Eyrie
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3.6 • 156 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Tom Keely's reputation is in ruins. And that's the upside.
Divorced and unemployed, he's lost faith in everything precious to him. From his seedy highrise flat Keely looks down at a society from which he's retired hurt and angry, well past caring. But he cannot avoid entanglement with the neighbours: a woman from his past, a boy the likes of which he's never met before. Two strangers leading a life beyond his experience and into whose orbit he falls despite himself.
What follows is a ground-breaking novel for our times - funny, confronting, and inhabited by unforgettable characters.
'A superb tale of disillusionment and redemption, loss and beauty, this is Winton in top form . . . [He] has rarely been funnier.' Michael Williams, The Guardian (Australia)
'Outstanding . . . From the opening pages you know you are in the hands of a master.' Stephen Romei, Weekend Australian
'Tim Winton's Doris is a gem . . . The characterisations are a joy.' Canberra Times
'An absurdly good writer . . . This is a fascinating, thought-provoking book.' Publishers Weekly (US)
'Eyrie is breathtaking . . . honest, provocative and brilliant.' William Yeoman, West Australian
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Washed-up radio host Tom has hit his lowest point, but a chance encounter in his apartment building’s lobby just might turn his life around. This bittersweet, beautiful novel showcases Winton’s trademark flair for simple eloquence—and delights readers with unexpected dollops of humour.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tom Keely, the 40-something central figure in Winton's (Breath) beautifully written powerful ninth novel, is in the throes of a midlife crisis: once a well-known environmental activist, now he's a "middle-class casualty," sacked from his job and self-destructing, while the world crumbles around him . The setting is Freemantle, a port city near Perth, Australia ("Freo" in Aussie slang), Keely's hometown. Freo, and Australia as a whole, are case studies in how greed and corruption at the government level, and crime and drug dealing at the community level, can tear the fabric of the a town. Keely finds a measure of salvation in Gemma Buck, a childhood friend now stocking shelves in a supermarket and taking care of her grandson Kai. The preternaturally innocent six-year-old boy brings Keely back from the brink, and the trio form an unlikely (but laudable) family. Winton slowly reveals Keely's backstory, but what intrigues is the main storyline Keely's journey, with Gemma and Kai, through Freo's lower-class underbelly as well as the prose. He's an absurdly good writer, with not only the proverbial eye for detail but also a facility for rendering each detail in an original way. Winton is ambitious; this is a state-of-the-nation novel about a world run amok. Keely is argumentative, but the book as a whole is not. Winton's use of Australian vernacular will be a challenge to many American readers, but it will be a challenge well worth taking: this is a fascinating, thought-provoking book.
Customer Reviews
Excellent
I thought it started a bit slow but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I think at times my head was feeling like Tom's 😃
Hard to read
I've read four other Tim Winton books and enjoyed all of them, but found this very difficult to read. Seems like it's almost trying to be poetry, staccato sentences many of which I can't make sense of. I need a dictionary handy to understand half the words. I'm sure upon careful reading and study this will be cast as some kind of literary masterpiece, but I just can't get into it.
Brilliant and disturbing
A poetic post apocalyptic epic which challenges and disturbs while still shining light on the fundamental human condition and our basic urge to survive. I could not put this down. Winton has written the book he had to write on behalf of all of us who peer into the unknown future of our species. Would make a spectacular movie.