From the very beginning of the novel, I was able to relax into Zillah Bethell’s confident storytelling, safe in the knowledge an interesting story was going to unfold – and I was not disappointed.
I loved the developing friendship between a two girl who, on the surface, appear very different. One is a nameless character who has no idea who she is, or why she is lost in the vast expanse of the Austrialian Outback. The other is a First Country Australian called Tarni.
In contrast to the nameless girl, later nicknamed Moonflower, Tarni believes she knows exactly who she is and where she’s going, because she is using the song of her ancestors as a map to guide her across the vast expanse of flat, red earth on her quest to find her older sister.
The theme of music and song continues throughout the novel with each chapter introducing a new musical term and its definition. And it all builds wonderfully towards a crescendo – in this case, a spectacular twist that is very expertly foreshadowed.
While Moonflower’s search for her true identity, and the reason she is lost in the perilous expanse of the Outback, is intriguing in itself – especially when she is carrying a locked case she is unable to open – I particularly enjoyed Tarni’s character. Tarni is wise beyond her years and deeply in touch with her ancestors and the natural world around her; a world that Zillah brings to life in all its blistering glory, showing us both its mind-boggling breadth, but also the tiny details of the flora and fauna that make each step a new discovery.
And you can almost feel the heat coming off Saara Katariina Söderlund’s beautiful cover art!
Reading The Song Walker was personally enriching and I would encourage book lovers of all ages to read it.
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