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Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

1 review

timmytunter's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Reading "Cloudstreet" was something of a transcendental experience. Packed with familiar Australian elements, it felt like a comfortable world to enter into. Yet, with its off-piste mystical elements, this familiar world is elevated to that of myth or legend. The real strength of the novel lies in the characters Tim Winton has created. The narrative focuses on two families, the Pickles and the Lambs, largely concentrating on the four parents, the eldest Pickles daughter, Rose, and two of the Lamb boys, Fish and Quick. We don’t get a lot of detail about their other siblings. Through these seven protagonists, we are given a broad range of perspectives and experiences to draw on, all bound by their context of post-WWII Australia—a time of lingering racial division, male breadwinners, and post-Depression poverty.

The story feels almost parabolic, especially when you reach the end and realise that
the entire narrative has been recounted by Fish in his final seconds of life as he throws himself into the sea
.

While it could be argued that not much happens throughout the twenty-odd years expounded upon in the story, I contend that a lot occurs between the cracks—in the relationships between characters, with the anthropomorphic house on Cloud Street, and between the physical and spiritual realms. In these cracks, Winton explores a host of topics: love, luck, self-determination, the constancy of the human experience, ingrained racist tendencies, systemic racial discrimination, and class and gender issues. One particularly poignant moment comes when Rose declares to Quick,
her husband
, 
If it means being alone, I don’t want [independence]… I want to live, I want to be with people, Quick. I want to battle it out… I don’t want our new house. I want the life I have. Don’t be disappointed. 
And I love Quick’s reply:
Disappointed? Love, I'm putrid with ... with happiness. I've been wantin to tell you for months.
This sentiment captures one of the major themes of the novel, where independence is weighed against the deep, complex bonds of family and community.

Tim Winton's prose stands out for its stunning imagery, rooted in his masterful use of metaphors and idioms. He has a knack for combining words to create unique compound terms like halfdark, rainstarved, sweetmouthed, sunbrown, carpetbacked, and of course Cloudstreet. I was so captivated by his inventive language that I started listing all of Winton’s novel compound words as I came across them, and they totaled over fifty. However, Winton's departure from conventional punctuation, particularly his omission of quotation marks, posed a challenge for me. This stylistic choice, rather than adding to the text, often distracted from the narrative. That said, when listening to the audiobook superbly read by Peter Hosking, this issue dissipated. Hosking’s use of different voices for each character was expertly done, such that I still hear these voices when I reflect on each character.

"Cloudstreet" is a richly textured novel filled with vivid imagery, complex characters, and deep thematic resonance which makes it a memorable and rewarding read. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a uniquely Australian literary experience.
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