The Story Archive

The White Earth

Andrew McGahan · 2004 CE · Novel · Australian · Contemporary

After his father's death in a car crash, eight-year-old William and his mother are taken in by his reclusive great-uncle John McIvor at Kuran Station, a decaying Queensland homestead. The old man is obsessed with his land and with his family's inheritance. Set during the 1990s Mabo debate over native title, it won the Miles Franklin Award.

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Attributes

Genre
GothicComing-of-AgeHistorical
Theme
Class & InequalityColonialismRace & IdentityPower & CorruptionLoss of InnocenceTradition
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
InnocentRuler / King
Plot type
Bildungsroman
Form
Dual World
Symbol / motif
The EstateThe HouseThe Wilderness
Conflict
vs Societyvs Person
Mode / tone
GothicRealist
Culture / tradition
Australian

Closest analogues