“Bentari Lives” is the title for chapter 24 of my just-released novel (Bentari[1]). Now, at long last, the words have new meaning. For they not only answer the story’s implicit plot query—how will this ill-equipped tribe and this small boy survive a well-armed invasion by German Wehrmacht soldiers? Now, the words announce that my book is available in print. Thank, Lobedai!

This is the Blog post I’ve been anticipating for a long time. And, for some reason, it makes me think of a lesson taught to me many years ago by David Suzuki[2] in his book The Sacred Balance: rediscovering our place in nature[3]. Maybe I’m just grateful after the lengthy “balancing” act through the long years of work on this book. At any rate, this is what I learned about the truffle—eucalyptus—potoroo connection:

“Environmentalist Ian Lowe[4] of Griffiths University in Australia relates a story that illustrates the exquisite and unpredictable interconnectedness of life’s components. In a study of truffles that grow in the dry eucalyptus forest of New South Wales, it was found that the truffles perform a service for the trees near which they are found. Because both truffles and trees extract water and minerals from the soil, trees with truffles in their roots obtain more water and minerals and grow better than those without. The truffles are a favourite food of the longfooted potoroo, a marsupial that is now classified as rare, which then excretes the spores of the truffles and thereby enhances the health of the forest. Potoroo, truffle, eucalypt—three very different species of mammal, fungus and plant—are all bound together in a remarkable web of interdependence.”

What we know now is that the longfooted potoroo is even rarer—perilously close to extinction due to logging and the introduction of feral cats—both events at the hand of man.In my book Bentari, the poteroo is not among the many animals that play important supporting roles. But we hope that sales of the book will help to raise awareness and action for improving our collective lots in life—for all animals, including humans.

I invite you to enjoy Bentari. Let me know how you like it via e-mail at tim@bentari.com.

[1] Available at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bentari

[2] See: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

[3] Available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Balance-Rediscovering-Nature/dp/0898868971 or in Portland at Powell’s Books http://www.powells.com/s?kw=sacred+balance&class=

[4] See: http://www.griffith.edu.au/environment-planning-architecture/centre-environment-population-health/staff/ian-lowe