Reviews

Wow, being a Yank transplanted to Australia 1.5 years ago I was a bit worried I'd have a hard time getting through some of the 'Aussie'-isms in this book, but even not catching all of them this was an amazing read. I can't wait to delve into Dirt Music which is just screaming at me from my bookshelf, but as I was on holiday when I finished Cloudstreet I ended up having to buy a new book to read...

Reading about the entwining lives of two family sounds like it could be predictable, or a trite epic, but Cloudstreet is neither, not even close. Once the introductions of all main characters are made and the two families have met, it's a wild ride that's so bizarre at times it's got to have roots in reality.

chandranolynne's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I read Dirt Music by Tim Winton a couple years ago and didn’t like it one bit. When I posted my review, a pile of people told me that I should not write off Tim Winton without first reading Cloudstreet. “Go read Cloudstreet!” they said. “It’s wonderful!” they shouted. “Cloudstreet will definitely change your mind about Tim Winton!” they told me time and time again. So now I’ve read Cloudstreet, and guess what?

I just don’t like Tim Winton. I don’t like his characters and I don’t like the stories about them. I do think that he’s a talented writer and that his imagery is superb, but that is not enough to save his books for me. Also, I really can’t stand his reckless abandon for narratives and tenses. It bothered me in Dirt Music and it bothered me here.

I will add, at the very least, that this book was in fact better than Dirt Music. We’re going to go with two stars instead of the one I gave DM because in this end, I was at least glad that I finished this one. I didn’t like it, but I’m not actively upset that I spent my time on it. There were a few laughs woven in there and one or two characters who weren’t completely intolerable and got me just the slightest bit vested in how things ended.

zkaraim's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes

4.25

msjaquiss's review against another edition

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3.0

Wow. I don't know how I feel about this book. I listened to it at a time when I was really distracted by quite a few weighty personal issues so perhaps my state of mind wasn't the right one for this book. But, that being said, I made myself listen to it all the way through and I think it probably was a good book. The ending surprised me in a good way. I would recommend it but with this caveat, the book is unusual and resolves itself in the last chapters. I'm still giving it a three because I had to make myself listen to this story and found it VERY strange until the last few minutes.

astralvirgo25's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

kayla_jade's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

catladylover94's review against another edition

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5.0

really good like the dynamics between the two families, i could picture the characters, and their life styles, i like it

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