So I just finished reading The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith by Australian author Thomas Keneally. I did not know this before picking this book to read, but this author is more famous for having written Schindler's Ark; the book adapted into the film Schindler's List (I think they should have stuck with the original title).

So anyway The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, set in Australia around 1900, is a fictional novel recounting the story of a half-Caucasian and half-aborigine young man who attempts to fit into the white world following his being raised by a white missionary.

I thought this book was excellent. I had previously viewed the film based on the book and very much enjoyed that. The film was such a faithful adaption of the book, down to reproducing much of the dialog, that it provided a real comparison of strength and weaknesses of the two different media. The book allowed much more insight into the thoughts and motivations of various characters. However, the film excels at bringing the Australian scenery to life as in the Youtube link below where the wild outdoors is juxtaposed with the elegant and artificial interiors of white residences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWbLJcVAE9w