Fiction Books:

Breath

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"A breathtaking masterpiece."
5 stars"

An outstanding novel from this Australian author. The story is a compelling look at surfing and the fine line between teenage bravado and desperate recklessness; how far two boys go to escape the loneliness and isolation of small-town life, and how the two evils of boredom and hero worship can lead to dangerous ends. The addiction to adrenaline even pervades sex and eroticism, providing the link between the present-day and retrospective narratives of paramedic Bruce Pike and his younger self.

The writing is masterful, albeit bleak – it's not for the faint of heart. The characters are authentic and engaging, and at times the listlessness and angst of the protagonist Bruce border on overpowering. Water and landscape are revered and moody, threatening and intoxicating. Thankfully, some humour worms its way in, and the moments of bliss are enough to ease the tension.

Finishing the book is a relief in the most physical sense; it's one of the few books I have found to be as exhausting as it is rewarding. Truly a must-read.

Description

When paramedic Bruce Pike arrives too late to save a boy found hanged in his bedroom he senses immediately that this lonely death is an accident. Pike knows the difference between suicide and misadventure. He understands only too well the forces that can propel a kid toward oblivion. Not just because he's an ambulanceman but because of the life he's lived, the boy he once was, addicted to extremes, flirting with death, pushing every boundary in the struggle to be extraordinary, barely knowing where or how to stop. So begins a story about the damage you do to yourself when you're young and think you're immortal. In his first novel for seven years, Tim Winton has achieved a new level of mastery. Breath confirms him as one of the world's finest storytellers, whose work is both accessible and profound, relentlessly gripping and deeply moving.

Accolades

Shortlisted for Commonwealth Writer's Prize: Best Book, South East Asia and the Pacific region

Review

"Sun, surf and the '70s Down Under provide the backdrop for the story of a boy's awakening through rough sex.Paramedic Bruce Pike and his partner answer a medical emergency call at a suburban home. In a bedroom crowded with rock-star and hot-chick posters, Bruce finds the body of a 17-year-old boy who appears to have committed suicide. But Bruce, a middle-aged dad, knows better, and the narrative turns back to his adolescence to explain how he knows. Australian author Winton (The Turning: Stories, 2005, etc.) offers a tight narrative notable for its empathetic characters and effectively spare use of shock. Growing up in the tiny outback town of Sawyer, Bruce is besotted with swimming. His quiet, orderly parents don't dig his friendship with surf-and-diving whiz Loonie, a daredevil one year older than Bruce. Even less do they cotton to Sando, the hippie surf-stallion who becomes the boys' guru and guide to All Things Wild. Discovering that Sando had been a star of sorts at the sport of hanging ten, they worship him even more as he takes them farther out to higher and higher waves. Equally compelling, in a more fearsome way, is Sando's squeeze, blonde, scornful, tight-bodied Eva. She was once famous, too, the boys find out, a Snow Goddess skiing champ. As Loonie and Sando dangerously bond, Bruce falls for aloof Eva. Her tour of the mysteries of love includes introducing him to her dangerous fixation on auto-asphyxiation for maximum erotic kicks. So when paramedic Bruce examines the body of the 17-year-old suspected of killing himself, he blames thrill-gone-wrong sex. Bruce has been there, done that and emerged wiser, world-weary and chastened. Period details like Eva's Captain Beefheart and Ravi Shankar records add verisimilitude, and Winton handles youthful angst like a hipper John Knowles.Lyricism empowers this stoner rite-of-passage saga, which also conveys a timeless pathos." (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Biography:

Tim Winton has published twenty-six books for adults and children, and his work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows,Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). He lives in Western Australia. Find out more on Facebook
Release date NZ
April 29th, 2009
Author
Collection
Audience
  • General (US: Trade)
Pages
288
Dimensions
132x199x20
ISBN-13
9780143009580
Product ID
2755637

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