This simply does not ring true. Aborigines, who were driven from their traditional lands by settlers who murdered resisting natives, came to the missions for physical protection and sustenance. While the missionaries were not as brutal as the settlers, they shared the same belief that Aborigines were little more than animals that had to be tamed and civilised. The regime in these institutions was harsh and psychologically destructive. Those failing to follow mission rules were ostracised and thrown off the settlement.
Serenades concludes rather too easily.
All its plot strands neatly fall into place. Jila comes to terms with her own history in a series of semi-mystical sequences. Shir Mohammed, who has been uncompromisingly dogmatic throughout the story, not only decides to allow his daughter her freedom but is prepared to lie to the local mullah about it. The young couple seems to have triumphed over the religious intolerance surrounding them. This is rather simplistic.