November 2012- The Colour by Rose Tremain


The Colour is set in the New Zealand gold rush of the 1860’s.

Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, along with Joseph’s mother Lilian, emigrate from England in search of new beginnings and prosperity.
When Joseph finds gold in the creek he keeps it secret from his family and leaves his farm and sets off for the new gold-fields over the Southern Alps. In the meantime Harriet must survive in the island's hostile terrain. Other characters are similarly vulnerable and  cluster around the Blackstones. Arriving halfway through is a Chinese market gardener, Pao Yi, who sells his produce to the desperate, prospectors.

This book has fantastic reviews online however our feeling was that it was stinker. I had read this a few years ago on the strength of another book by this author, Music and silence, which I loved,  I didn't mention to anyone in the group what I thought of The Colour  in case it spoiled their judgement.

the scores were:
Alison         2
Annette      1
Anna           2
Cheryl         3
Deb             2
Genevieve  3
Kristy           2
Megan         2

Average:   2.12 

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