Cloudstreet

• Book: Cloudstreet
• Location: Perth
• Author: Tim Winton

This wonderfully evocative and engaging book by acclaimed Australian writer Tim Winton is set in Perth just after World War 2, and reflects life in Australia over the next two decades. The events in the novel are framed by many key events in world history, such as the assassination of Kennedy and the Korean War, and much of it takes place during the prime ministership of Robert Menzies, when Australia was for the most part a comfortable and conservative place to live, a time of the growth of the Australian dream. Firmly set in its time and place, Cloudstreet is a portrait of a particular moment in Australian history and is firmly rooted in Perth and its environs.
It’s the story of two very different families who are each touched by tragedy and leave their rural homes to move to Perth to make a new start. The Lambs and the Pickles. What a contrast. The Lambs are God-fearing, hard-working, parsimonious. The Pickles are wastrels, too reliant on luck, and with the father Sam an inveterate gambler and his wife Dolly a drunk. Having inherited a large house with the proviso that it is not to be sold for the next 20 years, the Pickles decide to split it in half and rent out part of it. In move the Lambs and set up a successful shop. Initially resistant to each other, gradually the two families draw closer and closer together, and this sprawling family saga of love and acceptance, of sadness and joy, of finding your own place in the world and learning to make the most of the cards you’ve been dealt, is an absorbing, moving and eminently readable book, and it is no surprise that it has become one of the most renowned works of Australian literature, regularly coming at the top of lists of favourite books.
The characters are exceptionally well drawn and the Winton’s ear for dialogue, with its recreation of colloquial Australian vernacular, the words and phrases, the slang – all typical of the country at that particular place and time – means that each one speaks with a real and unique voice. There are some magic realist elements to the book which I didn’t find so successful, but that’s a minor quibble compared to the overall exuberance of the writing and the way the characters seem to leap off the page. It’s a life-affirming and heart-warming read – and particularly to be recommended for anyone travelling to the area. A great read.

Back to book