Gifts of the Peramangk by Dean Mayes
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (344 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeIn 1950s Australia, during the height of the divisive White Australia Policy, Virginia, a young Aboriginal girl is taken from her home and put to work on an isolated and harsh outback station. Her only solace: the violin, taught to her secretly by the kind-hearted wife of the abusive station owner. However, Virginia’s prodigious musical gift cannot save her from years of hardship and racism.
Decades later, her eight year old granddaughter Ruby plays the violin with the passion Virginia once possessed. Amidst poverty, domestic violence and social dysfunction, Ruby escapes her circumstance through her practice with her grandmother’s frail, guiding hand. Ruby’s zeal attracts the attention of an enigmatic music professor and with his help, she embarks on an incredible journey of musical discovery that will culminate in a rare opportunity. But with two cultural worlds colliding, her gift and her ambition will be threatened by deeply ingrained distrust, family jealousies and tragic secrets that will define her very identity.
Langston Hughes once wrote, “what happens to a dream deferred?”… Sixty years ago a dream was ripped away from a musically gifted girl by racism and abuse in the 1950s. Will her equally talented granddaughter overcome the same insurmountable obstacles, or will history repeat itself?
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Ruby is described as an eight year old girl, but she speaks and acts like someone several years older. Given her ability to solve complex problems, process traumatic experiences, and travel around the city on her own it would have been more realistic to portray her as an eleven or twelve year old. She is a likeable protagonist, but some of her abilities and insights seem precocious for such a young child.
Two antagonists have story lines that are never sufficiently resolved. While I understand how difficult it can be to step into the shoes of people who are abusive or racist I would have preferred to see their characters fleshed out more. The motives and choices of other characters are eventually revealed to be much more complex than one would have previously assumed, and had the same been done for the antagonists this book would have easily earned 4 stars.
Virginia was by far my favourite character of them all. At the beginning of it I met her as an innocent little girl who lived a simple, happy life with her mother. Her personality and mental health are forever altered by years of abuse, and as much as I would have liked to peek into the dark years of her early adulthood my curiosity was ultimately satisfied by getting to know her in her twilight years. The mistakes she made as a parent have echoed through the generations, and it was satisfying to see her working to correct them.
Gifts of the Peramangk is an achingly beautiful story about perseverance and hope that I wished would never end. Dean Mayes clearly cares deeply about his characters, and his dedication to them shines through. I highly recommend this tale.




















