During an interview Lucy told her purpose and reason for her book stolen "I thought long and hard about using ‘Stolen’ as a title. Obviously the word ‘stolen’ has huge connotations in Australia and I was initially concerned that Australian readers may think the book was about the Stolen Generation, which it’s not. However, the book is about similar issues that may be associated with the Stolen Generation’s trauma; those of belonging and being forcibly removed from a childhood landscape…the idea of a person being displaced within an Australian landscape. And there is an allegorical link to the Stolen Generation. When Gemma says that “they kind of stole you too” she is linking Ty’s childhood experience of being stolen by the authorities to her own experience of being stolen by Ty, and yet she is inadvertently linking Ty’s experience to the forcible removal of the Stolen Generation from the Great Sandy Desert.
However, both of my characters are actually European imports and not distinctly aboriginal (though Ty does display an affinity and respect for the Walmajarri tribe that he grew up with). In this sense, I wanted to explore the idea of being both attached to and estranged from landscape from an Anglo-Australian perspective. I wanted to think deeper about the issues of being forced from and pulled towards this ‘interior’ Australian landscape, and, probably because I am also from European-Australian descent, I wanted to explore this from a viewpoint not distinctly aboriginal. I wanted my novel to explore the psychological feelings that go with forced removal from and longing for a place, rather than the legalities of a political act. I am actually quite intrigued as to how the title of this book is received by Australian readers". said by Lucy Christopher In a interview which you can find on her website.
However, both of my characters are actually European imports and not distinctly aboriginal (though Ty does display an affinity and respect for the Walmajarri tribe that he grew up with). In this sense, I wanted to explore the idea of being both attached to and estranged from landscape from an Anglo-Australian perspective. I wanted to think deeper about the issues of being forced from and pulled towards this ‘interior’ Australian landscape, and, probably because I am also from European-Australian descent, I wanted to explore this from a viewpoint not distinctly aboriginal. I wanted my novel to explore the psychological feelings that go with forced removal from and longing for a place, rather than the legalities of a political act. I am actually quite intrigued as to how the title of this book is received by Australian readers". said by Lucy Christopher In a interview which you can find on her website.
http://www.lucychristopher.com/stolen