A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville

As you may notice, I love historical fiction and A Room Made of Leaves was an Expat Ladies' Book-Club selection, that I devoured. The book was raw, it exposed the deep thoughts of a woman's struggle to survive in a time where women were thought of as property. The history of colonizing Australia, is something we were taught little of in America. As you sail through time, you witness the protagonist's life spiral out of her control. I expected a novel about the early days of colonization in Australia to be filled with the horrors of snake bites and death. Instead, I was romanticized with sheep herding and a life repurposed from hardship. The author challenges social norms, especially of that time, and builds the characters in the story to be vulnerable, in a way we are still reeling with in the 21st century. The author does not shy away from the atrocities inflicted on the natives, nor does she create heroes from the events. I found this book to be the perfect balance of reality, history and a sprinkle of comedic cynicism, to lighten the mood. My biggest critique, I wanted more.