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jesslolsen's review against another edition
4.0
My main emotion when finishing this book was bitter disappointment - the ending was infuriating and it very nearly completely ruined the whole book for me. I don't necessarily need it to be a happy ending where they sail off in to the sunset together, but I don't like open ended tales where I need to guess what happens next - I want some kind of answers.
But now I've had a bit more time to reflect, and I have come to the conclusion that I can disregard the other 479 pages just because of the last paragraph.
Dirt Music was a long and very descriptive novel, but if you stay with it you will be able to close your eyes and feel Australia - the humidity in your lungs and the sun scorching your eyebrows. I loved the desolate journey through Western Australia, and now that I have finished, this is what is staying with me the most after I have closed the book.
Nobody can write broken humans quote like Winton. The main themes of the book were brooding - typecasting, redemption, and struggle - with a tiny bit of love sprinkled in. The connection between Lu and Georgia was only 48 hours, if that even, yet it seemed to have made enough of an impact on both of them that it totally wrecked and ruined them both.
The characters were flawed and real. Right up until the very end, I didn't know if i could trust Jim Buckridge and his "mission", and Lu's flirting with madness was too believable. Who would have thought that Georgie would end up being the most stable one of the three!?
I really enjoyed reading it, but would love it even more if there was an extra couple of paragraphs to give me a bit of closure.
But now I've had a bit more time to reflect, and I have come to the conclusion that I can disregard the other 479 pages just because of the last paragraph.
Dirt Music was a long and very descriptive novel, but if you stay with it you will be able to close your eyes and feel Australia - the humidity in your lungs and the sun scorching your eyebrows. I loved the desolate journey through Western Australia, and now that I have finished, this is what is staying with me the most after I have closed the book.
Nobody can write broken humans quote like Winton. The main themes of the book were brooding - typecasting, redemption, and struggle - with a tiny bit of love sprinkled in. The connection between Lu and Georgia was only 48 hours, if that even, yet it seemed to have made enough of an impact on both of them that it totally wrecked and ruined them both.
The characters were flawed and real. Right up until the very end, I didn't know if i could trust Jim Buckridge and his "mission", and Lu's flirting with madness was too believable. Who would have thought that Georgie would end up being the most stable one of the three!?
I really enjoyed reading it, but would love it even more if there was an extra couple of paragraphs to give me a bit of closure.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
When in Australia, read a popular Australian author, so the saying goes. The back of the book says that Dirt Music is the author's classic love song to land and place. That seems about right. Most of the characters are lost souls trying to come to terms with previous tragedies and dysfunction. The story starts in a small town where fishing is the main occupation and official justice isn't always just. The story moves on into the wider and wilder landscape of western Australia. Good book.
1madchild's review
3.0
I don’t know. This one effected me.
Sure it was long and drones on.
Maybe it was the place I was at in my life, literally and figuratively.
I liked the little hatchet esk moments there towards the end.
Talk about a bit of a let down with that ending though.
Anyway audiobooks are always easier.
Sure it was long and drones on.
Maybe it was the place I was at in my life, literally and figuratively.
I liked the little hatchet esk moments there towards the end.
Talk about a bit of a let down with that ending though.
Anyway audiobooks are always easier.
bianca_howard's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
meghar's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anjuliyoung's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me forever to get through but only because I wanted to take my time and enjoy it. The whole story I felt like I was there. So good.
ltobin's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a love story. This is a story of when two outcasts in a small town come together and share their broken lives.
Georgie is with Jim Buckridge, someone who is revered in the small fishing town of White Point. His sons show her contempt but she feels they love her deep down but cant show it.
Luther Fox, destroyed by a horrific accident that took his whole family has been living by stealing fish since. A xenophobic neighbour mutilates his dog and runs him out of town once he finds out about him and Georgie.
The characters in this book are very compelling. We become frustrated with Georgie. She has lived her life with little care and has always strived for her Mother to approve of her yet she never has. She is reckless but is also marked with cynicism. Her life in White Point is boring and she has no interest in mingling with any of her neighbours because of the knowledge that she will never be accepted.
Fox on the other hand is damaged goods. He lives with his dog, and makes a living stealing from the fishermen he reviles. His family is known for bad luck in the town from long ago.
He realises when he is deep in the outback that he has been grieving for people who didn't treat him very well, he is comfortable with this assessment but still feels grief. He always knew his brother and his wife weren't the nicest of people, but feels indebted to them still for the music.
As with most Tim Winton books, the language really makes the book great. The descriptions particularly of Coronation Island are fantastic. Since Winton is a resident of WA, you know he has been in places similar to this, and you can almost picture Coronation Island being in the Kimberleys somewhere.
Georgie is with Jim Buckridge, someone who is revered in the small fishing town of White Point. His sons show her contempt but she feels they love her deep down but cant show it.
Luther Fox, destroyed by a horrific accident that took his whole family has been living by stealing fish since. A xenophobic neighbour mutilates his dog and runs him out of town once he finds out about him and Georgie.
The characters in this book are very compelling. We become frustrated with Georgie. She has lived her life with little care and has always strived for her Mother to approve of her yet she never has. She is reckless but is also marked with cynicism. Her life in White Point is boring and she has no interest in mingling with any of her neighbours because of the knowledge that she will never be accepted.
Fox on the other hand is damaged goods. He lives with his dog, and makes a living stealing from the fishermen he reviles. His family is known for bad luck in the town from long ago.
He realises when he is deep in the outback that he has been grieving for people who didn't treat him very well, he is comfortable with this assessment but still feels grief. He always knew his brother and his wife weren't the nicest of people, but feels indebted to them still for the music.
As with most Tim Winton books, the language really makes the book great. The descriptions particularly of Coronation Island are fantastic. Since Winton is a resident of WA, you know he has been in places similar to this, and you can almost picture Coronation Island being in the Kimberleys somewhere.
cedickie's review against another edition
4.0
Would have given it 5 stars if it hadn't been for those last 3 pages!
emilyfrizz's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - Tim Winton just has this way of writing that is beautifully vivid and real. This book looked at grief and disconnection while telling the story of social outcasts. It falls a bit short for me is the plotlines - many characters didn't get much follow-through with their character arcs. I suppose in a way, that could add to the book's realism, but it does slow the pace at some points. Tim Winton still remains deserving of all his praise, simply of the beauty and mastery of his prose.
antjerook's review
3.0
This could have been a really good book! All the ingredients are there: 3 (could have been) interesting main characters, beautiful, interesting location, strong sense of place, a little bit of trauma, development, relationship etc. Oh, great writing, languagewise. The author is obviously a man, for me it makes the describtion of Georgie, the main character clear. Her motives, her actions and behavior, her decisions are all very weird for me. Exactly how I think a man would imagine a women. Jim I find very bland and boring. Luther is interesting, a lovable character, with some depth and the only person I liked. Then there are a few characters, who don't have a great relevance , I wonder why they are mentioned. Jim's sons for example, their presense doesn't lead to anything. The extraordinary thing about this book is the describtion of the place, the landscape, you feel like you are there, when you read it. This is obviously the authors strengh. Love... I heard people say this is a love story...I couldn't detect any love! Sure there was sex, dependency, attraction, taking the easy options...but if that is love, I don't know love!