NAKED UNDER CAPRICORN

by Olaf Ruhen ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The story of how a man, David Marriner, stranded in the desert of Australia, by just letting himself drift and accepting any help he is offered, becomes a very rich man indeed and turns the aborigine camp where he was rescued into a prosperous cattle station and trading center. In the process, he has also betrayed-through passivity and apathy- the natives to whom he owed not only his life but his financial success as well. The material about native ways, the flora and fauna of the area, cattle raising, mining, trading, etc. is interesting background (ef. last year's Land of Dahori) but the foreground is held by a man so nearly a zero that one scarcely cares what becomes of him. And it is hard to believe that anyone so insensitive (without being callous) and so unresponsive could realize, as he finally does, what a crime he has committed by being what might be called a guilty bystander. The book, as the earlier one, is most interesting where it is most indigenous- as a portrait of a distant, lonely part of the world.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1958

Categories: FICTION