Benang: From the Heart

From the winner of the Miles Franklin Literary Award comes a poignant novel of self-discovery. This 25th-anniversary edition features an updated foreword from Kim Scott and an introduction from Philip Morrissey.

In the vast expanse of Western Australia, a young Indigenous man embarks on a profound journey within himself. Labelled as the successful outcome of his white grandfather’s attempts to breed the ‘first white man born’, Harley wants to be a failure.

Finding himself at a difficult point in the history of his country, family and self, Harley’s story takes the reader on an eye-opening and heartbreaking narrative of the impact of colonisation on First Nations people in Australia.

From one of Australia’s most revered storytellers, Benang sheds light on the ongoing struggle for cultural preservation, and it is an epic and beautiful story of celebration and lament, beginning and return.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

‘Benang is brilliant. It is a mature, complex, sweeping historical novel which will remind people of Rushdie, Carey and Grenville at their best. This is an absolute page turner and in the end we are left with a sense of joy and gratitude that such stories are still possible – that the silence has been broken.’ Sydney Morning Herald

‘… Benang soars to the level of superb storytelling with an emotional punch to the guts, not unlike Toni Morrison’s Beloved.’ Weekend Australian

‘Haunting and poignant, Benang pierces the heart even as it seeks to lance the savage bleeding of the wounds of white settlement in Australia.’ Canberra Times

‘I was attracted to Kim Scott’s writing not only for its rich approach to storytelling but also for the way he understood the power of colonial archive … He could use fiction to great effect.’ Tony Birch