X NO X
- UNFINISHED -
2015 TOURNAMENT OF BOOKS
I remember school days toiling over my Latin translations ...
didn't enjoy it ... and it all came back to haunt me with this!
If patois is defined as : a form of a language that is spoken only in a particular area, then I am not going to rate myself as a "fail" for not enjoying the struggle to read this! In fact, I didn't enjoy it so much that I didn't finish it!
The pigin dialect being used, the constant jargon of the language, was a struggle. And to further fracture the reading, the story itself jumped between points of view and the timeline. And close to 700 pages of unstructured language and plotline.
Clever? Maybe.
A struggle to read? Totally.
I can see myself writing The Great Australian Novel, cockkers with the vernacular!
But I will just start with this review (in the Great Australian Vernacular ... and at least I provided a translation):
Crikey, chinas! Thought I'd need the ambo! I was a cot case. At first I thought, she'll be apples. I'll give it a burl!! But then I realised my noggin was cactus! I was cheesed off and about to do my lolly. Fair crack of the whip! I had buckleys of sussing out the lingo! Thought I was a drongo! A no-hoper! But stone the crows!!! This was a stinker for me as a reader! A write off!
Good heavens, mates! Thought I'd need an ambulance! I was done in. At first I thought, it'll be all right. I'll give it a go!! But then I realised that my brain was broken! I was annoyed and about to get angry. Ease up! I had no chance of understanding the language! Thought I was a stupid person! An incompetent person! But wow!!! This was objectionable for me as a reader! A total loss!
