A review by alyssa01
Cloudstreet, by Tim Winton
4.0
Cloudstreet was a real slow burn for me who which I went through highs and lows with. It took me a really long time to start enjoying this book as it is very slow and vague to begin with. Once I became familiar with the characters and writing style though I found myself interested in the lives of these very strange but entertaining families.
The writing was beautiful and complexed to the point that I was sometimes confused by the double meanings hidden within it. I loved the Aussie touches and raw reality of people living the times as I felt the author didn't cower from being honest or harsh. At times this story was so weird and seemed far fetched but also kept me coming back.
I found myself very bored at points in this story especially when the characters were children or something was happening that didn't contribute to the plot. The descriptive and otherworldly sections were well placed but sometimes felt unnecessary. Although I loved the long saga which was this story, I found myself not fully understanding the characters changes as time went by so quickly.
It was really clever how Fish, a boy who was brain damaged, connected with the house on the level which the other members of the families couldn't. The symbolism of the water and luck was also very thoughtful. I liked at the end how the characters grew to love one and depend upon another.
Overall I didn't expect myself to like Cloudstreet as I just read it because it was lent to me but I found myself being caught up the amazing connection of two families over the course of twenty years in the old house at number one cloudstreet.
The writing was beautiful and complexed to the point that I was sometimes confused by the double meanings hidden within it. I loved the Aussie touches and raw reality of people living the times as I felt the author didn't cower from being honest or harsh. At times this story was so weird and seemed far fetched but also kept me coming back.
I found myself very bored at points in this story especially when the characters were children or something was happening that didn't contribute to the plot. The descriptive and otherworldly sections were well placed but sometimes felt unnecessary. Although I loved the long saga which was this story, I found myself not fully understanding the characters changes as time went by so quickly.
It was really clever how Fish, a boy who was brain damaged, connected with the house on the level which the other members of the families couldn't. The symbolism of the water and luck was also very thoughtful. I liked at the end how the characters grew to love one and depend upon another.
Overall I didn't expect myself to like Cloudstreet as I just read it because it was lent to me but I found myself being caught up the amazing connection of two families over the course of twenty years in the old house at number one cloudstreet.