A Kindness Cup Thea Astley 1984

Dustjacket synopsis:
"'I told them to go into the scrub and disperse the tribe.'

In Queensland last century, 'disperse' meant 'slaughter'. Terrified at seeing her companions murdered, Kohawa jumped from the cliff called The Leap, clutching her baby.

"Twenty years later, the local townspeople gather in a reunion to celebrate progress, prosperity and civilzation. Tom Dorahy returns with his memories of the crimes of the respected community leaders.

"His attempts to prove guilt are not even welcomed by the surviving victims. In taking the high moral ground, Dorahy seems determined to take the innocent over The Leap again."

First Paragraph:

This world is the unreality, he thinks between smiles and frowns over the letter.

After twenty years - back!

They'd done it after ten - a folly he'd ignored. Back to The Taws. After all these longitudes of time, what would that make them all if all of them could make it? Trembling sexagenarians, hearts pausing - but not for joy; eyes cataracted, prostates swollen or excised, livers cirrhosed, hearing dimmed.

From the Penguin paperback edition, 1989.

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Last modified: November 16, 2004.