Cloudstreet : A Novel

Hailed as a classic, Tim Winton's masterful family saga is both a paean to working-class Australians and an unflinching examination of the human heart's capacity for sorrow, joy, and endless gradations in between"A fragmented, hilarious, crude, mystical soap opera. In a rich Australian idiom, Winton lets his characters rip against an evocation of Perth so intense you can smell it." - The Sunday Telegraph Struggling to rebuild their lives after being touched by disaster, the Pickle family, who've inherited a big house called Cloudstreet in a suburb of Perth, take in the God-fearing Lambs as tenants. The Lambs have suffered their own catastrophes, and determined to survive, they open up a grocery on the ground floor. From 1944 to 1964, the shared experiences of the two overpopulated clans - running the gamut from drunkenness, adultery, and death to resurrection, marriage, and birth - bond them to each other and to the bustling, haunted house in ways no one could have anticipated."In this fresh, funny novel, full of wonder and dreams, Tim Winton weaves the threads of lifetimes, of twenty years of shouting and fighting, laughing and grafting, into a story about acceptance and belonging. Imagine Neighbours being taken over by the writing team of John Steinbeck and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and you'll be close to the heart of Winton's impressive tale." - Time Out“Cloudstreet gets you inside the very skin of postwar working-class Australians the way Joyce makes you feel like a turn-of-the-century Dubliner.” - Elizabeth Ward, The Washington PostWinner of the Miles Franklin Award and recognized as one of the greatest works of Australian literature, Cloudstreet is Tim Winton's sprawling, comic epic about luck and love, fortitude and forgiveness, and the magic of the everyday. Winner of the Miles Franklin Award and recognised as one of the greatest works of Australian literature, Cloudstreet is Tim Winton's sprawling, comic epic about luck and love, fortitude and forgiveness, and the magic of the everyday. After two separate catastrophes, two very different families leave the country for the bright lights of Perth. The Lambs are industrious, united and – until God seems to turn his back on their boy Fish – religious. The Pickleses are gamblers, boozers, fractious, and unlikely landlords. Chance, hardship and the war force them to swallow their dignity and share a great, breathing, shuddering joint called Cloudstreet. Over the next twenty years they struggle and strive, laugh and curse, come apart and pull together under the same roof, and try as they can to make their lives. 'This is that rare book, a novel of both heart and intellect. It pulses with a sense of wonder and shines with the clear light of truth.' Robert Drewe 'One of the great masterpieces of world fiction.' Philip Hensher 'If you have not read Cloudstreet , your life is diminished . . . if you have not met these characters, this generous community, these tragedies, the humour. It is so wonderful.' Mem Fox ' Cloudstreet is a comic, poignant and intelligent tour de force.' Jim Crace 'A groundbreaking Australian narrative [with an] irresistible combination of the domestic and the mythic.' Thomas Keneally 'Reading Cloudstreet for the first time was like a summer dream from which I wished never to wake.' Gillian Mears ' Cloudstreet is the sole epic of contemporary Australian literature: in it, Winton paints on the same canvas as Xavier Herbert and Patrick White.' Geordie Williamson 'A writer of tremendous zest, warmth and humour.' Graham Swift 'Reading Cloudstreet is like catching a wave.' Kate Jennings 'Eccentric heights and unrepeatable genius.' Malcolm Knox “Cloudstreet gets you inside the very skin of postwar working-class Australians the way Joyce makes you feel like a turn-of-the-century Dubliner.” —Elizabeth Ward, The Washington PostAfter two separate catastrophes, two very different families leave the country for the bright lights of Perth. The Lambs are industrious, united, and—until God seems to turn His back on their boy Fish—religious. The Pickleses are gamblers, boozers, fractious, and unlikely landlords.Change, hardship, and the war force them to swallow their dignity and share a great, breathing, shuddering house called Cloudstreet. Over the next twenty years, they struggle and strive, laugh and curse, come apart and pull together under the same roof, and try as they can to make their lives.Winner of the Miles Franklin Award and recognized as one of the greatest works of Australian literature, Cloudstreet is Tim Winton's sprawling, comic epic about luck and love, fortitude and forgiveness, and the magic of the everyday.“Winton is a one-man band of genius.” —Carolyn See, Los Angeles Times“Nothing short of magnificent... A wonderful read.” —Andrew Yule, Time Out (New York)“[A] marvelous postmodern novel of family life... One of those rare novels that warm the heart, as well as spark the imagination.” —Kirkus Reviews From award-winning author Tim Winton comes an epic novel that regularly tops the list of best-loved novels in Australia. After two separate catastrophes, two very different families leave the country for the bright lights of Perth. The Lambs are industrious, united, and'until God seems to turn His back on their boy Fish'religious. The Pickleses are gamblers, boozers, fractious, and unlikely landlords. Change, hardship, and the war force them to swallow their dignity and share a great, breathing, shuddering house called Cloudstreet. Over the next twenty years, they struggle and strive, laugh and curse, come apart and pull together under the same roof, and try as they can to make their lives. Winner of the Miles Franklin Award and recognized as one of the greatest works of Australian literature, Cloudstreet is Tim Winton's sprawling, comic epic about luck and love, fortitude and forgiveness, and the magic of the everyday Hailed as a classic, Tim Winton's masterful family saga is both a paean to working-class Australians and an unflinching examination of the human heart's capacity for sorrow, joy, and endless gradations in between. An award-winning work, Cloudstreet exemplifies the brilliant ability of fiction to captivate and inspire.

Struggling to rebuild their lives after being touched by disaster, the Pickle family, who've inherited a big house called Cloudstreet in a suburb of Perth, take in the God-fearing Lambs as tenants. The Lambs have suffered their own catastrophes, and determined to survive, they open up a grocery on the ground floor. From 1944 to 1964, the shared experiences of the two overpopulated clans — running the gamut from drunkenness, adultery, and death to resurrection, marriage, and birth — bond them to each other and to the bustling, haunted house in ways no one could have anticipated.

"After two separate catastrophes, two very different families leave the country for the bright lights of Perth. The Lambs are industrious, united, and--until God seems to turn His back on their boy Fish--religious. The Pickleses are gamblers, boozers, fractious, and unlikely landlords. Change, hardship, and the war force them to swallow their dignity and share a great, breathing, shuddering house called Cloudstreet. Over the next twenty years, they struggle and strive, laugh and curse, come apart and pull together under the same roof, and try as they can to make their lives. Winner of the Miles Franklin Award and recognized as one of the greatest works of Australian literature, Cloudstreet is Tim Winton's sprawling, comic epic about luck and love, fortitude and forgiveness, and the magic of the everyday"-- Provided by publisher Winton's funny, sprawling sage is an epic novel of love and acceptance. It is a celebration of people, places and rhythms of life that has become one of Australia's favourite novels