Role of Race

Use this forum to discuss the October 2019 Book of the month, "Skills of the Warramunga" by Greg Kater.
Post Reply
User avatar
Howlan
Posts: 1985
Joined: 01 Oct 2019, 08:15
Favorite Book: Looking for Alaska
Currently Reading: War Graves
Bookshelf Size: 122
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-howlan.html
Latest Review: The Soviet Comeback by Jamie Smith

Re: Role of Race

Post by Howlan »

Yes, I felt weird every time people reacted unusually to Sarah being an Australian aborigine. It was least expected to have happened in such a modern book.
User avatar
evraealtana
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1528
Joined: 22 Mar 2019, 19:45
Currently Reading: The Signature of All Things
Bookshelf Size: 127
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-evraealtana.html
Latest Review: Never Teach A Pig to Sing. It is a waste of Time by Freida Atwood

Post by evraealtana »

raikyuu wrote: 03 Oct 2019, 19:56 While this may be a sensitve thing to talk about, I am not a fan of striving for authenticity for its own sake. There are a lot of creative ways to express the issue of race in a novel.
I agree. Many novels discuss sex or violence in veiled terms that make it clear what's happening without jarring the reader, and I think racial tensions could be handled the same way. Just because that's how it was then doesn't mean we should try to recreate it, even if only in written form.
User avatar
evraealtana
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1528
Joined: 22 Mar 2019, 19:45
Currently Reading: The Signature of All Things
Bookshelf Size: 127
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-evraealtana.html
Latest Review: Never Teach A Pig to Sing. It is a waste of Time by Freida Atwood

Post by evraealtana »

Bhaskins wrote: 08 Oct 2019, 05:47 I really appreciate this comment. I’m in the US and I believe that we think we are so wonderful because racism “ended”. Really it just became more subtle. I think it has become louder again in recent years and folks are starting to realize this is still a problem and that it didn’t actually go away.
Very sad, but very true.
User avatar
Jeremie Mondejar
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 2251
Joined: 09 Jun 2017, 19:28
Favorite Author: Still searching
Currently Reading: SandPeople
Bookshelf Size: 1375
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jeremie-mondejar.html
Latest Review: All That I Love by Hina Yu Cao

Post by Jeremie Mondejar »

cindyr2416 wrote: 03 Oct 2019, 08:24 I agree back then, race was a big issue and the treatment of others was more acceptable. But in today’s society racism is still strong. People just make it appear differently. It’s a different time and a different way of showing it.
Exactly! I fell racism wherever I go, even in a local tribe within a nation, there is a big difference.
Jeremie
Official Reviewer Representative


"Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world."
User avatar
Howlan
Posts: 1985
Joined: 01 Oct 2019, 08:15
Favorite Book: Looking for Alaska
Currently Reading: War Graves
Bookshelf Size: 122
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-howlan.html
Latest Review: The Soviet Comeback by Jamie Smith

Post by Howlan »

Dorcas Serwaa Adu wrote: 03 Oct 2019, 06:39 No. It isn't too distracting for the modern audience. And one must note that although racial issues were very common at that time, it hasn't ceased. Not hearing it been mentioned all the time doesn't necessarily mean it no longer exists.
Yes, thats true but I think in the book when Sarah's race was mentioned every time she got a usual reaction from the audience. It's fine once or twice but in the book, it was written so many times that it became really irritating for me
User avatar
Katherine Smith
Posts: 1463
Joined: 30 Mar 2017, 10:56
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 524">Nancy Drew</a>
Currently Reading: The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe
Bookshelf Size: 504
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-katherine-smith.html
Latest Review: "Whisky tango foxtrot...copy" by John regan
Reading Device: B01KVZV52A

Post by Katherine Smith »

This topic has always been discussed regardless of the medium whether it be film or books. I think that in order to have a story be authentic in its portrayal of the time period, the language that was used must be put in as well. If we don't show the evil of racism, we are at risk of either downplaying its trauma or pretending that it din't exist.
Latest Review: "Whisky tango foxtrot...copy" by John regan
Amina Yusuf
Posts: 559
Joined: 03 Apr 2018, 08:13
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 89
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amina-yusuf.html
Latest Review: Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt
Reading Device: B07PQLY49F

Post by Amina Yusuf »

I believe that the author did his research well and issues of race were properly represented if not dwell on in the book. Terms such as half-caste and lubra were used in the context of the period the story was focused on. However, they are not often heard in modern usage today. Thus, modern audience will most likely come across them in literary usage. I didn't find it distracting one bit.
User avatar
Brenda Creech
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3382
Joined: 09 Mar 2019, 13:34
Favorite Author: Mary Pat Ferron Caines
Favorite Book: The Reel Sisters
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 356
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brenda-creech.html
Latest Review: Was She Crying for Me? by Jerry Hyde
fav_author_id: 253250

Post by Brenda Creech »

I think the words used in the book were appropriate because that is what was used in that period of time. Racism has taken on an entirely different face in today's society but it is still present. I think it was very appropriate to use the language of the era to make the book authentic.
B. Creech
"Like beauty in the eyes, the divinity of the rose may be in the nose that smells it, and the lover that beholds it." Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
Syson Dolph
Posts: 60
Joined: 13 Sep 2019, 05:02
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 23
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-syson-dolph.html
Latest Review: Cynthia and Dan by Dorothy May Mercer

Post by Syson Dolph »

Yes, the racial issues were properly addressed. This I say with the presence of groups which were formed at the time. For example : Force 136, Malayan people's Anti-Japanese Army, et cetera .Learning about events of the past is a responsibility I rest upon myself with a passion. Use of terms like 'half caste' and 'lubra' shows segregation has a firm base which can not be shaken. While remaining undemolished, intermarriages assist in minimizing the situation.
User avatar
Kabui-nj
Posts: 35
Joined: 14 Sep 2019, 14:29
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 33
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kabui-nj.html
Latest Review: Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery

Post by Kabui-nj »

I feel racial issues were properly represented and not distracting. At this age, it is sad to see racism still thriving as it was ages ago.
User avatar
Kaitlyn Canedy
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3253
Joined: 28 Jul 2019, 20:55
Favorite Author: Napoleon Hill
Favorite Book: Too Old Too Soon
Currently Reading: Totem
Bookshelf Size: 507
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kaitlyn-canedy.html
Latest Review: The Date Farm by Jack Winnick
2024 Reading Goal: 12
2024 Goal Completion: 0%

Post by Kaitlyn Canedy »

I think that because of the time period, racism was presented in a way that was appropriate. Indeed, it was this way during the time frame that this book's story took place in. Leaving out this part would actually take away from the reality of this period.

Whoopie Goldberg herself had something to say about this when the Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Volume 3 was remastered and released to the public- "editing them would be the same as denying that the stereotypes existed". She does admit that the behavior was wrong, but also states that acting as if these stereotypes never existed will not cause actions to be taken to correct it.

I agree with what Whoopie Goldberg said 100%. Understanding our past mistakes and learning from them is the way that we improve ourselves for the future.
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant, it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.”- Mewtwo
User avatar
Van112
Posts: 334
Joined: 14 Mar 2018, 02:02
Currently Reading: How To Fall In Love
Bookshelf Size: 98
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-vivianne-nat.html
Latest Review: How To Be Successful by M. Curtis McCoy

Post by Van112 »

CommMayo wrote: 02 Oct 2019, 13:50 Due to the time period in which the books are set, race plays a very large role throughout the Warramunga series. Do you think that racial issues were properly represented based on the time period or was the treatment of race (like uses of terms like "half-caste" and "lubra") too distracting for a modern audience?
I don't think that the way racial issues were used in the book is too distracting for today's audience. As everyone else has a point that even today it still exists. It was necessary for the plot of the book however.
:techie-studyingbrown:

“I don't think all writers are sad, she said. I think it's the other way around- all sad people write.” - Langleav
User avatar
amandathebibliophile
Posts: 588
Joined: 25 Feb 2018, 20:18
Currently Reading: The Fox
Bookshelf Size: 158
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amandathebibliophile.html
Latest Review: Short of Love by Martin Knox

Post by amandathebibliophile »

I didn’t read this book, but from experience I would argue that no, “older-seeming” racial representations are not too distracting for a modern audience. I say this because racial issues have anything but ceased! It’s important to be aware of how people used to talk, and generally, to keep the conversation heading more and more toward real equity.
User avatar
María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 5204
Joined: 27 Apr 2018, 16:22
Favorite Author: Kristin Hannah
Favorite Book: The Nightingale
Currently Reading: Killing Shore
Bookshelf Size: 2389
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mar-a-andrea-fern-ndez-sep-lveda.html
Latest Review: You Say Goodbye by Keith Steinbaum
fav_author_id: 5604

Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

cindyr2416 wrote: 03 Oct 2019, 08:24 I agree back then, race was a big issue and the treatment of others was more acceptable. But in today’s society racism is still strong. People just make it appear differently. It’s a different time and a different way of showing it.
I agree. I think we (as a society, not me personally) have switched to some sort of covert racism, disguised with political correctness and trying to keep appearances. But it's still a very pressing issue that needs to be solved.
Besides, avoiding such a topic would've subtracted historical accuracy to the novel.
User avatar
Surah_
Posts: 1
Joined: 17 Oct 2019, 16:47
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Surah_ »

No. It isn't too distracting for the modern audience. And one must note that although racial issues were very common at that time, it hasn't ceased. Not hearing it been mentioned all the time doesn't necessarily mean it no longer exists.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Skills of the Warramunga" by Greg Kater.”