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That Deadman Dance Paperback – 1 June 2011

by Kim Scott (Author)

215 ratings

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Bobby Wabalanginy never learned fear, not until he was pretty well a grown man. Sure, he grew up doing the Dead Man Dance, 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, this 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.

This special edition celebrates 40 years of Picador with one of Australia's finest literary reads. With 16 pages of extra content, including Reading Group notes, an interview and awards list, this special edition will make a valuable contribution to your bookshelf.

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Product description

About the Author

KIM SCOTT grew up on the south coast of Western Australia. As a descendant of those who first created human society along that edge of ocean, he is proud to be one among those who call themselves Noongar. His second novel, Benang: From the Heart, won the 1999 Western Australian Premier's Book Award, the 2000 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the 2001 Kate Challis RAKA Award. His third novel, That Deadman Dance, also won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2011, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Western Australian Premier's Book Award. Kim lives in Fremantle, Western Australia, and is currently Professor of Writing at the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts, Curtin University.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador Australia
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 June 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 408 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0330404237
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330404235
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 322 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 4.4 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 11,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,435 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- 1,488 in Historical Fiction (Books)
- 2,442 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
215 ratings

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Kim Scott

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Kim Scott is the author of Radical Respect: How To Work Together Better as well as Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity. Jason Rosoff and Kim co-founded the company Radical Candor to help rid the world of bad bosses. Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google. Earlier in her career Kim managed a pediatric clinic in Kosovo and started a diamond-cutting factory in Moscow. She lives with her family in Silicon Valley.

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Customers find the book enjoyable and appreciate its well-written story. They describe it as thought-provoking, with one customer noting its interesting subject matter.

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3 customers mention ‘Enjoyment’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable.

"A most enjoyable and informative read." Read more

"...I think it offers good reading but it just didn't grab me." Read more

"Great and difficult book..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Story quality’3 positive0 negative

Customers praise the well-written story of the book, with one customer noting its poetic elements.

"...Not sure why as the subject matter is very interesting and the story is well written...." Read more

"...to keep track of the characters and events, It is a beautifully written story about the first contact between whites and the Noongar people...." Read more

"Beautifully written - part poetry, part story..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Thought provoking’3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, with one customer noting its interesting subject matter and another describing it as an informative read.

"A most enjoyable and informative read." Read more

"...the voices and sensitive portrayal of many points of view was fresh, poignant and thought provoking." Read more

"...I couldn’t finish it the first time. Not sure why as the subject matter is very interesting and the story is well written...." Read more

Top reviews from Australia

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AdOnCar
Beautifully written - part poetry, part story
Reviewed in Australia on 17 July 2020
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A most enjoyable and informative read.

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MisterHobgoblin
Worthy but a bit too long
Reviewed in Australia on 11 December 2013
Format: Kindle
That Deadman Dance won the Australian Miles Franklin Prize 2011 - against expectations.

Kim Scott is a writer from Albany, Western Australia, with Aboriginal heritage. He can therefore claim some authenticity as he evokes the early years of Albany principally through the eyes of Bobby Wabalanginy, a young Aborigine of the Noongar people. Unlike some parts of the new territories, the early settlers to Albany - or King George Town as it was known - developed good relations with the indigenous people. Dr Cross, the first governor, was buried alongside Wunyeran, the Aboriginal leader. But as memory of Dr Cross faded, and as new settlers came, relations break down. This is brought to a head as the whales in the bay are overfished (if you can fish for whales) and food becomes scarce. This leads to a clash of cultures as concepts such as ownership and sharing mean different things to different people.

That Deadman Dance is hard to criticize. The subject matter is worthy and Kim Scott is a credible writer to take it on - even if he is inevitably looking back through the lens of the coloniser. But it does sometimes feel a little repetitive and a little overlong. One of the big problems is that the early settlement was little more than a few tents pitched between the trees and the sea. There are people and there is nature, but there isn't much stuff. There are some strong characters but little opportunity for them to interact in substantially new ways with one another. This can make things feel bleak; can make it feel as though the struggle for survival and struggle for supremacy is just a little pointless. The early settlers may have won riches for their ancestors, but they had little opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labours at the time. And after a couple of hundred pages, the reader feels that he or she has got the point. There is then a fair bit that feels like padding before the ending is played out over the last fifty or so pages.

The non-linear narration is also worth mentioning. This can make reading a slightly frustrating experience. In particular, characters tend to be mentioned when the action first warrants it - and then they will be introduced some pages later. The novel is chunked into four time periods and they are not presented sequentially which, given the already non-linear narrative - can be confusing. Perhaps this is to indicate an Aboriginal perspective (perhaps echoing Chinua Achebe's technique in Things Fall Apart), but perhaps it covers for the fact that not much is really happening. There are also multiple points of view at play, some from the settlers and some from the Noongar - although the Noongar perspective does tend to dominate.

That Deadman Dance is certainly worth reading; it is very poetic and evocative. It has something genuine to say. But one can't help but wish Kim Scott had used a hundred fewer pages to say it.

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Elizabeth Green
That Deadman Dance
Reviewed in Australia on 17 July 2023
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
The imagery, authentic sense of the voices and sensitive portrayal of many points of view was fresh, poignant and thought provoking.

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Amazon Customer
Great and difficult book
Reviewed in Australia on 8 April 2019
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This was my second attempt at reading this book. I couldn’t finish it the first time. Not sure why as the subject matter is very interesting and the story is well written. It seems too long and confusing with a lot of jumping back and forth in time. There are some magnificent moments, especially towards the end of the book. Many questions raised about dispossession and the arrogance of the colonists, the resilience of the Noongars and the transformation of the landscape.

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ferdicat
Beautifully written
Reviewed in Australia on 8 April 2021
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I found that the story needed a bit of concentration to keep track of the characters and events, It is a beautifully written story about the first contact between whites and the Noongar people. I finished reading the book as a much wiser and better informed resident of this area.

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Kindle Customer
Enlightening
Reviewed in Australia on 18 May 2018
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This novel gave me an insight into the history of settlement in Albany WA and the generosity of the first Australians which was sadly abused. The tragic betrayal their trust is heartbreaking.

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Lee W
Yes and No
Reviewed in Australia on 11 November 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I really wanted to read this but I couldn't stick to it. I think it offers good reading but it just didn't grab me.

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Jan Reid
A piece of Australian literature that has great historical value...
Reviewed in Australia on 4 October 2014
Format: Kindle
That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott is the book that many readers (and Australians in particular) have been waiting for, perhaps without even realising it. Many authors have attempted to describe early settlement in Australia, but their efforts remain primarily from the European perspective. Scott, on the other hand, as the son of an Aboriginal father and English mother, was able to authentically deliver from both perspectives.

Kim Scott is no stranger to fame. He is the first indigenous Australian author to ever win the Miles Franklin Award; the most prestigious Australian literary award, and not only once, but - twice. Benang: From the Heart was the first of Scott's books to win the Miles Franklin Award along with the Western Australia Premier's Books Award, in 2000.

Commentary for That Deadman Dance, by the Judging Panel, 2011 Miles Franklin Award:-
'A powerful and innovative fiction that shifts our sense of what an historical novel can achieve. ... That Deadman Dance tells the story of the rapid destruction of Noongar people and their traditions. At the same time, there is the enchanting possibility of the birth of a new world in the strange song, dance, ceremony and language that are produced by these encounters of very different peoples'.

Along with the Miles Franklin Award 2011, That Deadman Dance was also awarded:-
* the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal
* the Regional Commonwealth Literary Prize for Best Book

It was also shortlisted for the following:-
* the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction
* the WA Premier's Book Award for Fiction
* and the Book Industry Award for Best Novel

While That Deadman Dance is a work of fiction, it was inspired by the authors (Noongar) ancestry and the history of the area in which he lives (Albany, Western Australia), which is also the setting of the book. Set in the first two decades of the nineteenth century, it is not only a story of early contact between indigenous Australians and European settlers, in that area of Western Australia, but it is a story told in the form of beautiful prose, through the character of a small Aboriginal boy, Bobby Wabalanginy.

The book is totally unique in its style and content. Bobby takes the reader on a journey of discovery into the way of life of the original inhabitants of Australia at the time of settlement; an edifying and thought provoking journey, which had history not dictated otherwise, could have given the reader even the smallest semblance of hope that the new arrivals would attempt to understand the way of Bobby's people; their respect for the land, and their willingness to share it.

My favourite parts:-

`Because you need to be inside the sound and the spirit of it, to live here properly. And
how can that be, without we people who have been here for all time?'

`We thought making friends was the best thing. We learned your words and songs and stories, [but] you didn't want to hear ours.'

Congratulations to Kim Scott for winning the 2011 Miles Franklin Award for That Deadman Dance, but more importantly I believe, for creating a piece of literature that not only has great historical value, but untold significance to all those seeking understanding and healing.

~ Jan Reid - J M Lennox

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Maria Rosa Garcia Sole
Un libro de un autor desconocido pero que debe conocerse
Reviewed in Spain on 2 June 2016
Verified Purchase

Me recomendó este libro un escritor inglés que vive en Australia. Imprescindible para conocer la historia de un continente que aunque esté en las antípodas forma parte de nuestro mundo.

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Jan Reid
A piece of Australian literature that has great historical value...
Reviewed in the United States on 21 April 2012
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott is the book that many readers (and Australians in particular) have been waiting for, perhaps without even realising it. Many authors have attempted to describe early settlement in Australia, but their efforts remain primarily from the European perspective. Scott, on the other hand, as the son of an Aboriginal father and English mother, was able to authentically deliver from both perspectives.

Kim Scott is no stranger to fame. He is the first indigenous Australian author to ever win the Miles Franklin Award; the most prestigious Australian literary award, and not only once, but - twice. Benang: From the Heart was the first of Scott's books to win the Miles Franklin Award along with the Western Australia Premier's Books Award, in 2000.

Commentary for That Deadman Dance, by the Judging Panel, 2011 Miles Franklin Award:-
'A powerful and innovative fiction that shifts our sense of what an historical novel can achieve. ... That Deadman Dance tells the story of the rapid destruction of Noongar people and their traditions. At the same time, there is the enchanting possibility of the birth of a new world in the strange song, dance, ceremony and language that are produced by these encounters of very different peoples'.

Along with the Miles Franklin Award 2011, That Deadman Dance was also awarded:-
* the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal
* the Regional Commonwealth Literary Prize for Best Book

It was also shortlisted for the following:-
* the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction
* the WA Premier's Book Award for Fiction
* and the Book Industry Award for Best Novel

While That Deadman Dance is a work of fiction, it was inspired by the authors (Noongar) ancestry and the history of the area in which he lives (Albany, Western Australia), which is also the setting of the book. Set in the first two decades of the nineteenth century, it is not only a story of early contact between indigenous Australians and European settlers, in that area of Western Australia, but it is a story told in the form of beautiful prose, through the character of a small Aboriginal boy, Bobby Wabalanginy.

The book is totally unique in its style and content. Bobby takes the reader on a journey of discovery into the way of life of the original inhabitants of Australia at the time of settlement; an edifying and thought provoking journey, which had history not dictated otherwise, could have given the reader even the smallest semblance of hope that the new arrivals would attempt to understand the way of Bobby's people; their respect for the land, and their willingness to share it.

My favourite parts:-

`Because you need to be inside the sound and the spirit of it, to live here properly. And
how can that be, without we people who have been here for all time?'

`We thought making friends was the best thing. We learned your words and songs and stories, [but] you didn't want to hear ours.'

Congratulations to Kim Scott for winning the 2011 Miles Franklin Award for That Deadman Dance, but more importantly I believe, for creating a piece of literature that not only has great historical value, but untold significance to all those seeking understanding and healing.

~ Jan Reid - J M Lennox

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David Sharpe
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2015
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Fine

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KrankyKat
Fascinating history about colonial contact, slightly too long (4.5 stars)
Reviewed in Germany on 8 April 2015
Verified Purchase
This novel is mostly set at the sea shore of southern Australia and I have a feeling that the mode of narration reflects the movement of the waves hitting the shore. It moves between earlier years and later years of a European settlement, around 1830, 1840. In the early years, the settlers are still very dependent on the aboriginal people they encounter, in the later years the Europeans are more invested in controlling and imprisoning the native population.
The novel depicts friendship, learning, the hopes of young men, different characters, the dream of a peaceful encounter and finally its impossibility. It's mostly, but not exclusively, focused on a young Aboriginal man, Bobby Wabalanginy. He learns English quickly, enjoys the company of the English, helps them immensely and in return learns some skills from them.
The colonial encounter is depicted here in many facets, and there is no pornographic depiction of violence, the kind which we often see in the kind of novels that want to indict. That doesn't mean there's not indictment here - I personally am beginning to find this less sensationalist way of narrating conflict more convincing.

(The western lust to depict violence against the native other, even to indict - I'm beginning to grow critical of it, as I also pointed out in my review of Chimamanda Ngozi Aditichie's Half of a Yellow Sun

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GVC
Great Story Rarely Told
Reviewed in the United States on 12 August 2011
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Kim Scott's story of the early contact between European and Indigenous people in Western Australia applies more broadly than just WA. The first settlers relied on the Noongar indigenous people for support or even survival when they had few resources and food was in short supply. Twenty years later when the colony is firmly established the colonists expand rapidly to take land and resources and the Noongar people are the ones facing starvation as sheep replace Kangaroos on the plains.The Noongar people initially did not see these over the horizon people as a threat as they believed in their own religious relationship with the land that had continued since the beginning.

Other early european settlements went through similar experiences. The first settlement in New South Wales and also the early settlements in America nearly starved in the first few years and relied heavily on indigenous support. What Kim Scott has done extremely well is to bring these times and experiences to life through the eyes of the indigenous people and europeans involved. The main character is Bobby Wabalanginy who welcomes the newcomers, learns much of their customs despite reservations by some of his own people. The Colonists are seen through the eyes of first the kindly Dr Cross who treats the Noongar as partners and builds a relationship with them . Cross dies and the main Colonist view is taken up by the hardheaded businessman Chaine. Chaine respects and appreciates Bobby's talents but business comes first. Other Colonists like the Governor and his smart son have little regard for the Noongar. The Noongars traditional sources of food are destroyed by over whaling and killing of Kangaroos to make land available for sheep. When the Noongar kill sheep for food , as they are staving and as the colonists have killed their Kangaroos they are put in jail.

At the end the novel shows how things might have been if a partnership like Bobby and Dr Cross wanted was allowed to proceed.

Kim Scott used the technique of telling the story in the first person through the eyes of alternatively Bobby and the other Noongar and Cross and the other Europeans. I found this approach helpful in seeing the various points of view but challenging at times in following the story line. In awarding Australia's most prestigious literary award the Miles Franklin award for 2011 the judges described the book as having significant historical and national significance. I see is as having international significance as well.

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