Shallows: Library Edition

Rating:
Summary: It lost me
Review: I gave this book 2 stars because I loved his other book _Cloudstreet_ and find the author to be amazingly talented.

Unfortunately, I could not get past page 82 in this slow, ponderous story. I gave it multiple efforts but found myself lacking any interest in these characters or their gripes. I initially felt an alignment with Queenie and backed her spontaneous efforts to protest the slaughtering of whales which is the only thriving buisness in the town she lives in. Her actions angered most of the individuals of the town and her newly wed husband, Cleveland. Cleveland is a low-aspiring fellow, not originally from the small whaling town, Angelus. He is pre-occupied by scrapbooks and reading the diaries of the town's expired elder Nathaniel Coupar who is Queenie's great grandfather. Meanwhile, her father, Daniel is a miserably depressed grump who has issues with everyone in town but can't express himself. Then we have another despicably repulsive realtor, Des Pustling, whom I thought could disgust me enough to dredge up some kind of interest to keep me turning the pages. Other bits of folk weave irritatingly in and out, but not enough to hold fast the effort.
I hate to give up on a book, and can not even remember the last time I did, so I kept hoping the story would pick up and grab me, but it just was so much work to stay interested.
There are too many characters to keep track of, and the timeline flips back and forth which was very distracting.

Meanwhile, I am moving on to _Dirt Music_ and _the Riders_; also by Tim Winton with higher expectations.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic of Australian Literature
Review: Readers who are familiar with Tim Winton's work probably know him from Cloudstreet and The Riders, his two most successful adult novels (he also writes children's books). The Riders was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1994.

Shallows is one of Winton's first novels, published back in 1984. It won the prestigious Miles Franklin Award in Australia. If you have read Winton before, you will love this book. If you are new to Winton, you will soon be seeking out his other works.

The action of the novel takes place in the small Western Australian whaling town of Angelus. Most of the action takes place in 1978, though the novel covers events from 1831, when the town was founded, right up until 1978. The novel centers on the whales which have been hunted in the area for close to 150 years and are close to extinction. A group of international activists arrive in the town, intent on closing down the whaling operations. The activists draw a lot of media attention to Angelus, and a lot of heat from the locals, who are as protective of their jobs and lifestyles as the greenies are of the whales.

A number of local characters find themselves embroiled in these events. Daniel Coupar is the grandson of one of the Nantucket-born whalers, Nathaniel, who founded the town. Daniel, widowed and nearing death, is trying to make sense of his life. His granddaughter, Queenie, has married a no-hoper, Cleve Cookson, who is fascinated by the story of Nathaniel Coupar and devotes many hours to reading his journals about life as a whaler. Queenie often dreams about whales, and finds herself drawn in to the green crowd, much to the chagrin of her husband, grandfather, and most of the townsfolk. She becomes instrumental in the crusade to stop whaling, pitting herself against her community, her husband, and 150 years of family tradition.

While the novel raises many questions about whaling and activism, it raises just as many about ancestry, family responsibility, destiny, and social responsibility.

Winton's prose is, as always, stunning. He has a remarkable talent for conjuring up jaw-dropping prose without getting complicated. He has a wonderful knack for dialogue, especially the Australian vernacular. Non-Australians may struggle with some of the unfamiliar language, while Australians will chuckle with recognition. Winton tells his story from many points of view, creating a complete and balanced tale. While the underlying message might be pro-environmentalist, the whalers and the real estate moguls get their say too. Shallows is a beautiful, rewarding novel, well-worth seeking out.