Popular Oceanian Historical Books
Find historical books written by authors from Oceania for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (24)
11.
Marshall Islands12.
Rabbit-Proof Fence : The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time by Doris Pilkington EN
AustraliaDescription:
Following an Australian government edict in 1931, black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages were gathered up and taken to settlements to be institutionally assimilated. In Rabbit-Proof Fence, award-wining author Doris Pilkington traces the story of her mother, Molly, one of three young girls uprooted from their community in Southwestern Australia and taken to the Moore River Native Settlement. There, Molly and her relatives Gracie and Daisy were forbidden to speak their native language, forced to abandon their heritage, and taught to be culturally white. After regular stays in ... continue
13.
Sand Talk : How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta EN
Description:
Originally published as 'Sand Talk' in Australia in 2019 by The Text Publishing Company.
14.
Searching for the Secret River by Kate Grenville EN
Description:
Kate Grenville describes her quest to find her convict ancestor, and to understand his life.
15.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak EN
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times. When Death has a story to tell, you listen. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to rea... continue
16.
Samoa17.
The Luminaries : A Novel by Eleanor Catton EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Arriving in New Zealand in 1866 to seek his fortune in the goldfields, Walter Moody finds himself drawn into a series of unsolved crimes and complex mysteries.
18.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville EN
Description:
'Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize and Australian Book Industry Awards, Book of the Year. After a childhood of poverty and petty crime in the slums of London, William Thornhill is transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. With his wife Sal and children in tow, he arrives in a harsh land that feels at first like a de...
19.
Description:
In The Strays, Evan Trentham is the wild child of the Melbourne art world of the 1930s. He and his captivating wife, Helena, attempt to carve out their own small niche, to escape the stifling conservatism they see around them, by gathering together other like-minded artists. They create a utopian circle within their family home, offering these young artists a place to live and work, and the mixed benefits of being associated with the infamous Evan. At the periphery of this circle is Lily Struthers, the best friend of Evan and Helena's daughter Eva. Lily is infatuated by the world she bears wit... continue
20.
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny when hundreds of whales beach themselves and threaten the future of the Maori tribe. Basis for the 2003 feature film.