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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Akita's family have always kept moving to survive. Sudan to Cairo. Cairo to Sydney. Sydney to Geelong. At each new place, challenges test and break Akita, her four siblings and her parents. Just when eight-year-old Akita is feeling settled at her new school and community in Sydney for the first time in her life, her parents decide to relocate to Geelong to be closer to their Sudanese relatives. The move is the beginning of a downward spiral that threatens to unravel the fabric of their family and any hope for finding peace and belonging.
'Told through the interchanging perspectives of Akita and her mother, Taresai, this coming of age story shines a light on the generational curses of trauma, and gives voice to the silent heartache of searching for acceptance in an adopted society which isn't able to look past the surface of skin colour. Individually, the female narrators experience racism, rejection and despair, but together their narratives reveal a resilience of spirit and determination to transcend expectations of what a daughter, a sister, and a mother can be.
'Hopeless Kingdom is the winner of the 2020 Dorothy Hewett Award. Inspired by the author's own experience of migration from Africa to Australia, this story signals a powerful new voice in Australian writing.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication: To Anyang & Malueth
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Miles Franklin 2023 : A Guide to the Shortlist of Australia’s Biggest Literary Prize
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 25 July 2023; -
Queer Disobedience, Cultural Erasure and Uncomfortable Truths : Your Guide to the 2023 Miles Franklin Shortlist
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 24 July 2023;
— Review of Iris 2022 single work novel ; Cold Enough for Snow 2022 single work novel ; Limberlost 2022 single work novel ; Hopeless Kingdom 2022 single work novel ; The Lovers 2022 single work novel ; Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens 2022 single work novel -
Miles Franklin Award 2023: Shortlist Revealed for Australia’s Prestigious Literary Prize
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 20 June 2023; -
Books Roundup : Legitimate Sexpectations, Against Disappearance, Hopeless Kingdom, This Devastating Fever
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , September 2022;
— Review of Against Disappearance : Essays on Memory 2022 anthology essay ; Hopeless Kingdom 2022 single work novel ; This Devastating Fever 2022 single work novel
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Books Roundup : Legitimate Sexpectations, Against Disappearance, Hopeless Kingdom, This Devastating Fever
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings [Online] , September 2022;
— Review of Against Disappearance : Essays on Memory 2022 anthology essay ; Hopeless Kingdom 2022 single work novel ; This Devastating Fever 2022 single work novel -
Queer Disobedience, Cultural Erasure and Uncomfortable Truths : Your Guide to the 2023 Miles Franklin Shortlist
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Conversation , 24 July 2023;
— Review of Iris 2022 single work novel ; Cold Enough for Snow 2022 single work novel ; Limberlost 2022 single work novel ; Hopeless Kingdom 2022 single work novel ; The Lovers 2022 single work novel ; Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens 2022 single work novel -
Miles Franklin Award 2023: Shortlist Revealed for Australia’s Prestigious Literary Prize
2023
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 20 June 2023; -
Miles Franklin 2023 : A Guide to the Shortlist of Australia’s Biggest Literary Prize
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 25 July 2023;
Awards
- 2023 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2021 joint winner Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript
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cSudan,cNorth Africa, Africa,
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Cairo,
cEgypt,cNorth Africa, Africa,
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- Geelong, Geelong City - Geelong East area, Geelong area, Geelong - Terang - Lake Bolac area, Victoria,