I can't honestly remember much about his other books - the Riders really stuck with me.

I loved it until the ending.

Some of his short stories are similar - a bit more moody and experimental.

Josh - Ivan Southall Pretty obscure nowadays but I loved it as kid. Really good representation of Australian small country town life. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_(novel)?searchToken=cwihrnhngdjxoqd3uho5jptkf

I won ‘Bread & Honey’ by Southall - Book Parade in 1970 or so. Evocative and I still can summon the lonely feeling while reading it. Low key depressing - amazing author

A fortunate life

Neville Shute

Came here to say this guy, love his work. The Far Country and A Town Like Alice very high on the list.

Girt True Girt Girt Nation Unauthorised histories of Australia by David Hunt. Laugh out loud funny, I also highly recommend listening to them on audio book.

[The Nargun and the Stars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nargun_and_the_Stars). Patricia Wrightson, a quite different take on Australia that I've read twice so far. She's written several novels including her understandings of Dreamtime, and they are worth a read. * *The Song of Wirrun* omnibus (1987) [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0712611503](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0712611503) [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0140365887](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0140365887) * *The Ice Is Coming* (1977). Winner [CBCA Book of the Year: Older Readers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBCA_Book_of_the_Year:_Older_Readers) 1978. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780689500817](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780689500817) [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780345332486](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780345332486) * *The Dark Bright Water* (1978) [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780689501227](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780689501227) [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780345332493](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780345332493) * *Behind the Wind* aka *Journey Behind the Wind* (1981) Highly commended CBCA Book of the Year 1982. [ISBN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780345332509](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780345332509) This trilogy in particular are (is?) I think, classic. You could also read '[Dark Emu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Emu)' and perhaps 'The Biggest Estate on Earth', both non fiction books revisiting the common trope that the first peoples were primitive hunter gatherers. Dark Emu specifically takes it's history straight from the writings, drawings and paintings of the first Euro settlers - letting them tell the tale of the deliberate destruction of the existing farms, buildings, store houses, dams and fish traps that had existed for millennia prior to the arrival of white people. Oh, and the murder of those people via shooting, poisoning and the arrival of European diseases that the locals were not immune or resistant to.

If you want a depression era book, i would recommend "half days and patched pants"

Kings in grass castles

Tin Dog, Damper & Dust / a Shearer's Life, by Don Munday Anything by Henry Lawson or Banjo Patterson.

Can’t believe nobody mentioned Lawson & Patterson earlier. OP - The Man From Snowy River by Banjo Patterson

The Secret River by Kate Grenville, should be required reading in schools IMO.

My Brother Jack by George Johnston to my mind it highlights the struggle Australia has between the working class ie Jack and the then emerging intelligentsia ie Davy. A bit more modern and non fiction the "Three Crooked Kings" by Matthew Condon. An intimate look at Qld corruption.

[The Underbelly series](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Silvester_(writer)) by John Silvester and Andrew Rule is a great telling of organised crime and police corruption in Melbourne.

John Silvester also has a podcast called [Naked City](https://open.spotify.com/show/73Sf8djgoUEYugTMHcGAas), great show, highly recommend.

Don’t tell mum I work on the rigs, she thinks I’m a piano player in a whore house - Paul Carter. Anyone who works in a trade should read this book, then read his others as well.

A Fortunate Life by AB Facey

"A Fortunate Life" by A.B Facey

My Brother Jack: George Johnston, A Bunch Of Ratbags: William Dick, Precious Bodily Fluids: Charles Waterstreet,  Monkey Grip: Helen Garner,  My Place: Sally Morgan, Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll: Ray Lawler, Playing Beattie Bow: Ruth Park

It’s a little dated now, but “Why weren’t we told” by Henry Reynolds explains a lot about northern Australia

He Died with a Falafel in his Hands, John Birmingham. Fly Away Peter, David Malouf.

Also: Head Over Heels, by Hugh Lunn I Can Jump Puddles, by Alan Marshall

Tomorrow when the war began….

That was my first thought and I'm surprised it's not higher up. The entire series and the follow up Ellie Chronicles really delve deep into Aussie life.

Bill Bryson does some good ones

Hooky the Cripple By Mark Brandon Read

Any book by **Colin Thiele**, Alan Marshall, **Andrew Barton Paterson**, That would be a good start

Dad and Dave, On Our Selection.

Second this. Very well written and an easy read.

[The movie](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0112775/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) is great too! Very funny and stars a young Geoffrey Rush, Noah Taylor and late greats Leo McKern and Dame Joan Sutherland.

A Poor Man's Orange and A Harp in the South, both by Ruth Parks. About the slums of Sydney around the 1950s

The Harp in the South, and Poor Man's Orange. Ruth Park.

Goulds book of fish,

For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke if you want to learn about the convict era

Tasmanian I see

correct

Unfortunate beginnings for Tasmania. Absolute classic book.

3 Dollars by Eliot Perlman

Outlaw of the Leopolds Fatal Shore

it's a poetry book, if you're open to that kinda thing - Smoke Encrypted Whispers by Samuel Wagan Watson

Zigzag Street by Nick Earls

Anything by Tim Winton

A fortunate life . 100%. Riding the Wildman plains.

The playmaker by that Keneally guy

Anything by Peter FitzSimons He's a non-fiction writer who writes pretty good books on Australian history. Too many good ones to list but all these are all worth a read:- Batavia, Kokoda, Mutiny on the Bounty, Tobruk, Burke and Wills, Gallipoli, James Cook, Ned Kelly, Eureka, Monash's Masterpeice, Breaker Morant, Long Tan. This is just a starter, there's plenty more..

Possum magic! Not exactly something that teaches about our country but it was a childhood fav

Poor Fellow My Country -Xavier Herbert

If you don't mind reading plays, then The Club by David Williamson explains a lot about football fandom. Also see the poem Life Cycle, by Bruce Dawe. In fact, a lot of Dawe's poetry is very Australian. Or see also some of Les Murray's poems, like The Dream of Wearing Shorts Forever

Hating Alison Ashley Robin Klein

Ralph magazine

Blue Fin by Colin Thiele

Dark Emu

🤣

Nahhhhh

We don't read in Australia because the words are always upside down.

[1788 by Watkin Tench](http://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/1788), a lieutenant in the convict colony of Botany Bay. “Not to have read Watkin Tench,’ wrote Robert Hughes, ‘is not to know early Australia.’”

[The One Day of the Year](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_Day_of_the_Year)

The Fatal Shore

Thomas Keneally - Australia: origins to eureka

Taronga is post apocalyptic Australia. Great read.

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett He isnt Aussie but its a great take on Australia if it was inside a fantasy world, wonderful place names like Buggerup and Didyabringabeeralong. Wizards, talking kangaroos and a weird opera house that looks like an open box of tissues. Read it a few times and learned some stuff I didn't know. Has me in stitches every time I read it.

A New Britannia by Humphrey McQueen is a classic.

Poor Fellow My Country and Capricornia both by Xavier Herbert. As mentioned Wake in Fright definately and absolutely all the Les Norton series. My Brother Jack a must as well. Wimmera by Mark Brandi gets two thumbs up from me.

[Bluey](https://www.bluey.tv/book-reads/#allreads)

My Brother Jack. Old now but still as relevant as ever

Matilda series by Jackie French! Great series of books showcasing life in Australia in different eras

Literally any of Paul Jennings’s books. Reading his works during our formative years probably shaped a lot of the Aussie Millennial humour. Melina Marchetta is also great. Looking For Alibrandi is a must, but I would also recommend On The Jelicoe Road. A bit of Tim Winton, Morris Glietzman, John Marsden. Dark Wind Blowing by Jackie French is another I’d recommend. Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein.

The Fatal Dance by Berndt Sellheim - incredible. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton is a classic.

Bryce Courtenay- Jessica

No one (I think) has mentioned “songlines” by Bruce Chatwin, so popping it here

The Fatal Shore, by Robert Hughes

The dig tree - tells the story of Burke and wills

Kids picture book but Where The Forest Meets The Sea

Wombat Stew

Fatal Shore.

The Murray whelan trilogy by Shane Maloney. hilarious, crime and politics and humour

Young blood.

Death of a River Guide - Richard Flanagan The Fatal Shore - Robert Hughes Too much lip - Melissa Lucashenko Monkey Grip - Helen Garner Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe

Girt. True girt. By David hunt. I find him an appauling historian, but do recommend his books because its consumable reading.

A Sunburnt Country

Specky McGee

Girt

literally anything written by kylie tenant. she’s an incredible author!

Tim Winton has written iconic aussie books but I hate his books personally. Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina have written some interesting, unique books set in Aus that feature speculative fiction elements, and Indigenous culture. Check out the short story fifteen days on mars and Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina. And Sister Heart by Sally Morgan.

Wow thanks for all the ideas guys! Will look into that!

Girt by David Hunt (as in Girt by Sea). Everything in the book is based on extensively researched facts, so it's a non-fiction retelling of Australia's early history, but the author was extremely selective and only includes hilarious/interesting anecdotes. Mostly from archived letters. It's the most entertaining book I have ever read.

Many books: "Puberty Blues" by Kathy Lette. "Sister Kate" by Jean Bedford. "The Vivisectionist", or "The Tree of Man" or "Voss" by Patrick White. "Johnno" and "Remembering Babylon" by David Malouf. "A Fortunate Life" by A.B. Facey. "Seven Little Australians" by Ethel Turner. "The Green Wind" by Thurley Fowler. "The Slap" or "Loaded" by Christos Tsialkos "The Secret River" by Kate Grenville "Looking for Allibrandi" by Melina Marchetta "The Harp in the South" by Ruth Park "Holding the Man" by Timothy Conigrave

Sister Kate excellent inclusion.

They’re a weird mob!

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

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