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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Mental illness
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Murder, Pregnancy
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
If we were to use this simple phrase for the characters in this novel, a lot of them should have been locked up early on. The Lambs and Pickleses, through extenuating circumstances, find themselves sharing a big old house in Perth. Throughout the years the families, although living in separate sides of this house, start to get to know one another and eventually end up becoming one big (if not entirely happy) family. As interesting and complex as these characters are I sometimes got a little frustrated with their actions (as per above insanity comment). There was a lot of muttering under my breath on my part. "Mr Pickles, do you really think it is a good idea to take all of your wages to the track on Saturday morning? Mrs Lamb, shouldn't you move out of the tent in the yard and back into the house? I feel that the young ladies of the establishment require a strong female role model? Mrs Pickles, less grog more tea?" I could go on and on, but in the end their imperfections really made this a classic underdog story.
I really enjoy the way this book is written. This is my first Tim Winton. I must admit that at times the lack of punctuation did confuse me, but I was happy to overlook it when distracted by beautiful prose like this: "The woman and the daughter do not speak. The crippled man does not stir. The breeze comes in the window and stops the scene from turning into a painting." Perfect.
I would definitely recommend this novel.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
If we were to use this simple phrase for the characters in this novel, a lot of them should have been locked up early on. The Lambs and Pickleses, through extenuating circumstances, find themselves sharing a big old house in Perth. Throughout the years the families, although living in separate sides of this house, start to get to know one another and eventually end up becoming one big (if not entirely happy) family. As interesting and complex as these characters are I sometimes got a little frustrated with their actions (as per above insanity comment). There was a lot of muttering under my breath on my part. "Mr Pickles, do you really think it is a good idea to take all of your wages to the track on Saturday morning? Mrs Lamb, shouldn't you move out of the tent in the yard and back into the house? I feel that the young ladies of the establishment require a strong female role model? Mrs Pickles, less grog more tea?" I could go on and on, but in the end their imperfections really made this a classic underdog story.
I really enjoy the way this book is written. This is my first Tim Winton. I must admit that at times the lack of punctuation did confuse me, but I was happy to overlook it when distracted by beautiful prose like this: "The woman and the daughter do not speak. The crippled man does not stir. The breeze comes in the window and stops the scene from turning into a painting." Perfect.
I would definitely recommend this novel.
MY HEART.
Freaking phenomenal. Definitely one to read if you enjoyed ‘Boy Swallows Universe.’
A captivating story driven by flawed yet relatable characters. A super character driven book if that’s your thing.
Only downside was no quotations which made for good flow but was sometimes difficult to understand what character was speaking.
Freaking phenomenal. Definitely one to read if you enjoyed ‘Boy Swallows Universe.’
A captivating story driven by flawed yet relatable characters. A super character driven book if that’s your thing.
Only downside was no quotations which made for good flow but was sometimes difficult to understand what character was speaking.
”But it's not us and them anymore. It's us and us and us. It's always us. That's what they never tell you. Geez, Rose, I just want to do right. But there's no monsters, only people like us. Funny, but it hurts.”
Tim Winton and his book Cloudstreet have been on my reading horizon for quite some time. The book was published in 1991 and my library has had for many years. It took Robert Gray’s recent column (http://www.fresheyesnow.com/shelf-awareness-column/waiting-sharpens-the-senses-in-surfing-reading.html) to remind me that Winton is an author I have never read.
So, I checked out the audiobook and started to listen. I have lamented before that since I have retired, I don’t have as much listening time. It seemed to take me forever to finish this novel. I don’t mean that in a bad way – I just didn’t always have the time I wanted so that I could get on with my listening.
I loved this book. I got to meet the Lambs and the Pickles, two interesting families with very different approaches to life. I learned about Australia, specifically about Perth in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. I definitely got to think about what funny turns life can take when one isn’t looking. I got to spend about 13 hours in a world I knew nothing about.
I don’t have a particular type of book that I read. I read fiction and non-fiction, speculative fiction and more realistic fiction. I am an omnivore of books. However, it is books like Cloudstreet that I like best. Books where I fall into a world and when I come up for air, I am not sure where I have been.
Winton took me to Perth, Australia and to the best of his abilities (which are awesome) he showed me how the Pickles and Lambs lived their lives. It was an honor to spend time with all of them.
Tim Winton and his book Cloudstreet have been on my reading horizon for quite some time. The book was published in 1991 and my library has had for many years. It took Robert Gray’s recent column (http://www.fresheyesnow.com/shelf-awareness-column/waiting-sharpens-the-senses-in-surfing-reading.html) to remind me that Winton is an author I have never read.
So, I checked out the audiobook and started to listen. I have lamented before that since I have retired, I don’t have as much listening time. It seemed to take me forever to finish this novel. I don’t mean that in a bad way – I just didn’t always have the time I wanted so that I could get on with my listening.
I loved this book. I got to meet the Lambs and the Pickles, two interesting families with very different approaches to life. I learned about Australia, specifically about Perth in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. I definitely got to think about what funny turns life can take when one isn’t looking. I got to spend about 13 hours in a world I knew nothing about.
I don’t have a particular type of book that I read. I read fiction and non-fiction, speculative fiction and more realistic fiction. I am an omnivore of books. However, it is books like Cloudstreet that I like best. Books where I fall into a world and when I come up for air, I am not sure where I have been.
Winton took me to Perth, Australia and to the best of his abilities (which are awesome) he showed me how the Pickles and Lambs lived their lives. It was an honor to spend time with all of them.
I enjoyed it overall, but in places it was hard going. Not an uplifting nor inspirational novel, but great written prose, and great Australian novel.
At times I became very bored of this book. I couldn't read another page. So I set it down for a few days, but curiosity constantly got the best of me as I wondered what was happening in the lives of the Lambs and Pickles.
After hearing this book described for years and years as the quintessential Australian novel, I finally picked it up to find out what the hype was about. I am so glad I did.
It is very rare you pick up a book and find the essence of your cultural identity seeping off the pages. Not that I lived through the years after WWII, not that my family had the same troubles as these families. The families aren't even that sympathetic as you start reading. But the attitudes and values that they have and display are so familiar and comforting that it draws you in and makes you want to stay. Loyalty, pride, the fair go, the Aussie battler, hard work, family, friendship, finding humour in everything, every situation and everyone. It wraps you up like a large old blanket and makes you feel safe and understood.
While as I say, the families are not overly sympathetic characters to begin with, throughout the story you end up deeply caring for them. It sneaks up on you. You realise that you want to know that they are all going to be okay, because really, they are all pretty good sorts deep down. You don't necessarily agree with them or their decisions overall, but there is a deep feeling of connection when you finish the book. They creep into you, the Pickles and the Lambs. And I think that is the strength of this book. The slow, gradual, unnoticed sensation of comradery you build with the characters.
For me, the magic realism of the book wasn't really a big feature. To me, a lot of the time I didn't even think about these elements. They didn't bother me, I didn't question them. Strange things happen in the bush. You go out there long enough, particularly by yourself, in the big, wide, emptiness and you can see things. After driving 6 hours each day for the last couple of days, if I didn't have people in the car, I wouldn't have been surprised if I believed there was someone in the car with me. If I had been almost disemboweled by a kangaroo and was experiencing extreme blood loss, I would have some crazy dreams too.
I appreciated reading this book for fun and not for school where you focus on every single nuance of these elements of the story and dissecting it to death. I was happy to read and to accept that this land gets under your skin and things happen. Just like the Pickles family and the Lamb family. I am better for meeting them.
For more reviews visit http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/
It is very rare you pick up a book and find the essence of your cultural identity seeping off the pages. Not that I lived through the years after WWII, not that my family had the same troubles as these families. The families aren't even that sympathetic as you start reading. But the attitudes and values that they have and display are so familiar and comforting that it draws you in and makes you want to stay. Loyalty, pride, the fair go, the Aussie battler, hard work, family, friendship, finding humour in everything, every situation and everyone. It wraps you up like a large old blanket and makes you feel safe and understood.
While as I say, the families are not overly sympathetic characters to begin with, throughout the story you end up deeply caring for them. It sneaks up on you. You realise that you want to know that they are all going to be okay, because really, they are all pretty good sorts deep down. You don't necessarily agree with them or their decisions overall, but there is a deep feeling of connection when you finish the book. They creep into you, the Pickles and the Lambs. And I think that is the strength of this book. The slow, gradual, unnoticed sensation of comradery you build with the characters.
For me, the magic realism of the book wasn't really a big feature. To me, a lot of the time I didn't even think about these elements. They didn't bother me, I didn't question them. Strange things happen in the bush. You go out there long enough, particularly by yourself, in the big, wide, emptiness and you can see things. After driving 6 hours each day for the last couple of days, if I didn't have people in the car, I wouldn't have been surprised if I believed there was someone in the car with me. If I had been almost disemboweled by a kangaroo and was experiencing extreme blood loss, I would have some crazy dreams too.
I appreciated reading this book for fun and not for school where you focus on every single nuance of these elements of the story and dissecting it to death. I was happy to read and to accept that this land gets under your skin and things happen. Just like the Pickles family and the Lamb family. I am better for meeting them.
For more reviews visit http://rusalkii.blogspot.com.au/