Into White Silence by Anthony Eaton
This is a book that has been short-listed by the Children’s Book Council for this year’s awards, but unfortunately I don’t see any child reading it willingly. The plot is stunning, the characters all too human and fallible, but somehow I don’t see 21st century children comfortably reading an 18th century personal journal. The language use is just too foreign. And we all know that very few generation Y or Z will put up with discomfort without some external pressure.
But first the plot. Anthony Eaton, a well known author for young adults is thinking about writing a boys’ adventure novel set in Antarctica. As part of his research the Australian Antarctic Division offer him space on their summer research voyage. While in Antarctica, Anthony discovers a dusty journal hidden away in the base library. He takes that journal home and uses it to write a very different story from the one originally planned.
You see this journal is from the lost exploration vessel Raven and the team who set out in 1922 to cross Antarctica. Never heard of it? Well that is because all plans were made in strictest secrecy to avoid another exploration party stealing the idea and with more funding, getting there first. But now Eaton can tell the story.
This book is very much a psychological thriller. The reader needs to take time, reflect on the motivations and behavior of the various characters. One would think that the enemy was the harsh environment, but in reality men without trust will turn on each other, and therein lies the story.
This book will be studied in schools for years. There are so many levels of complexity that it will stand re-reading, discussion and even the inevitable text responses. It is quality literature for young people.
I just don’t see any of them reading past page 10.
