A short Delicious Description today from Kim Scott‘s That deadman dance, but an important one because it attempts to convey to we non-indigenous people just how closely indigenous people relate to their environment. It comes from the same expedition as my previous Delicious Descriptions post:
Sometimes Wooral addressed the bush as if he were walking through a crowd of diverse personalities, his tone variously playful, scolding, reverential, affectionate.
It was most confusing. Did he see something else?
Whispering Gums 
Is it bad that I do this, but not to the bush, only to myself? Well, actually, I have the conversations in my head, but my face plays out the emotions…
Hmm … Bad? Probably not. Weird? Definitely.
The book is full of arresting little images like this. You’re making me want to read it again – and then where will I be with Mt TBR, eh?
Always the question isn’t it? Do you read a book again? When my reading group discussed this last week, several of us said it was a book to read again … and then we discussed whether we’d read The bone people again which is the only book our group has done twice in our 23 year history. Will we do it a third time? What challenges we readers face!
I’m talking this book to The Kimberley when I go there (finally) next month. It’s good to read that you all consider it such a good book. It’s nerve wracking deciding which is the best book to take on holidays in a remote area. It’s not like there are bookshops there to replace it if it doesn’t work out!
Aha, Kimberley, I took it with me when we went last month – on my Kindle. The Kindle is a great way of overcoming that panic because you can take a lot of books! What part of the Kimberleys are you going to Kimberley! (Couldn’t resist that … but I’m sure everyone will do it!). We went to Broome and surrounds (West Kimberley) a few years ago, and this year to Kununurra and surrounds (East Kimberley). Love it all.
If you go to the Kununurra area you will find two or three of Mary Durack’s books for sale in various tourist outlets/souvenir sections (eg in a remote Roadhouse) but you are right about books in general. Target Country didn’t have much when I looked!