Title: The Warrumbar
Author: William J. Byrne
Publisher: UWA Publishing, 2025; RRP: $34.99
Review by: Frank Thompson, Ballarat Writers Inc. book review group
The Author
William J. Byrne grew up on Wiradjuri and Ngunnawal country (Southern New South Wales). He has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, a Graduate Diploma in Government Administration and has worked at a variety of jobs including travel agency manager, tour guide in India, art consultant, and hospitality worker. An avid reader and storyteller, Byrne is intrigued by the ways history and circumstance shape people’s lives.
The Book
The title of the book, The Warrumbar, is the name of a fictional river. The town of Warrumbar Bridge is located at a river crossing point. This town is the setting for much of the story.
As debut novels go, I thought this book “pretty bloody good”. Structurally it opens with a note from the author, then a note on language and then a prelude. These contain useful information and background, giving credence and grounding to what is a fictional story. The story is told in two parts, which I thought of as the fall and the redemption.
The main character, Robbie, is thirteen when we meet him. On the day mankind takes that giant leap on the moon, Robbie first meets Moses, an old man camped by the side of the road. Robbie is drawn to Moses, despite his father forbidding contact. Robbie’s mother reveals Moses’s identity, and it is through Moses that Robbie learns about the early days of his mother’s life on the Aboriginal mission.
Robbie’s relationship with his father is a mixture of love and fear. This is a household of anxiety, eking out an existence, not only physically on the edge of town but socioeconomically on the edge. The rabbits caught in Robbie’s traps make a tangible difference to the food on the table.
Robbie’s fourteenth year is a defining one. There is love and promise but, the world is full of injustices, often accompanied by significant grief. How we deal with these largely defines who and what sort of person we become. And so it is for Robbie: he witnesses a tragic event. Silenced by age, social position and further tragedy, he is doomed to carry this trauma into adult life. This is where part one ends.
Part two of the book jumps forward in time. The reader is given small glimpses into the ensuing lives of the main characters. Robbie, now an old man with adult children of his own, needs to resolve the events of the past.
Byrne seemed to be in a hurry to bring about this resolution, which detracted from my reading experience. However overall, it is well done, and there is a final twist that will give the reader something to think about. On how the resolution is achieved, I’ll say no more – no spoilers. This story is finely layered, and it is difficult to talk about it without giving too much away.
This is a coming-of-age story exploring themes of identity, injustice, and the courage it takes to do the right thing. Some might suggest this story has an allegorical or metaphorical element to it overlaying broader social issues.
I felt Byrne has tackled these themes in an honest, relatable style and made them relevant to the individual. I hope we hear more from William J. Byrne in the future.
Review copy provided by the publisher
