AustLit

'I begin this review with an admission. Not versed in the arcane language of postmodernist theory or any of its various offshoots, I found large slabs of this book beyond my powers of comprehension. Take the following: ‘In [Charles] Walter’s interest in the Aboriginal people of Victoria expressed through a visual language we see the circulation of mimesis and alterity as white fascination with Aboriginal mimicry is itself expressed mimetically when subject reaches out to embrace object’ (p.118). There is more of this sort of stuff peppered throughout the book. Much more. This is unfortunate. The book is obviously aimed at a select band of fellow travellers, but beneath the layers of jargon Jane Lydon reveals glimpses of a fascinating story.' [Review Essay]