Breath is a story about the wildness of youth - the lust for excitement and terror, the determination to be extraordinary, the wounds that heal and those that don't - and about learning to live with its passing.In his first novel for seven years, Tim Winton has achieved a new level of mastery. Breath confirms him as one of the world's finest storytellers, a writer of novels that are at the same time simple and profound, relentlessly gripping and deeply moving.I hate being told I should read a book and I resisted reading this when it was first published last year because of all the hype surrounding its release. Quite frankly this book did not live up to all the press, reviews and hysteria that accompanied the book. I like Australian authors who have distinctive voices and there is no doubt that Winton is a masterful wordsmith but I really disliked most of the main characters in "Breath". I was more intrigued by some of the peripheral characters like Pikelet's father and his friend who drowned, the glamorous prostitute who plies her trade in Loonie's father' pub, Pikelet's first girlfriend. I was left feeling very unsatisfied. It was as though Winton was saving his creation of Sawyer and all its eccentricities for another novel, which I would imagine would be far more interesting than this effort!
Rating - I give this 3/5
Nothing SpecialGet this from the library
Reviewed by Sarah @ Hamilton library
2 comments:
I had wanted to read this book for some time, as this is what a lot of other people were reading. Have to agree with Sarah and was very disappointed with this book. I just couldn't get into it and was waiting for a twist or something exciting to happen. Not something I would bother with again.
After waiting for so long for a new Tim Winton masterpiece, I found this book to be a big disappointment. The phrase "much ado about nothing" comes to mind.
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