What readers think of The Lieutenant, plus links to write your own review.

In this beautifully written and delightful novel, Grenville seamlessly weaves historical fact together with a multitude of philosophical questions in order to create a vivid and compelling story. As Daniel Rooke and his fellow Englishmen explore a new and challenging land, Rooke makes equally important discoveries about what kind of man he is and what friendship can mean. The Lieutenant would be an outstanding discussion book.

I very much enjoyed this book. Grenville's fictionalized account of the British colonization of Australia gives an immediate & intimate perspective of the newly formed penal colony. The interactions between the "natives" and eccentric protagonist Daniel Rooke are small jewels of description. His interest and friendship with the natives rings true, as does his realization of what's important in his life. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy literary fiction; a thought provoking read.

This book was my introduction to the writings of Kate Grenville, and I must say I am delighted to have finally made her acquaintance and plan to read more of her work. I thoroughly enjoyed the lush, lyrical power of her descriptive prose. However, I finished this book wanting more, wishing that she had explored the weightier themes more deeply. I think this is a good book, well worth reading, but feel the author missed the opportunity to develop it into a great book with a more powerful story.

Daniel Rooke was a lonely child, misunderstood by not only other children, but by his parents as well. He found comfort in books and astronomy. As an adult, he prefers solitude yet surprisingly he is able to form strong relationships with his fellow marines.

Rooke forges an unlikely friendship with a young Aboriginal girl, and their lives are forever changed.

I was so deeply moved by the treatment of the Aboriginal people.

The Lieutenant is a touching story, beautifully written, and thought provoking. The narrative was engaging, and my only complaint was that I wished the story was longer. Historical fiction fans should enjoy this book. I had not read Grenville's earlier book, The Secret River, but plan to do so now.

Recommended.

A quiet, thought-provoking account of a socially inept loner (based on the actual lieutenant William Dawes), The Lieutenant explores a host of questions: what is friendship; to whom should one be loyal; are the values one is brought up with necessarily good for all societies, and if not - what to do about it? Of particular interest to me was the way in which the author portrayed the young lieutenant's burgeoning preoccupation with the intricacies of the aboriginal language and culture. I very much liked Grenville's use of language and am looking forward to reading an earlier book of hers, "The Secret River" next.

Author Kate Grenville has a new fan! Her simple and straightforward style belies a depth and complexity of both story and characters. This is not only a novel of science and exploration, but also of discovery - discovery of place and peoples and language, discovery of self and purpose.

The ingredients were here for a truly great novel. And I enjoyed the story and found myself caring about the main characters and the dilemma that faced them. But it felt to me that the writer was in a hurry...in fact it felt like the script for a film where everything is fitted into a 90 minute slot. How much better the story would have been with some space and time for development.

An enjoyable work of historical fiction, about a period and place I knew little about. The story seemed uneven and only really joined by the inclusion of the main character, Daniel Rooke, through out. Grenville's protrayal of Rooke's early life was poignant; making me think of a person with high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. Amazing how figuring out the prime numbers was such a draw for Rooke.

The interaction of Rooke, the rest of the crew and convicts with the local natives was very thought provoking. Made me wonder how our world would be now if more of the explores, conquerors and missionaries had viewed the native as Rooke did.

I felt the author left out a whole section when she went from Rooke leaving New South Whales to the end of his life. Would have preferred she fleshed that out much more.

This would be an interesting book for a book club discussion. Also enjoyed by young adults.

I plan to read some of Ms. Grenville's other books.