Synopsis
Evie has been raised in the heart of Aboriginal Redfern, by a proud trailblazing Wiradjuri family. She remembers so much about the previous world – the Dreamtime, the ancestors, and the knowing – but she also harbours a dark pain that is becoming almost too much to bear.
And then Evie meets James, a young man radiating pure love who fills her life with light. On the cusp of adulthood, with their whole lives ahead of them, they travel to Evie’s beloved country, the central west of New South Wales and the Riverina regions. Swimming in the waters of the Kalare, as known by the Wiradjuri, and in the Murrumbidgee, singing with her ancestors, listening to the spirits.
The new world created between Evie and James is one they did not know they were missing. Now they can’t leave it alone. They are no longer separate – they are one, they are whole together – until a sudden event leaves them seeking answers to one of life’s most eternal questions: is love strong enough to withstand anything?
Review
“We aren’t the damaged, we aren’t the victims, we are the survivors of the strength and light, the survivors of the truth and the survivors into the future.”
Today is the last day of this year’s NAIDOC week, but we must continue to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! Thanks to the wonderful people at Penguin for gifting me a copy of Sixty-Seven Days, a new novel by Yvonne Weldon, a brilliant Wiradjuri woman (she’s the Deputy Chairperson of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, the first Aboriginal candidate nominated for the Lord Mayor of Sydney, and was named New South Wales’ Aboriginal Woman of the Year 2022).
Ever since I held this book, I had a feeling that I was going to love this. And I did LOVE IT! I fell in love with Evie & James. I’m not going to give away too much, except that Sixty-Seven Days is a beautifully written book about first love and longing. It is about a girl named Evie, who has been raised in the heart of Aboriginal Redfern, by a proud trailblazing Wiradjuri family. Inside her warm heart resides the scars from the past but that is all about to change when she meets James. Her life is back to its colourful self but just when they’re about to embark on their magical and dreamy future, another tragedy is waiting to take its course at the end of the tunnel.
Personally, it felt an honour to read this novel. I could grasp so much about the wholeness, connection and commitment of a large Wiradjuri family towards each other. Yvonne has created this novel with so much depth, stunning prose and big, well-rounded characters. I can confirm Sixty-Seven Days is going to be among my top reads this year and this has also paved way for yet another gem author in the Australian market.
Sixty-Seven Days was published on 5th July 2022 by Penguin Books Australia. You can purchase the book here.
| Title | Sixty-Seven Days |
| Author | Yvonne Weldon |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Australia |
| Pages | 352 |
| List Price | 32.99 AUD |