A review by bethreadsandnaps
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
4.0
This one has been on my "to be read" shelf for years. In the next few months, I'm trying to clear out the ones that have been languishing around for years and make a concerted effort to actually read them.
Sam, his wife Dolly and their 3 children are down on their luck, as Sam has lost fingers in an accident. He's prone to gamble away his paycheck anyway, and his wife isn't much better with her penchant for drinking and smoking. A wise uncle left a home to the family when he died with the condition that it can't be sold (or gambled away) for 20 years. They actually use their noggin and decide to rent half the house to the Lamb family.
The Lamb family, headed by Lester and Oriel, are hard-working, religious, and maybe a bit quirky. They have 6 children, one of which nicknamed Fish who has brain damage after an accident.
The house brings these disparate families together as they learn to cohabitate over the course of 20 years.
I watched the miniseries before I read the novel, and it does feel like the novel is a bit choppier than the miniseries. Particularly toward the end of the novel, there are very short chapters, and it's more difficult to get into.
Sam, his wife Dolly and their 3 children are down on their luck, as Sam has lost fingers in an accident. He's prone to gamble away his paycheck anyway, and his wife isn't much better with her penchant for drinking and smoking. A wise uncle left a home to the family when he died with the condition that it can't be sold (or gambled away) for 20 years. They actually use their noggin and decide to rent half the house to the Lamb family.
The Lamb family, headed by Lester and Oriel, are hard-working, religious, and maybe a bit quirky. They have 6 children, one of which nicknamed Fish who has brain damage after an accident.
The house brings these disparate families together as they learn to cohabitate over the course of 20 years.
I watched the miniseries before I read the novel, and it does feel like the novel is a bit choppier than the miniseries. Particularly toward the end of the novel, there are very short chapters, and it's more difficult to get into.