Mateship with Birds

In the early 1950s, on a farm at the edge of a small country town, Harry, a solitary dairyman, keeps a close eye on the kookaburras that nest by his milking shed, logging a year of their plenty and hunger, births and deaths, quarrels, courtship and song. Next door lives Betty, raising two fatherless children on her own, who keeps an equally close eye on Harry. Her boy, Michael, is drawn to the quiet man across the fence, and Harry, judging him ready, sets about instructing him in the facts of life. Harry is confident he understands girls; Betty is another question. On one small farm in an ancient landscape, a group of misfits test what a family can be.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Love, Nature (assigned by AI)

Set in

Australia, early 1950s

First published

2012

Author's age

47 when first published

ISBN

9781742610764 (Picador, Australia)

9781447219866 (Picador, United Kingdom)

9780330544467 (Picador, United Kingdom)

More

Wikidata