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35th out of 238 books
—
286 voters
That Eye, the Sky
by
Tim Winton
A tale about a boy's vision of the world beyond, and the blurry distinctions between the natural and supernatural
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 cr...more
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 cr...more
Paperback, 156 pages
Published
October 2nd 2009
by Pan MacMillan
(first published March 1st 1987)
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May 15, 2011
Jay F
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literature-english-language
“That Eye, the Sky” is one of Winton’s earlier novels, written in 1986—the third of his currently 9 novels for adults and published before “Cloudstreet”. It has also been made into a movie.
The narrator is a 12 year old boy (Morton Flack, Ort for short) on the verge of adolescence who sees and understands the world and his family through maturing eyes. Much that surrounds Ort is either broken or damaged—as are most of Winton’s characters in his other novels. But the supernatural also inhabits Ort...more
The narrator is a 12 year old boy (Morton Flack, Ort for short) on the verge of adolescence who sees and understands the world and his family through maturing eyes. Much that surrounds Ort is either broken or damaged—as are most of Winton’s characters in his other novels. But the supernatural also inhabits Ort...more
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Another Tim Winton novel that leaves you wondering...though that is what he is particularly good at. At least it makes for interesting discussions with my fellow Tim Winton reader friends.
An interesting group of characters, Ort is a quirky boy who sees the world though cracks in doors, and other odd ways, but has a genuine big heart for his family. His mum, Alice, is great - a left over flower-child who is a bit hopeless, but is living her ideal. And Tegwyn, Ort's sister, breathing slaughter at...more
An interesting group of characters, Ort is a quirky boy who sees the world though cracks in doors, and other odd ways, but has a genuine big heart for his family. His mum, Alice, is great - a left over flower-child who is a bit hopeless, but is living her ideal. And Tegwyn, Ort's sister, breathing slaughter at...more
I imagine that this is life viewed through the eyes of a 10-12year old boy. He is caught between the innocence of childhood and the harsh reality of assuming the full responsibility of "man of the house". He loves unconditionally, hopes optimistically for better times and stands fast waiting for his father to come home healed, to recommence his fatherly duties where he left off.
I loved Tim Winton's unashamed honest efforts to bestow functionality on a tragic family situation. His main character...more
I loved Tim Winton's unashamed honest efforts to bestow functionality on a tragic family situation. His main character...more
I watched Cloustreet and really enjoyed it! The several layers to the characters and the development of each person too. So I thought I would try a book by the author, well it dragged for me. I had to work at picking the book up and reading it, even though I knew no body was going to make a major breakthrough in charachter development I just couldn't endure reading through the boring lives of nothingness. In dreary dry Australia down and under, i got as depressed as them, rather than appreciate...more
To me, That Eye, the Sky felt like a mini australian version of the grapes of wrath. i.e. hard up family, a preacher hanging off the family - a lot to do with hopes and dreams - not really going anywhere.
This book had some good use of australian slang which is not uncommon in Tim's writing. I feel Cloudstreet was a continuation (published later) of this book (I should expand on this).
I would have rated this book higher, however I thought it focused too much on the serious - which bored me to sle...more
This book had some good use of australian slang which is not uncommon in Tim's writing. I feel Cloudstreet was a continuation (published later) of this book (I should expand on this).
I would have rated this book higher, however I thought it focused too much on the serious - which bored me to sle...more
I have just finished reading this and feel that I might have to re-read it at some point, purely because I have come away wondering about the sanity of both Ort & his mother; were they not in fact a little bit on the slow side, I wonder.
Forget all the religion in this book for a moment, even though it seems to be a prolific factor to the story, does anyone else think that perhaps there is more to my theory than first thought?
I love the Aussie language - I understand it completely; it's a rea...more
Forget all the religion in this book for a moment, even though it seems to be a prolific factor to the story, does anyone else think that perhaps there is more to my theory than first thought?
I love the Aussie language - I understand it completely; it's a rea...more
I would recommend that eye, the sky to fiction readers, but a lot of people will probably go away from it unsatisfied. There is a LOT to this story for which the author leaves no explanation and this may frustrate some people. Me, I love quirky writing and I know that I'll be mulling this book over in my head for a while now that I've finished it. For anyone who hasn't read a Tim Winton novel, I wouldn't suggest you start with this one -- try The Riders or Dirt Music (I haven't read anything els...more
I had to read this book for my English class. It was my first Tim Winton book that I've read, so I was pretty excited to get started. However, this book wasn't for me. I found the dialogue to be quite dull and the religious experience was a bit too tacky for my liking (Henry's story).
One thing I was quite pleased with was the development of the main character, Ort. Adolescence is something that each of us go through and I think that Winton captured the good, bad, and embarrassing moments perfec...more
One thing I was quite pleased with was the development of the main character, Ort. Adolescence is something that each of us go through and I think that Winton captured the good, bad, and embarrassing moments perfec...more
I had to study That Eye, the Sky for English class, and I can honestly say that I truly disliked it. Overall, it was a rather depressing story and even the attempts at humour couldn't lift the mood. Some of the themes include self-mutilation, family dysfunction and strong religious themes. It was definitely not an enjoyable book to read and i felt relief, rather than satisfaction, when I'd finished it.
Hmmm... I wasn't sure what this book was on about. It started out ok, then I got tired of hearing about all the religious dogma (even if it was put in other words), then it kind of showed the hypocrisy of of it all, and ended with well, I won't say, as I don't want to add a spoiler. It was depressing verging on uplifting verging on well, that's just life. So, there you have it.
This was my favourite Tim Winton book, even though it never really seemed to win the popularity of some of his other titles. It's told from the perspective of a little boy, and it melted my heart. It ended with a miracle - always a risky way to finish a novel, but it really worked. Another tear jerker.
For some reason That Eye... reminds me of Beckett's waiting for Godot. Not that this is a bad thing, just that each page has a sense of something about to happen, but it never quite does! I particularly enjoyed the sustained narrative perspective of Ort, the young boy. Great read.
Tim Winton really captures the spirit well in his novel (not that I personally have ever experienced such a life as Ort). I found it easy to read, and hard to put down, although at some points it seemed to be going nowhere, just in a small circle.
I really loved how the story progressed, starting off somewhat nice and happy, and by the end degenerating into a complete mess, and the tone which kept pace with all of that.
I really loved how the story progressed, starting off somewhat nice and happy, and by the end degenerating into a complete mess, and the tone which kept pace with all of that.
Once again a book about broken lifes but also about the ability to enjoy simple things like swimming in a creek, walking in the woods. I love the character of Ort. He has troubles understanding what happens around him and has his own simple explanation for things (his observations in the Catholic Church made me smile). He may be a bit simple and slow but he has a big heart with lots of space for his mum, his father and grandmother. And maybe for his sister as well although he doesn't understand...more
Well, let's just say thus was actually a great book. I've read some of tim Wintons stuff before, specifically breath, and I think they're gret stories, but you just have to look past hiw bad they are, if that makes any sense.
Aug 01, 2010
Kate (Nomalicious Reads)
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
own
This was my first book for university that I had to read and it was pretty interesting and wasn't putting me to sleep the slang was hilarious and a bit annoying but seriously... the ending???????????????
That is all.
That is all.
Sep 23, 2012
Hannah
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People interested in contemporary Australian culture
Shelves:
novels
I do not really remember anything about this book - neither good nor bad. I should probably read it again but for now I will give it two stars.
Life from a child's perspective. I felt this shorter story could have easily have become another winton epic piece. I left me wanting more.
this is some crazy shit. small town living and all its spasmodic glory. simple but genius.
Really enjoyed this book. Lovely to read and written gently, though the subject matter is harsh. Highly recommend this one for others that enjoy Winton's style.
Great, quick read but ending a little disappointing and disturbing.
A coming of age story with some subtle shocks. Classic Winton.
I guess it's okay. The ending was better than the beginning. You really need to get used to the writing of the book, the way the main character(Ort, AKA Morton) sees things.
UHRL, audio book
Made no entry for this story.
Made no entry for this story.
I probably would have given this book 3 stars if it weren't for that horrible ending
1 like · like · see review
Jan 03, 2008
Ferrisfancher ha ha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
you! sucka!
Recommended to Ferrisfancher by:
sandy via the book store lady
Sort of a tough nut to crack but I'll go ahead and "go there". A Piognant story of a young crazy boy who's too poor to know nuthin' and makes you want to cry with his simple mind and great big heart. But a little bit boring at times. Only due to the subject matter and you know, australia not having much going on outside the city. Well worth the read. why did i say boring, scrap that. i'm just too high maintenance i guess.
this book was a little more wack than Winton's usual fare. I got to the end and thought, "woah. I need to reread this book." so it sits on my bedside table, waiting for me to reread it.
In the beginning I thought that it was the worst book that I've read. But once I got over half way and learnt to look past the bad grammar, you start to see the underlying message. But in saying this I don't think I will ever read it again.
How good is your grasp of Australian slang? That is the only factor that could impede your enjoyment of this seemingly simple but surprisingly potent novel.
Vividly alive. Curious. Confused. Questioning. Life? Death? Faith? (Good. But found the end confusing. Or not something I'm willing to be involved in.)
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Need clarification on the ending of this book? | 1 | 7 | Oct 09, 2011 03:27am | |
| this book. | 1 | 15 | Oct 16, 2009 03:30am |
Tim Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, but moved at a young age to the small country town of Albany.
Curtin University of Technology, Winton wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer. It went on to win The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1981, and launched his writing career. In fact, he wrote "the best part of three books while at university". His second book, Shallows, won the Miles Fra...more
More about Tim Winton...
Curtin University of Technology, Winton wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer. It went on to win The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1981, and launched his writing career. In fact, he wrote "the best part of three books while at university". His second book, Shallows, won the Miles Fra...more
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