April 2011 Guest Editor Lesley Lokko on Tim Winton...
Another Australian who’s got a way with words. I read Dirt Music years ago and was blown away by his prose, his magical attention to details, landscapes, weather, emotions, particularly when things are going wrong between couples...just stunning. I then read Breath, a surfing-coming-of-age tale that’s about so much more than waves and wet dreams and decided that I wouldn’t let the Noughties end without a visit Down Under. I didn’t...and his descriptions, particularly of the Queensland coastline, were staggeringly accurate. A real gem of a writer.
The Lovereading view to appear soon...
Like all good literature this is a novel on many levels. The exhilaration of danger, the power of the sea and the joy of youth challenging the elements sing from the pages, but beneath that is the pain of love, friendship and coming-of-age. This is a beautiful book.
Comparison: Sebastian Barry, Peter Carey, Kate Grenville.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
Filled with the lyrical genius that has earned Winton international acclaim and a loyal readership worldwide, Breath is the coming-of-age story of two thrill-seeking boys who surf for danger of all kinds on the untamed coast of Western Australia. As the two boys fall under the thrall of Sando, a veteran big-wave surfer, and his enigmatic wife, Eva, the two adults initiate the boys into forbidden worlds of peril, testing the boundaries of athleticism, friendship, sexuality and mortality. Breath is a story about the wildness of youth-the lust for excitement and terror, the determination to be extraordinary, the wounds that heal and those that don't-and about learning to live with its passing.
Breath features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, eBooks of the Month, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
Breath is available in Paperback, Ebook, Hardback
Breath was written by Tim Winton and published by HarperCollins Canada
£23.68
