The Pearl-Shell Diver: A Story of Adventure from the Torres Strait

Gr 4–7—It is 1898 on a small island between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Thirteen-year-old Sario is torn between his clan's traditional subsistence lifestyle and dreams of using one of the new diving suits with a breathing helmet to dive for pearl shells. After his father is press-ganged into military service, Sario is left responsible for his mother and his sister, who both have diving injuries. The boy is inevitably forced into diving work with one of the exploitative white men who run the pearl trade. Use of indigenous vocabulary, not all of which is listed in the glossary, along with dialect, makes for a challenging read ("We gather plenty slugs and shells—exchange for big guul, sailing canoe. Many paddlers."). A heavy-handed omniscient narration further stifles the emotional resonance. While Crabbe attempts to show the diversity of cultures in the area at the time, stereotypes abound. The only Japanese character is a villainous diver referred to primarily as "the Japee." The plot moves swiftly to an abrupt and happy ending. A hurricane wrecks the boat, and Sario's nemesis has an inexplicable change of heart, promising to build the boy's clan a boat.