It’s Raining in Mango is a family epic, spanning several generations of one family and their lives in Far North Queensland. Their stories are told in vignettes, and we’re left to fill in the gaps. The novel tackles so many themes and issues - there’s lots to talk about!
Chronologically, the story begins with Cornelius Laffey and his two attempts to build a life in North Queensland in the mid 1800s. The first attempt ends rather quickly when his unpopular journalistic opinions about the treatment of the local Indigenous people see him driven out of town. The second attempt involves dragging his wife and children from Sydney, and begins four generations of Laffey family stories in, and around, the fictional towns of Reeftown and Mango.
To be honest, this novel was difficult to get into. It was originally written as a series of short stories and I think it shows. The stories, contained in themselves, overlap and leave gaps in the larger story. I thought the choice to begin with a list of characters and their deaths was curious, but I found myself referring back to it throughout the novel. I believe that the introductory chapter was written when the stories were collected together and I found it quite confusing the first time around. Re-reading it for this review, the introduction has actually helped to fill in gaps and link the stories, and I enjoyed it much more now that I’m familiar with the characters.
However, as linked short stories, this book is full of gems. I loved the unique perspectives and voices of each of the characters, their desires and flaws clearly on display. Some standout stories included Jessica Olive letting rip at the visiting priest and his misogyny, and the tale of a brothel in a flood. Some other stories made me feel distinctly uncomfortable, but that's something I appreciate in short stories in particular, as their length gives more space to pause and think through my discomfort.
Various stories tackle issues of sexism, racism and homophobia. The more Indigenous voices I read, the more wary I become of white authors writing about colonisation and the interactions between Europeans and First Nations peoples. However, given that this book was written in the 80s, it was refreshingly blunt about the horrific attitudes and actions of white settlers. Our main characters stand apart from their neighbours in their attitude toward the Indigenous people, but they still carry a lack of understanding of a non-European way of life.
I happen to be reading Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss as I’m writing this review. It has been interesting to compare the two novels. They’re both set in colonial Australia (though different parts of the country), but where It’s Raining in Mango is written by a white author about a white family, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is written by an Indigenous author with an Indigenous protagonist. Both stories have a mix of horribly racist and then generally-well-meaning-but-still-a-product-of-their-racist-times characters, but we’re given a much richer story of the life and culture of the First Nations people by Dr Heiss. In fairness, Astley’s novel is centred on the white family and she does a fair job of portraying the Indigenous side characters, but I have certainly enjoyed the non-white perspective of colonial Australia from Dr Heiss. (Sidenote: if you’ve not read Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, I highly recommend it!).
All in all, I enjoyed reading It’s Raining in Mango, but I think I recommend re-reading the introduction after you’ve finished the book, to clear up a lot of confusion!