Cirrus@Austlit

'The Australian writer Richard Flanagan’s “The Death of the River Guide” tells the story of a century-old legend of the ancient Tasmanian family, showing the arduous journey of the minority to pursue a unique cultural identity. Flanagan used the narrative of rivers to enter the historical gap, and through the evolution of the identity of minority groups, reveals the unity of opposites between individual imagination and collective memory. Through the dialectical tension between family memory, river narrative and hodgepodge, the novel highlights Flanagan's deep understanding of the cultural heritage of Australia and the construction of national identity and artistic creation.' (Computer generated abstract)