Translocal temporalities in Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria

In her 2006 novel Carpentaria, Alexis Wright asserts the importance of local history and traditional customs overt he imposed metanarrative of the nation. Wright begins the novel by stressing the serious consideration that must be given to the unofficial, often unrecorded local narratives which persist and operate below the level of national consciousness. This is a novel that confronts Western assumptions regarding temporality, history, and indigenous culture, and endeavours to provide a counter-narrative capable of overcoming such deeply inscribed beliefs. It situates itself firmly within the local, relating events which unfold in the fictional town of Desperance, a rural outpost in the far north of Australia. But Carpentaria is also concerned with showing the various and cumulative effects that globalization has had on local culture, ultimately describing a translocal space where numerous cultures exist and interact to create a unique milieu. By foregrounding the innately fluid, flexible, and vibrant qualities of indigenous culture, Wright also draws attention to the complex dynamics at work within the translocal.