Recommended by Joe Wyche
Available from a choice of books, I decided to read Voss to contribute towards my book selection for my Personal Investigation essay, as part of my Pre-U English course. Australian family members have read this book and recommended it greatly, so as I was visiting over Christmas, I thought it would be relevant. It did not disappoint.
Voss presents the surprising love story of two polar opposites, Laura and Voss: it becomes evident that opposites do attract, and the strength of their relationship is tested while Voss travels the expansive Australian countryside away from Laura, facing an array of physical challenges, and she experiences testing personal situations at home.
Patrick White constructs the language fantastically in order to give an insight into the two characters' thoughts, adding an extra interesting dynamic to the book, which prevents it from dragging on during the lengthy dialogue. He also allows the characters to write letters to each other, again reflecting their thoughts (while Voss is away) in a very personal form, and this contributes to the build up of an interesting twist in the end.
The only criticism I would provide is the centre of the book, after Voss begins his travels and before the major build up to the ending. White uses this to describe Voss's travels with his crew of assistants, and the interactions he has with them: this can drag on somewhat, and feel quite repetitive. I found my level attention dropping on several occasions, and at some points it felt quite tiresome to read through the picturesque scenes of them travelling.
Apart from this however, I enjoyed the book on a whole. I would recommend it to those who have a lengthy concentration span to make it through the slightly weary sections, in order to appreciate the enjoyable story development.
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