So nice to read an Australian book - Ballarat vineyard setting during a family reunion - lots of great characters ( )

It crossed my mind more than once as I read this beaut book that 2017 has been an extraordinary year for Australian fiction. So many of our best writers have released wonderful new books, I’ve been hard-pressed to keep up with the best of what’s new*. Whipbird has been on my TBR since July, and I’m only just getting to it now…
I romped through it in two days, and loved it. It’s a witty satire of contemporary Australia that will make you laugh and wince at the same time.
The ‘Whipbird’ of the title is a winery, named by its aspirational owner Hugh Cleary after the extinct Gosse’s Mottled Whipbird which used to range over his land near Ballarat. A Melbourne barrister yearning for silk, Hugh has decided that climate change makes this site suitable for the growing of pinot noir, and in honour of the presence at Eureka of his Irish ancestor Conor Cleary, he intends to name his wine ‘Conor’s Rebellion’. The trouble is, Hugh’s grasp of his ancestor’s activities at the stockade isn’t quite accurate…
The plot unfolds over the weekend celebrating the 160th anniversary of Conor Cleary’s arrival in Australia in 1854 during the Gold Rush. Over a thousand of his 3000-odd descendants gather at Whipbird, but fear not, dear readers, you will not need to keep track of all the Hanrahans, Kennedys, O’Donnells, O’Learys, Donaldsons, Opies, Fagans and Sheens: the cast of characters is about the usual size and an interesting lot they are too. As you can tell from the clan names, neatly distinguished amongst the guests by T-shirts of different colours, the first generations of Clearys intermarried with other Catholics of Irish descent, but by the time Hugh and his aspirations reached the altar a Protestant bride was good for his finances and his career and his son Liam goes to Scotch College not Xavier. Multiculturalism has penetrated the clan as well, and indeed, Craig Cleary has married Rani who is a Muslim from Aceh, while Mick Cleary’s niece Amanda has married Dr Nigel Hu. But as 4th generation patriarch Mick gloomily notes, names are no guide any more anyway: the children of his son Sly (Simon) are called Lulu, Oris and Willow.
As the day progresses on from Hugh’s hamfisted welcome and his sister Thea’s gauche interruption to his speech, barbecue stoppers erupt all over the place...

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/12/04/whipbird-by-robert-drewe/ ( )

Kungadgee, Victoria, Australia. A weekend in late November, 2014. At Hugh and Christine Cleary's new vineyard, Whipbird, six generations of the Cleary family are coming together from far and wide to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the arrival of their ancestor Conor Cleary from Ireland. Hugh has been meticulously planning the event for months - a chance to proudly showcase Whipbird to the extended clan. Some of these family members know each other; some don't. As the wine flows, it promises to be an eventful couple of days. Comic, topical, honest, sharply intelligent, and, above all, sympathetic, Robert Drewe's exhilarating new novel tells a classic Australian family saga as it has never been told before.