Capricornia

Author: Herbert (Australia) / Ouyang Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: The publication of Capri Cornia earned Xavier Herbert the title of a highly creative artist and social historian. In this engaging, intricately plotted novel, the author presents a gripping and extraordinary portrayal of the grandeur of northern Australia. The theme revolves around the "half-baked" issue—primitive life, racial discrimination, barbaric behavior, and the unbearable narrow-mindedness. "A book that has moved the world." — The Australian Quarterly "Capri Cornia recreates a region, recreates an era: a stunning cast of characters, each vividly brought to life." "Every page is fascinating and full of twists and turns." — The Birmingham Post
The story follows the rise and fall of the white brothers Mark and Oscar Hyllesworth and their family in northern Australia from 1880 to 1930. It vividly depicts the intermingling and conflicts between whites, Aboriginals, Chinese, and other races. Mark and Oscar took very different paths after arriving in the north. Mark led a carefree, idle life, indulging in drink and debauchery, had a relationship with an Aboriginal woman, and fathered a mixed-race child named Noname, whom he abandoned without care, embarking on a life of wandering with friends. Oscar, on the other hand, achieved success through diligence and hard work, becoming a prosperous large-scale red ochre farmer.
Noname grew up and was adopted by his uncle, but upon searching for his father, Mark, he discovered his Aboriginal mixed-race heritage. He then abandoned his civilized life and wandered through the wilderness like an Aboriginal. Due to a robbery in which another mixed-race Aboriginal girl, Tock, killed an escaped convict, he was implicated and put on trial. Meanwhile, his father, who had since renamed himself Jack Lambor, was also on trial for having killed a Chinese merchant. In the end, both were acquitted.
The story mercilessly exposes and critiques the hypocrisy, cruelty, and brutality of the "civilization" established by whites in the Northern Territory of Australia. It stands as a rare and powerful work depicting the lives of whites, Aboriginals, white/Aboriginal mixed-race individuals, and Chinese/Aboriginal mixed-race individuals.