The Apprentice Witnesser

The Apprentice Witnesser is set in Queensland, Australia at some point in the future after significant climate change has occurred, sea levels have risen, and new viruses have caused widespread illness and death. While both men and women are affected by these viruses, men are more likely to die, so the remaining men have gone to live in the forests in the hills in hopes of ensuring their survival.

Bastienne (Basti) lives with her mentor/foster mother Lodyma, working as an apprentice, witnessing and collecting stories of miracles, which Lodyma then shares with crowds at the local markets.

In the context of this story, “miracles” refer to events, natural or otherwise, that cannot be easily explained by those without specialist knowledge, examples include: a chicken laying huge eggs; robot goddess (drones) delivering rubber shoes and bright skirts from the sky; trees that got split by lightning and carried on growing; and meteor showers.

While out witnessing miracles on Lodyma’s behalf, Basti begins to document other miracles that she comes across – looks of love between parents and children, a woman relaxing in the sun, a street vendor giving fruit to hungry children, a child eating blackberries in streams of sun through the trees, etc. – I thought this could make a great class project, where children record the things they witness that, through their eyes, are beautiful or miraculous.

I found Basti to be a likeable, well rounded character. As the narrator of this story she has a distinct voice, and her wonderings, hopes, frustrations, and fears are shared with the reader.

I was interested in the way the author constructed this post-apocalyptic world and the way in which technologies we currently take for granted are no longer prolific, many of them unable to be used at all. I was also intrigued by her descriptions of matriarchal society, and bartering and trade in a society with very little money. Having recently lived through a global pandemic, students will be familiar with some of the language and behaviours described in this book around isolation and masking.

Teacher’s notes are available to download from the Allen & Unwin website.

Content advisory: Basti tells the reader about the death of her mother. It’s not overly detailed, and only covers a few pages, but it is obviously very emotional. Children who have lost a parent might like a heads up about this before reading the book.