Past the Shallows
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
Shortlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award, PAST THE SHALLOWS is a powerful and hauntingly beautiful novel from an extraordinary new Australian writer who is compared with Cormac McCarthy and Tim Winton.
'If you read only one book this year, make sure it's this' Sunday Times
'I loved Past the Shallows' Kevin Powers, author of The Yellow Birds
Everyone loves Harry. Except his father.
Joe, Miles and Harry are growing up on the remote south coast of Tasmania. The brothers' lives are shaped by their father's moods - like the ocean he fishes, he is wild and unpredictable. He is a bitter man, with a devastating secret.
Miles does his best to watch out for Harry, the youngest, but he can't be there all the time. Often alone, Harry finds joy in the small treasures he discovers, in shark eggs and cuttlefish bones. In a kelpie pup, a mug of hot chocolate, and a secret friendship with a mysterious neighbour.
But sometimes small treasures, or a brother's love are not enough.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian newcomer Parrett's remarkable debut examines the bleak life of a broken family in Tasmania, in spare, unflinching prose. Traumatized by their mother's tragic and early death, three brothers struggle as their father tries to eke out a living from the sea. The focus is on Harry, the youngest brother, a guileless boy of seven who fears the water but loves to collect the flotsam and jetsam on the beach. Miles, the middle son, is envious of his older brother Joe's independence and burdened by his difficult father's need for help fishing, as well as by the responsibility of taking care of Harry. But even during the dark times when the father and his business partner are abusive to the boys, there are bright moments: Harry finds solace in a dog belonging to a strange but kind local outcast. Miles finds release in the exhilaration of surfboarding. And despite the desolate surroundings and depressing circumstances, a better life is within reach for these boys.
