A Room Made of Leaves

Umming and ahhing about what exactly to give this book. Somewhere between 3 and 4. Why 4? Its a delight to read - immersive, evokes the Australian landscape so well, interesting in its historical narrative (it seemed to capture the early Sydney settlement well) and a pretty excellent character study of Elizabeth MacArthur. Although as with any historical fiction it does have me questioning how true these accounts are. There is a danger is painting Elizabeth as a predominately sympathetic character.

Why 3? The ending felt incredibly rushed although that probably shows that after 300 odd pages I would’ve been happy to stay in this 1800s world for longer. It was a really absorptive story but didn’t seem to have a peak nor conclusion it was more a diary structure. In comparing to other 4 star books I’ll rest on 3 stars but still an enjoyable well written book that I’d recommend.