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''All in?' Kieran pulled me up, and the others followed. We gathered around the bigger tree. No one asked Matty - he just reached up and put his right hand on the trunk with ours.
'Kieran cleared his throat. 'We swear, on these trees, to always be friends. To protect each other - and this place.'
'Finding those carved trees forged a bond between Jay and her four childhood friends and opened their eyes to a wider world. But their attempt to protect the grove ends in disaster, and that one day on the river changes their lives forever.
'Seventeen years later, Jay finally has her chance to make amends. But at what cost? Not every wrong can be put right, but sometimes looking the other way is no longer an option.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
-
The Nature of Loss
2018
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , vol. 32 no. 1/2 2018; (p. 328-330)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel'When describing loss, it is tempting to characterize it as an unexpected and often brutal visitor. In one moment, we are defined by what we own. In the next, loss arrives and our hands are empty. Our focus is often on that climactic moment when absence is fresh and irreversible. In Where the Trees Were, Inga Simpson constructs a very different reflection on absence and its definitive power. In this novel, loss is more akin to a heartbeat or breath—neither sporadic nor contained but rather a continuous presence embedded in life. Layering exploration of cultural theft with the fears and discoveries of adolescence, Where the Trees Were is a beautifully rendered reflection on loss and its definitive influence on both our individual and collective identity. ' (Introduction)
-
What I’m Reading – Kate Mildenhall
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017; -
Ironbark and Stone: Place and Belonging in the Nature Novels of Inga Simpson
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , December vol. 24 no. 2 2017; (p. 229-241)'This article discusses Sunshine Coast writer Inga Simpson's nature writing in three recent novels, Mr Wigg (2013), Nest(2014b) and Where the Trees Were (2016c). It addresses Simpson's self-categorisation as a nature writer, and shows how the recurrent motif of sacred trees allows three introspective protagonists to reach new understandings of universal themes: loss of love and innocence, ageing, inheritance, childlessness, sexuality, death, ancient cultures, cultural integrity and preservation of the environment. The article considers Simpson's ‘anti-Gothic’ approach to landscape in her novels, yet also shows how her ‘realist’ depictions of place evoke unease surrounding the issue of white belonging in Australia. Simpson's metaphoric self-identification with trees, particularly the Australian ironbark, is pivotal to the quiet power of her fiction's exploration of belonging in the Australian landscape.' (Abstract)
-
Review : Where the Trees Were
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , July 2016; (p. 30)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel -
Subtle Depths Elevate Journey through Time
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11-12 June 2016; (p. 18)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel
-
Burial Write
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 16 April 2016; (p. 41)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel -
A Light Touch with a Sense of Wonder
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 30 April - 1 May 2016; (p. 26) The Saturday Age , 30 April - 1 May 2016; (p. 26)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel -
Where the Trees Were Review: Inga Simpson's Talents as a Writer Come to the Fore
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 29 April 2016;
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel 'Inga Simpson's excellent third novel, Where the Trees Were, cuts back and forth between the childhood of her protagonist, Jayne, and her adult working life as a curator at the National Museum in Canberra. The novel begins in the Lachlan Valley of New South Wales in 1987; begins again in 2004 after the bushfires that ravaged the national capital. ...' -
Subtle Depths Elevate Journey through Time
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 11-12 June 2016; (p. 18)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel -
Review : Where the Trees Were
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , July 2016; (p. 30)
— Review of Where the Trees Were 2016 single work novel -
Ironbark and Stone: Place and Belonging in the Nature Novels of Inga Simpson
2017
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Queensland Review , December vol. 24 no. 2 2017; (p. 229-241)'This article discusses Sunshine Coast writer Inga Simpson's nature writing in three recent novels, Mr Wigg (2013), Nest(2014b) and Where the Trees Were (2016c). It addresses Simpson's self-categorisation as a nature writer, and shows how the recurrent motif of sacred trees allows three introspective protagonists to reach new understandings of universal themes: loss of love and innocence, ageing, inheritance, childlessness, sexuality, death, ancient cultures, cultural integrity and preservation of the environment. The article considers Simpson's ‘anti-Gothic’ approach to landscape in her novels, yet also shows how her ‘realist’ depictions of place evoke unease surrounding the issue of white belonging in Australia. Simpson's metaphoric self-identification with trees, particularly the Australian ironbark, is pivotal to the quiet power of her fiction's exploration of belonging in the Australian landscape.' (Abstract)
-
What I’m Reading – Kate Mildenhall
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2017;
Awards
- 2017 longlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2017 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
- 2017 shortlisted Indie Awards — Fiction
- 2016 longlisted Green Carnation Prize
