Book Club - by Suhaili

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Eucalyptus, winner of the Miles Franklin Award

June 4th 2006 04:30

The edition currently available in Australia.

If Eucalyptus trees were as significant to humanity as the Bible then 'Eucalyptus' by Murray Bail would be their 'Da Vinci Code'. The 1999 winner of the prestiguous Miles Franklin Award (the highest Australian-conferred honour a fictional book can be blessed with) is littered with accumulated anecdotes and stories that illuminate and fascinate - much like the little pieces of trivia and forgotten facts that prop the 'Da Vinci Code' up. Okay, so the comparison might not really stand up all that well the more you think about it; the pieces that make up 'Eucalyptus' are altogether more geared towards exploring the nature of folklore and narrative, and the book is - on the whole - written far more eloquently and originally, and this is why you'll most likely find it in the literature section of your bookstore (and not in general fiction like the D.V. Code). If anything, this is the antithesis of 'The Da Vinci Code', but it uses a kind of history in much the same manner all the same.

Author Murray Bail attempts to create an Australian mythology here by using around 100 or so species of Eucalypts (gum trees) as a touchstone for his story/stories. The landscape is used as a metaphor for our national character, much in the way other countries have done for theirs', and whilst Bail might stretch the notion a little by going into so much depth he also saves it by approaching it from several angles.

He weaves it all into a narrative.

He even makes it entertaining.

The central premise of 'Eucalyptus' regards a man named Holland. Holland has moved to a large country property in western NSW and planted as many varieties of Eucalypts on it as he possibly can (around 500 species). He has made Eucalypts his life, his property becomes a one-of-a-kind museum for his esoteric hobby. His daughter, Ellen, is extremely beautiful though and legend of her beauty has spread far and wide and the over-protective Holland, scorning the many unsuitable suitors who seek her as their prize, sends out word that he will only allow her to be married by a man who can name every Eucalypt on his property.

Murray Bail

It all goes a bit slightly oedipal... you see, it's a very narrow field of expertise and Holland doesn't really know for sure if it's even possible for anyone other than himself to name each and every one of the trees. Ellen is confused and annoyed by the whole concept, and after various duff contenders are packed on their way the book soon settles on the efforts of two very different men and the very different ways they go about trying to win her hand.

Bail uses the various species of Eucalypts and the origins of their latin names to build up a picture of the Australian character. One of the two men is a man steeped in science and his is the world of recorded knowledge, the other is a mysterious traveler who weaves a tapestry of unfinished stories centred on failed love affairs, his is the world of spoken knowledge.

An earlier edition of Eucalyptus.

For a book of only 250 pages 'Eucalyptus' is very dense and the more I examine it the more facets of it come to light. Frankly, I fear to write any more on it lest I go on and on and on and I take away from anyone their urge to read it. Don't be afraid to read it though, it's very nicely written and I haven't given away anything of importance. There is one more thing I will say about it though, a year or two ago there was a lot of talk of this book being made into a film starring Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Geoffrey Rush (it was actually going to be filmed on my Aunt's property, funnily enough). I have to say - this would probably make a rotten film (especially the sort of film that stars Nicole Kidman - who would very unsuitable for the role of Ellen - a girl of just 20!). I just can't see it's winding narrative fitting into a Hollywood framework and I think it would come off as very dull on the screen. Just as well it fell through I guess.

Book Club - by Suhaili

Eucalyptus, winner of the Miles Franklin Award

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