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  • That Deadman Dance

  • By: Kim Scott
  • Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
  • Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (58 ratings)

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That Deadman Dance cover art

That Deadman Dance

By: Kim Scott
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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Publisher's Summary

Bobby Wabalanginy never learned fear, not until he was pretty well a grown man. Sure, he grew up doing the Dead Man Dance - those stiff movements, those jerking limbs – as if he’d learned it from their very own selves; but with him it was a dance of life, a lively dance for people to do together…

Told through the eyes of black and white, young and old, That Deadman Dance is a story about a fledgling Western Australian community in the early 1800s known as the ‘friendly frontier’. Poetic, warm-hearted and bold, it is a story which shows that first contact did not have to lead to war. It is a story for our times.

©2010 Kim Scott (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about That Deadman Dance

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A beautiful story.

I took a while too get into this story, but it improved. It was a heart breaking and informative and had a great reverence for the Indigenous Australian people.

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2 people found this helpful

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Hard to say how important this book is for me

Like Scott I'm a descendant of both the South Coast Nyungar and the white settlers who wound up there. I don't have much language, or kaartdijin, and know little about life during those early times of interaction. This book did something very important for me. It helped me make sense of my parts, and their tensions. It helped me to understand that its okay for the Wadjela and the Nyungar in me to be friends, and more than that - for them to meld. That dance of Bobby Wabalanginy - a very Nyungar thing, not in spite of wearing a Wadjela's coat but because of it.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Deadly!

Truly a journey I relished. A dance of the imagination into a dreaming that was most enjoyable.

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Fantastic story telling

Amazing cross cultural story line, made real and evocative through the rich depiction of a time and place in colonising Australia.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Superlative performance of one of the finest Austr

Superlative performance of one of the finest Australian novels ever written. I had already read the physical book, but the audiobook brings several new dimensions to That Deadman Dance and suits it so well.

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A Wonderful Australian Story

Wonderfully broad picture of so called 'peaceful integration' in contrast to the New South Wales and Western Victorian debacles. No less harrowing in the consideration of the selfish and greedy attitude of the 'colonisers'.

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Loved every minute

Absolutely loved every minute. History I did not know in an adventurous novel, well told.

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One for every Australian

This is a must read for every Australian!
So seldom do we get to hear the story of the Australian colonization experience told from the perspective of its original inhabitants that it’s would be a terrible shame not to grab the opportunity when it finally presents self.
Wonderfully written and fabulously read, the story is surprising in that not all experiences were particularly negative and not all Characters in the story were victims - some mastered the situation thrust upon them and emerged hero’s!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A great reflection on Australian history

A great book. Full credits for any awards given. Beautiful prose. Week read! Australians will benefit by reading.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Great to listen to!

I don’t know if I’d enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed listening to this. Great insight into colonisation and the aboriginal culture at the time. Loved the narration by Humphrey Bower.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.