The first sentence of Meridith Mckinnon’s THE FERNS quickly hooks the reader: “You’d have thought, with so much blood, there’d be a body somewhere nearby.” The second one invokes the title’s ferns. By the end of the paragraph, “gum saplings” and a “wallaby” have provided the location. THE FERNS unfolds with a steady thrum of urgency, a murder-mystery featuring a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque pair of kids, a generous dose of (sometimes histrionic) villains, and a garnish of local color—from flora and fauna to regional colloquialisms (a round of “shouts,” anyone?).
Among the novel’s strengths is its depiction of the community and environs—an 1880s Australian village so small that one girl’s disappearance affects everyone in it. That fully fleshed, irresistibly brave, appealing girl, Katie, provides both clues and additional mysteries through her first-person narrative. The loyalty and bravery of young William, Katie’s best friend from the wrong side of the track, matches Katie’s and likewise will endear him to readers.
One moving scene is Katie’s first meeting with Ernest, an aboriginal: “I saw a chain around his neck. I followed it across his shoulder, down his back, along the ground, a short distance, and there it ended at the post. I touched the chain; the metal links were as big as my palm. I stopped and stared. His face, though dirt was thick in the corners of his mouth and the whites of his eyes were red, had a kind look.”
The aboriginals, almost entirely silent, provide an eloquent and moving backdrop to this secrets-laden story. Eternally present but nearly invisible among the gum trees and ferns, they offer witness and protection to those wronged—white and black alike.
Unfortunately, the author doesn’t always trust her novel’s effective dialogue to tell the story, baldly describing the bad guys (one of them “twirled the end of his moustache”) and pairing deftly written actions and words with unneeded descriptions (“Gilroy was angry with John’s defiance and humiliated that his opinion had been overridden”). Also disappointing is the story’s turn, about two-thirds in, from a naturalistic narrative to a melodrama with implausible developments.
The ending is tidy, finishing a novel about two families divided by circumstances and class prejudices. Readers who like to travel will appreciate this rich journey to a striking place and time.
Set in late-19th-century rural Australia, Meridith Mckinnon’s THE FERNS provides an interesting setting, a fast-moving story, rich characters, and multiple timeframes that add complexity and plenty of local color.
~Anne Welsbacher for IndieReader
