Family circumstances force siblings Ying and Lai Yue to flee their home in China to seek their fortunes in Australia. Life on the gold fields is hard, and they soon abandon the diggings and head to nearby Maytown. Once there, Lai Yue gets a job as a carrier on an overland expedition, while Ying finds work in a local store and strikes up a friendship with Meriem, a young white woman with her own troubled past. When a serious crime is committed, suspicion falls on all those who are considered outsiders.
Evoking the rich, unfolding tapestry of Australian life in the late nineteenth century, Stone Sky Gold Mountain is a heartbreaking and universal story about the exiled and displaced, about those who encounter discrimination yet yearn for acceptance.
‘An elegant exploration of what it means to be an outsider.’ The Courier-Mail
‘A beautifully written exploration of racism, humanity, endurance and compassion.’ Radio 2Ser
‘A heartbreaking and universal story about the exiled and the displaced.’ Readings Monthly
‘This is historical fiction that's bursting with life and energy.’ Kill Your Darlings
‘A refreshing counter-narrative of the goldfields.’ Yves Rees, Australian Book Review
