I've always been a bit exhausted by Winton. Not sure why - I read "That Eye, the Sky" and have also taught it and I am not really a fan of that one. So I guess I've always approached his novels with a bit of negativity.
Well, this one actually surprised me. My students were performing the play as a year 12 production earlier this year so I thought I'd better sound knowledgeable about the text and get it crossed off my list. I was actually pleasantly surprised.
The novel focuses on two families who move into an old house in Perth in the last months of WW2. It's a epic saga in a very Australian setting and there are a huge amount of characters to keep track of. Many of them aren't particularly likable but I was entertained and the pace isn't too bad. It's pretty long though and I was pretty glad to be over with it by the time I put it down though - I'd say a 5/10. I'm surprised it made it so high on this list actually! Not sure what caused that - maybe people wanted something Australian to vote for and this sprung to mind? It's a bit of a standard school text in the Eastern states apparently.
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