Young Dark Emu

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

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I‘ve been wanting to read Dark Emu forever, so when this popped into my library‘s new releases list, I jumped at it. It‘s just an hour long, & even though I was aware of the gist of it, it‘s jaw-dropping. The historical records of Australia at the start of colonial rule are so wildly different to our recent understanding. And also, aren‘t people just vile? I‘m even more keen to find a print copy of the full version now.

rockpools The ‘Young‘ version is seriously abridged, and I‘m guessing any PG-rated content has been taken out, but doesn‘t feel in any way dumbed down - it could easily be a ‘brief introduction to‘ and marketed at older readers.

The audio is read by the author, with sound effects and birdsong, and is quite lovely. However, I was very confused when 2y

rockpools I got to the acknowledgements after an hour - the book was listed as 2 hours long, and sure enough Bruce just flipped back to the beginning and started reading it again. As you do. All in all, well worth an hour of your time, and you may even want to listen to it twice on the trot! 2y

CarolynM I don't remember any PG content in the version. I suspect what's been taken out is a lot of the detail (the early pages particularly are detail heavy to the point I almost abandoned it). While I am inclined to view it as a largely credible version of the truth, you should be aware there is a lot of debate here about its accuracy, not just from the reactionaries. Bruce Pascoe has welcomed the discussion, particularly from this book

Farmers Or Hunter-Gatherers?

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CarolynM This story explains a bit about the debate https://theconversation.com/how-the-dark-emu-debate-limits-representation-of-abo... 2y

rockpools @CarolynM That‘s so interesting- thank you Carolyn 😊 - I‘ve stacked the Farmer-Hunter-Gatherer book. Really good to get an overview of the debate before I track down the full book. 2y

MrsMalaprop @CarolynM @rockpools I see you found my posts about Farmer Or Hunter Gatherers? Worth a read if you find you want to understand more after reading the full Dark Emu. 2y

rockpools @MrsMalaprop I did - thank you! Your posts were really helpful. This is on my list for when the uni library decides to let random locals back in (so probably not for a couple of years) - but I could quite happily dive into both of these right away. Really excited to read them. 2y

CarolynM @MrsMalaprop I missed your posts on Farmers or Hunter Gatherers? I'm inclined to think what's in Dark Emu us largely true, but not the whole story. The thing is it's the part of the story that's always been left out in order to make Aboriginal people look as primitive as possible. The prominence it's had is a long overdue rebalancing of the scale. 2y

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Lauredhel

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

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Gillyreads

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

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Gillyreads

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

Current read.
I read the original about four years ago and am very glad there is a young version

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Lauredhel

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

Look what I got from the library today! #australianwomenwriters #history #weneeddiversebooks

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Jeg

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

It‘s finally arrived at our local bookshop. Seems it‘s the second printing. Book shop owner amazed at how fast it got reprinted and out to the world. Lucky you @MrsMalaprop having one from the first printing.
A very important book for everyone.

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Gillyreads

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

Young Dark Emu is finally back in stock and in bookshops 😊

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MrsMalaprop

Young Dark Emu: A Truer History | Bruce Pascoe

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❤️❤️❤️ Love that this awesome kids version of an alternative Australian Aboriginal history came out this year for me to share with this dude.

I read the original adult version last year and #mindblown! To be able to share this with my 10yo in such an accessible format is a joy. #naidocweek 🖤❤️💛#raisingreaders

Freespirit I really want to read Dark Emu. Love that children are hearing the real story! 5y

MrsMalaprop @Freespirit It‘s a quick read 😊👍. 5y

Jeg I have one on order at local book shop. They are saying hard to get now. I read it at school and just must have my own copy. 5y

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