How I Became the Mr Big of People Smuggling (Martin Chambers, Fremantle Press)

This is a well-crafted and gutsy first novel from Martin Chambers, who was shortlisted for the T.A.G. Hungerford Award for unpublished books in 2012. Nick Smart is a fish out of water. Out of school and away from home for the first time, he leaves the safety of the city and heads to the outback to work as a jackaroo on a cattle station. As it turns out, the cattle station doesn’t just muster cattle—it’s a front for the far less palatable commercial enterprise of people smuggling. While the story opens with a murder in the first chapter, this is not a typical crime novel but more of a coming-of-age tale where the protagonist learns that not everything in the world is as it seems. Chambers successfully tackles the hot-button political issue asylum seekers without sensationalising or romanticising their plight. His characters are realistic and he creates scenarios that play out using vivid imagery, successfully capturing the desolation of the outback. This book is aimed at adult readers but with its teen protagonist, it would also be a natural fit for older teen readers. It is a little reminiscent of John Marsden’s Tomorrow When the World Began.

Fiona Edwards is a writer, academic and teacher

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Category: Reviews