AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'1941, West Java. Love and revolution are in the air. And war is on its way.
'Shortly before the Japanese invade, the van Hoorn family throws their famous Sinterklaas party at their tea plantation. One of their guests, Mattijs, a Dutch pilot, hopes to forge a future in the Dutch East Indies, possibly with the family's daughter, Anna, but she is torn between her dreams of Holland and her desire to belong.
'Meanwhile the housekeeper, Diah, keenly observes the goings-on around the plantation, wondering how much to tell her freedom-fighter brother. When the Japanese forces finally arrive on Java's doorstep, they all have to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.
'Sunbirds depicts the intricate web of identities and loyalties created by war and imperialism, and the heartbreaking compromises that so often ensue.'(Publication summary)
Notes
-
Author's note:
For Meg -
mum, reader, critic, raconteur
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Something like Jasmine : A Sweeping Tale of Thwarted Love
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January - February no. 461 2024;
— Review of Sunbirds 2023 single work novel 'The potential for Australian literature to address the history of colonised people in this country and elsewhere is of great consequence. New perspectives not only rewrite history to include ‘herstory’, but also reconsider what we believe and broaden our view of ourselves as active contributors to our collective and individual past. A spate of recent books has attempted to do this: Anita Heiss’s Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams (2021) and Geraldine Brooks’s Horse (2022) are two that come to mind.' (Introduction) -
Java Romance
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2023;
— Review of Sunbirds 2023 single work novel -
Mirandi Riwoe
Sonia Nair
(interviewer),
2023
single work
interview
— Appears in: Liminal , September 2023;
-
Java Romance
2023
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2023;
— Review of Sunbirds 2023 single work novel -
Something like Jasmine : A Sweeping Tale of Thwarted Love
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January - February no. 461 2024;
— Review of Sunbirds 2023 single work novel 'The potential for Australian literature to address the history of colonised people in this country and elsewhere is of great consequence. New perspectives not only rewrite history to include ‘herstory’, but also reconsider what we believe and broaden our view of ourselves as active contributors to our collective and individual past. A spate of recent books has attempted to do this: Anita Heiss’s Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams (2021) and Geraldine Brooks’s Horse (2022) are two that come to mind.' (Introduction) -
Mirandi Riwoe
Sonia Nair
(interviewer),
2023
single work
interview
— Appears in: Liminal , September 2023;
