Gold and Greenstone - Barry Crump

Published by Barry Crump Associates: Auckland, New Zealand, 1993.

This year I have been teaching a 1P class for the first time - Year 11 students who are not as good at English as those going for the full Achievement Standards version. This means that part of my role is to inspire students that aren't that good at reading (and often don't want to read) to read a book - two actually, in order to get through their Independent Reading standard. So, it inspires me to help find books that my students will want to at least attempt to read.

Which leads me to Barry Crump.

Barry Crump was one of the most successful New Zealand authors, writing various 'yarns' about (mostly) rural New Zealand and the back-country lifestyle. One of his stories, Wild Pork and Watercress, became the basis for the film Hunt For the Wilderpeople, which as of writing is the most successful New Zealand film in New Zealand history. Crump's books are not difficult reads, and are definitely 'yarns' by definition (a kiwi term meaning the sort of short you would tell around a campfire. Gradually unfolding, slightly exaggerated). Gold and Greenstone is not a novel of Crump's I have read previously, but having purchased it to present to my students, I thought I'd have a look first.

Gold and Greenstone tells the story of Sally, a mechanic and odd-job worker who, living during "the Recession" and with two kids to support, sets out in search of work around the country. She picks up a hitch-hiker named Quin, and as the two bond Quin begins to teach Sally about gold-panning and, eventually, gets her help to retrieve greenstone from a remote location. Like many of Crump's protagonists, Sally and Quin aren't afraid to bend the law a bit, which at times means they have to move on or conceal their activities from others, but of course, they both have hearts of gold (no pun intended). The book wraps up with a slightly abrupt shift in focus, as Sally and Quin finally develop a relationship when no spark seemed to be there earlier, but knowing that Crump himself had numerous marriages and other casual relationships, it doesn't seem outside the realms of his own experience.

Not the best Barry Crump book, but an enjoyable (and hopefully easy) read.

Completed 24 July 2021.



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