Books 2014 - That Eye, the Sky by Tim Winton

[byslantedlight]

At twelve years old, Morton - Ort for short - is not quite a child, but not yet an adult;his isolated outback world is an intriguing combination of boyish innocence, adolescent confusion and burgeoning awareness. When his father is seriously injured in a car crash, however, that world is suddenly thrown into complete disarray and the whole family have to adjust. As Ort, his sister, mother and grandmother are struggling to come to terms with what has happened, a stranger appears in their midst. Preaching God's word, Henry Warburton's unexpected arrival seems eerily prescient, at a time when the family most needs a helping hand, and Henry quickly makes himself indispensible. In fact, for Ort in particular, it is Henry's presence, perhaps more even than his father's accident, that brings the greatest change to his world.

I bought this when I went to hear Tim Winton in Ely a few weeks ago, because it was described as his "supernatural" book. I'm not sure it's any more supernatural than alot of his other stories, and I suppose the point is the way you describe "supernatural" to start with - but like most of his stories it's a mixture of the beautiful and the real, grubby parts of life, and I always like seeing how other people deal with that... not my favourite of his books, but it's very Winton, and that's never a bad thing, if you ask me. *g*