The Shepherd's Hut
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Jaxie dreads going home. His mum’s dead. The old man bashes him without mercy, and he wishes he was an orphan. But no one’s ever told Jaxie Clackton to be careful what he wishes for.
In one terrible moment his life is stripped to little more than what he can carry and how he can keep himself alive. There’s just one person left in the world who understands him and what he still dares to hope for. But to reach her he’ll have to cross the vast saltlands on a trek that only a dreamer or a fugitive would attempt.
The Shepherd’s Hut is a searing look at what it takes to keep love and hope alive in a parched and brutal world.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
One of Australia’s most treasured authors serves up a bruising exploration of loss, survival and masculinity, navigating internal and external landscapes with unrivalled authority. After a calamitous accident, teenager Jaxie Clackton flees his violent upbringing and small-town home to head across the huge expanse of the West Australian desert in search of hope and love. But Jaxie’s trek is stalled when he encounters a strange fellow exiled in the middle of nowhere. Tim Winton again shows his mastery over language and terrain: the harsh setting is rendered in muscular, poetic prose, and his young hero's voice crackles with vernacular.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The latest from Winton (Breath) is a mournful and fast-paced journey into the life of a young man on his own. Left by himself after the death of his violent, hateful father, teenager Jaxie Clackton sets out deep into the empty saltlands of Western Australia, searching for peace and solitude. As he heads slowly north, intending to return to the only person who's ever loved him, he hunts kangaroo and stays away from the highways, carrying little but his rifle, water bottle, and binoculars. But soon Jaxie meets exiled Irish Catholic priest Fintan MacGillis. He must decide if he can trust MacGillis's offer of rest and help and then whether he will continue on to his original destination. The two fall into a rhythm, and possibly a friendship, until they discover something dangerous in the desert that threatens their safety. Winton's novel is alive with pain and suffering, but it is also full of moments of grace and small acts of kindness. Gorgeously written and taut with eloquent, edgy suspense, Jaxie's journey is a portrait of young manhood amidst extreme conditions, both inward and outward.
