The Belburd (Nardi Simpson, Hachette)

Written with the same lyrical prowess and evocative tone as her award-winning debut, Song of the Crocodile, Yuwaalaraay storyteller Nardi Simpson’s second novel, The Belburd, is a powerful ode to the interconnectedness of everything and creation of life. Ginny Dilboong is a poet trying to make sense of the world and the role she plays in it. Navigating this and the many facets of being a First Nations woman, Ginny publishes her writing by returning it to the earth, planting pages from her notebook in the ground. Alongside Ginny’s narrative is the story of Sprite, a birth spirit that lives next to Eel Mother at the base of the birth spirit mound. Simpson displays her musical talent as these two narratives tenderly interweave and culminate in the final part of the book. It is here that she composes the most beautiful montage of life and death to show that ‘we are all alive and continuing’. While fiction, this Sydney-based novel draws on and shares real First Nations knowledge and practices, as Simpson tells the story with humour and wit, drawing the reader in with her rich descriptions and making visceral comments on identity and belonging. The Belburd will leave you with a lasting appreciation of place, nature and life itself. It is recommended for those who enjoy Tara June Winch’s writing and Erin Hortle’s The Octopus and I.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Lisa Schuurman is a writer, editor and book reviewer. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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