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Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray

River of Dreams

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Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray

By: Anita Heiss
Narrated by: Tamala Shelton
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‘There are books you encounter as an adult that you wish you could press into the hands of your younger self. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is one of those books – a novel that turns Australia’s long-mythologised settler history into a raw and resilient heartsong.' – Guardian

***WINNER 2022 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD INDIGENOUS WRITER'S PRIZE***
***2022 ABIA SHORTLIST***
***2021 ARA HISTORICAL NOVEL PRIZE SHORTLIST***
***2022 STELLA PRIZE LONGLIST***
***2022 INDIE BOOK AWARDS LONGLIST***
***2022 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS HIGHLY COMMENDED***

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Gundagai, 1852

The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.

Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.

When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?

Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.

Praise for Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams)
'Heiss fuses fiction with realism, conjuring a resonance still felt in Blak struggle today ... packs heart into every page.' – Saturday Paper

'Tells a powerful and affecting tale of Aboriginal people's identity, community and deep connection to country.’ – Canberra Times

'A profoundly moving showcase of Heiss’ skill ... Intimate, reflective, and impossible to put down.’ – AU Review

‘Engrossing and wonderful storytelling. I really loved these strong, brave Wiradyuri characters.’ – Melissa Lucashenko

‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’ – Kate Grenville

‘A remarkable story of courage and a love of country ... Anita Heiss writes with heart and energy on every page.’ – Tony Birch

'It is a love story, a story of loss, a hopeful story. The river is a guide, but you have to be open to its spiritual lessons.'– Terri Janke

‘Anita Heiss is at the height of her storytelling powers in this inspiring, heart-breaking, profound tale.’ – Larissa Behrendt

'The novel flows like the great Murrumbidgee River itself, with powerful undercurrents that sweep the reader along - I feel it's a book that all Australians should read, to try and understand why our colonial past still causes so much pain and grievance.’ – Kate Forsyth Dream Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Heartfelt Indigenous Fiction
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Critic reviews

‘There are books you encounter as an adult that you wish you could press into the hands of your younger self. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is one of those books – a novel that turns Australia’s long-mythologised settler history into a raw and resilient heartsong.’ (The Guardian)
‘A heartfelt story of colonisation and its negative effects … A powerful and affecting tale of Aboriginal people's identity, community and deep connection to country.’ (Canberra Times)
‘Heiss fuses fiction with realism, conjuring a resonance still felt in Blak struggle today … packs heart into every page.’ (Saturday Paper)
‘Celebrating family, love, and connection to the land, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray is a profoundly moving showcase of Heiss’ skill for crafting stories and relationships … A novel that is intimate, reflective, and impossible to put down.’ (The AU Review)
‘A powerful story of family, place and belonging.’ (Kate Grenville, author of A Room Made of Leaves)
‘Engrossing and wonderful storytelling. I really loved these strong, brave Wiradyuri characters.’ (Melissa Lucashenko, author of Too Much Lip)
‘A remarkable story of courage and a love of country … Anita Heiss writes with heart and energy on every page of this novel.’ (Tony Birch, author of The White Girl)
'It is a love story, a story of loss, a hopeful story. The river is a guide, but you have to be open to its spiritual lessons.' (Dr Terri Janke)
‘Lyrical and tender, Anita Heiss’s Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray tells a story of courage, connection and belonging which is both universal and deeply personal, with the river singing through every page. A grand achievement and destined to be read for a long time to come.’ (Meg Keneally, author of Fled and The Wreck.)
‘Epic storytelling with a deep warmth at its heart ... This story will stay with me forever.’ (Pamela Hart, author of The Charleston Scandal)
‘Anita Heiss is at the height of her storytelling powers in this inspiring, heart-breaking, profound tale.’ (Larissa Behrendt)
‘The novel flows like the great Murrumbidgee River itself, with powerful undercurrents that sweep the reader along - I feel it's a book that all Australians should read, to try and understand why our colonial past still causes so much pain and grievance.’ (Kate Forsyth, author of The Blue Rose)
‘Anita Heiss is an incredibly masterful stroyteller; weaving song, language and history into an epic tale of love, loss and belonging … my favourite of Heiss' novels!’ (Better Read than Dead)
‘Far more relevant than a library bulging with Greenes and Hemmingways, Heiss’s book is as pulsing as the river that runs through it … A romance, a history lesson, a language study and a rollicking read all in one.’
All stars
Most relevant
I found this an engaging story and listened through it in its entirety in just a handful of sittings. Having spent 30 years working alongside Aboriginal Australian artists and sharing some of their stories and culture in UK schools and festivals, I'm no stranger to some of the cultural ethos or sad abuses of Australia's original Inhabitants depicted here. I was very pleased how the author shares traditional words and their meanings, which was a delight to hear. Narrated with precision and also passion. I found the twist in the fates of the two central women a very interesting cultural reflection of contrasting views of family and the world at large. Yet in the end, any silver linings carry the foreboding rumble of thunder, as a culture and its people erode ever further below the harsh hand of colonisation.

An engaging story of white supremacy

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This is the story of indigenous peoples everywhere. A hard but necessary listen. Be brave.

Heartbreaking

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