The recent momentum that the Black Lives Matter movement has gained in Australia speaks to the inherent need for more literature that provides introspective insights into the livelihoods of our First Nations People.

The world created in Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson captures the struggles and disenfranchisement that Indigenous Australians experience at the hands of systemic racism. The story follows three generations of the Billymil family, and the various social and cultural challenges they face in their home town of Darnmoor. Recently widowed Celie and her daughter, Mili, live on the outskirts of town in a makeshift settlement referred to as the Campgrounds with their extended family and community. When Celie’s husband unexpectedly dies, she is confronted with the financial strains of raising a child alone and, as a consequence, resorts to seeking employment within town.

Simpson captures the social divide of the community with nuance, contrasting the stark and orderly homes and lanes of the town against the vibrant area of the Campgrounds situated along the banks of the Mangamanga River.

As the years pass, the town undergoes many infrastructural changes yet, with each new development, the town actively seeks to continuously exclude the Campgrounds community. The ostracism they face is further reinforced by their daily sufferings; from enduring verbal and physical violence, to being refused basic rights such as education and housing.

Despite the tenacity and strength the characters show in the face of discrimination, the novel culminates in further violence ultimately highlighting how trauma is passed on from generation to generation, contributing to a cycle of social and economic disparity. While Simpson deals with very raw and real issues in her novel, there is still a tenderness throughout her work which is illustrated through her references to cultural traditions, spirits, and through interspersing Indigenous language. This was a beautifully written and moving novel.

Reviewed by Akina Hansen