The original title of this book is "Our Sunshine." Changing it to "Ned Kelly" is an unfortunate marketing device to tie in with the film that was based on the novel.

If there is one thing that is certain about Our Sunshine, it's that the prose is superb. Robert Drewe has created a poetry here; be it in the monologue and thoughts of Ned Kelly or in the short sections removed from his view. I know a fair bit about the life and times of Ned Kelly, and Drewe deals with the legend and how it connects to the man behind the (iron) mask. There are moments here where it actually surpasses Peter Carey's Booker Prize-winner True History of the Kelly Gang (one of my fa...

For someone who knows the Ned Kelly story back to front, this was an entirely fresh approach to me. I was astonished to find myself completely riveted and mesmerised as I listened to this short audiobook in one sitting. The time raced by. I always enjoy Michael Veitch's narration but he was no longer himself, he completely channelled Ned Kelly with a slightly Australianised Irish accent. It seemed exactly as I would have expected Ned Kelly to sound. Highly recommended. Just over 4 hours extremel...

From IMDb:An innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.

Review title: The original smart-assNed Kelly, in the book (I haven't seen the movie with Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom) comes across as the lovable smart-ass, but with a sharp edge. In a first-person inner monologue, Drewe tells the story of Australia's most famous outlaw elliptically and sometimes cryptically. Perhaps it is Australia's history as a nation of outlaws that made him so revered and sheltered like no other outlaw save perhaps Robin Hood and Jesse James. Drewe's Kelly is a spirited...

Before there was “True History of the Kelly Gang” there was “ Our Sunshine”. I loved it.

Ned Kelly, based on the book by Robert DreweNine out of 10Alas, this 2003 motion picture has been neglected by the critics and perhaps more importantly by the public, which has missed thus a very good action feature, benefiting from a stellar cast, with the regretted Heath Ledger in the leading role of Ned Kelly, Australia’s ‘boldest and most charismatic outlaw’, for whom a petition would be signed at one point, by 30,000 people, to be liberated and pardoned, albeit he will have been responsible...

There have been a great many attempts to fashion Australia's most renowned outlaw as a literary figure. Most authors opted to stay close to the known story while reshaping it into something more in keeping with the pulp Western novels of the early 20th century. There are obviously some texts that co-opted the idea of Ned Kelly and transplanted him into other settings as well, but none of those ever claimed to be telling the story of Ned Kelly in any meaningful way. What Robert Drewe's 'Our Sunsh...

The story begins and ends with Ned Kelly’s dramatic showdown with the police. In between, you have all sorts of non-linear flashbacks of his life’s journey that led him to Glenrowan. More Fenian than a 19th century Robin Hood, Ned Kelly has nevertheless become an Australian icon and an essential representative of how Australians would like to be seen. It’s a slim novel of 200 pages, with so much empty space in between pages that it could probably be broken down to perhaps 150 pages, and can easi...

The best part is when Drewe writes about the various effects of hangovers via different alcohol, that paragraph always pops into my head when I think about this book. However, its a book based off a movie (or maybe the reverse?) so if you've seen the movie you don't really need to read the book (unless you really liked the movie which I'm guilty of). Overall its a very light read that doesn't really add to anything over than giving you their mindsets throughout the events of Ned Kelly's bandit c...

This was a weird book. I found it hard to follow what was happening, and it seemed to bounce around a lot at the begining. Was a fairly quick read. Somewhat held my attention but I was trying to figure out what was happening more than extreme interest. Was slighty disappointing because of this.

New to me author. Very confusing story line. Narrative was not enjoyable. Very short story. Would not inspire me to watch the film.

First half potent, second half lackluster, modernism filtered through degrees of narrative pretense. Cut half the words and you might have a great one.

I love all things serial killer so I was surprised I didn’t like this. I yawned almost all the way through it.

At times I struggled with the “creative license” in this book - with that aside any Ned Kelly fan will enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It's quick to read and quite entertaining. Anyone interested in the Ned Kelly story would enjoy this book...except perhaps those that despise Kelly.

Really beautiful prose, but most importantly, mostly succeeds at giving you an idea of the inner life of the infamous bushranger.

Just brilliant. Gave me the same rush that The Bodysurfers gave me so long ago. Robert Drewe is a genius.

About Ned Kelly and the gang fictional but still based on reports the jerilderie letter etc very good retelling of a sad story

Ned Kelly ~ Australia’s Billy the Kid. I had hoped this book would be more ... I don’t know, linear maybe? Like tell you what happened when, you know what I mean. Instead it was much more lyrical and literary (not that it’s a bad thing to be literary) and not very straightforward. If I didn’t know the story of the Kelly Gang going into reading this book, I probably would’ve been left disappointed.Example: the story starts at the inn where the Kelly Gang had their final “showdown” with police. Th...

this review first appeared on [http://intraspace.blogspot.com]this, apparently, is the book that the film 'ned kelly' was based on. as is often the case though, i didn't notice too many similarities other than the fact that both were about ned kelly.i picked this up as a quick read - a book that anna got at an op shop i think. it turned out to be quite good. the narrative style is almost a stream-of-consciousness approach - it has a poetic quality to it.i think there is a connection here between...

Robert Drewe’s Ned Kelly gets under the skin.Nine years before Peter Carey published his Booker-winner The True History of the Kelly Gang, he gave a cover endorsement to Robert Drewe’s Our Sunshine, claiming it would ‘forever change the way we see Ned Kelly’. With hindsight, Carey could also have been writing the creative brief for his own, later, achievement.But back in 1991, the most remarkable thing about the Ned Kelly story was that our best-known folk hero had not received more attention fr...

I began this book expecting a kind of rollicking adventure story, a Western set in Australia with Irish accents, which is pretty much what the movie is. However, this is a very different type of story than what we get in the film version. First off, this novel is not linear. I think the narrative style is mean to reflect Ned Kelly's thoughts, memories, and anxieties on the night of the battle at Glenrowan, where Kelly was captured by police. Through the irregular and incomplete memories you get

Although it is based on the true story, the author admits that he has let the legends spum from it shape this story as much as the historical facts. The stream of consciousness sometimes confusioned me as it went back and forth between 3rd and 1st person. Quick chapters made for a quick reading paste.The Australian author is clearly writting for an Australian audience (with some taken for granted knowledge) so a few things were left out that confused me. I have been to the jail were Ned was hung...

Nine years before Peter Carey published his Booker-winner The True History of the Kelly Gang, he gave a cover endorsement to Robert Drewe’s Our Sunshine, claiming it would ‘forever change the way we see Ned Kelly’. With hindsight, Carey could also have been writing the creative brief for his own, later, achievement. Read more:: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2012/...

Robert Drewe's "Our Sunshine" (original title) is the novel that was later adapted into the film "Ned Kelly" starring Heath Ledger. Drewe's writing is exquisite and although I found the book a little disjointed, I really enjoyed his beautiful language. The book suffered a little from not flowing smoothly, which was a little jarring at first, but the surreal imagery Drewe creates makes up for this.

There have been many books, and films about Ned Kelly, a folklore hero in Australia. He coined the term, such is life, that to some has also become a catch cry.This is the definitive Kelly book and far better than Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang.Sublime, succinct writing this a must for those who love history but told with imagination and verve. I loved it, and I don't think Drewe has written a better book.

This would have been a much harder book to get through if I didn't already know the story of Ned Kelly, the Australian bushranger that could be compared to the United States' Jesse James. It was very poignently written but several times, I was very tempted to just put the book down. The only reason I didn't was because I was reading the book as research for my senior thesis.

Brilliant. Had no idea what to expect. The punchy and elaborate prose impressed the time and place of the story on me. Not an Australian, I had no preconceptions of truth or lies about Ned Kelly and his life. It reminded me a little of The Sisters Brothers, in its style, although the story is quite different of course.

Interesting style.I think I enjoyed the purpose and concept of the novel more than the novel itself.It was written well, it was just hard to follow since it was very fragmented.Overall, Drewe indeed wrote an interesting novel.