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Cloudstreet

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 5,909 ratings · 549 reviews

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 overp...more

Paperback, 426 pages

Published January 5th 1998 by Penguin Group (Australia) (first published 1991)

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May 21, 2012 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, domestic-and-relationship-fiction, five-star-fiction, just-plain-bizarre, the-land-down-under

If you think your family is strange, you're probably right, but they can't be any weirder than the Pickles and the Lambs. For twenty years the two families occupy the same sprawling, rundown, semi-haunted house in Perth. Through walls and windows they overhear and observe each other's joys, lamentations, and secrets. When Mrs. Lamb moves out of the house and pitches a tent in the yard, then everyone on Cloud Street knows things are not strictly normal in the Pickle/Lamb residence.

For a long tim...more If you think your family is strange, you're probably right, but they can't be any weirder than the Pickles and the Lambs. For twenty years the two families occupy the same sprawling, rundown, semi-haunted house in Perth. Through walls and windows they overhear and observe each other's joys, lamentations, and secrets. When Mrs. Lamb moves out of the house and pitches a tent in the yard, then everyone on Cloud Street knows things are not strictly normal in the Pickle/Lamb residence.

For a long time the two families largely avoid each other and pretend to be minding their own business, but gradually they overcome their suspicions of each other's ways and begin to intermingle their fates. Their combined strengths, weaknesses, and sorrows make for a funky and often raucous existence as they weather wars, weddings, deaths, and poverty from 1944 through 1964.

Upon finishing the book I gave it a mental four stars, with overall bleakness as my excuse for withholding the fifth star. Ten days later, when I sat down to write a review, I decided Winton's character development alone makes it worthy of the highest rating.

The gradual emergence of each character's complete personality is perfect in its naturalness. It's exactly the way you'd get to know people in real life. Just when you think you've got someone all figured out, they exhibit a behavior or share a secret that reconfigures everything you thought you knew.

You're likely to feel compassion and exasperation in equal measures as you follow the changing fortunes of the Pickles and the Lambs. When someone you care about is struggling, you wonder, "Why don't they just (insert your solution)?" But as you learn more about them, you realize they're doing the only thing they know how to do given the losses and limitations they've been handed since birth. Tim Winton allows this truth to unfold so perfectly between the parents and children of the two families. You may not like every one of the Pickles and the Lambs, but they'll never bore you.

I love the way Tim Winton weaves the beauty and power of nature into his novels. It's a source of solace for his characters as well as a source of fear and loss. Those forces seem to be especially fierce in his native Australia, and he uses them to great effect, sneaking in a little of the mystical without quite straying into animism.

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Apr 08, 2012 Ben Winch rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: anglo, australian

It's over 15 years since I read this and I may not read it again in a hurry, but I remember liking it despite Winton's name being mud in my house thanks to an envious writer-father who couldn't understand why he kept getting all the grants. Not even Mum would defend Winton in those days, though she'd come out swinging for Peter Carey, someone I've never been able to stomach. And the truth is until Cloudstreet Tim Winton was probably the sort of writer who, had he suddenly vanished into obscurity...more It's over 15 years since I read this and I may not read it again in a hurry, but I remember liking it despite Winton's name being mud in my house thanks to an envious writer-father who couldn't understand why he kept getting all the grants. Not even Mum would defend Winton in those days, though she'd come out swinging for Peter Carey, someone I've never been able to stomach. And the truth is until Cloudstreet Tim Winton was probably the sort of writer who, had he suddenly vanished into obscurity, could easily have been dismissed as an also-ran. But here's where he grows into himself, where he unbuttons the constricting Hemingway obsession (fairly common among Australian writers in the 80s) and lets it all hang out, and where, once and for all, he eclipses that cold-hearted big-headed ex-advertising man (Carey) and becomes a kind of institution. Sentimental? Decidedly so. Populist? Check. In thrall to a newfound obsession with Garcia Marquez (influence of choice for Australian writers in the 90s)? You bet. Add to this an idealised retro Aussie idiom that is roughly the equivalent of 'aw shucks' to an American and you've got a book that looks pretty hard to defend in synopsis. And to be honest I really can't remember what it is that saves it, except for the overriding physicality and lyrical descriptions of the sea that are Winton's trademarks, and except for the size of the man's heart. Since Cloudstreet Winton has become the type of writer who dives into big books without a life jacket and swims out to the deep water. In Dirt Music he nearly drowned - somewhere around the middle his pulse lessened to near-insignificance, and the ending was laughable, crazy. But even when embarrassing himself so shamelessly he still flew the flag for the type of writing that doesn't know where it's going before it gets there, and which follows the dictates of the heart. Me, I kind of tuned out around then, but I still remember Cloudstreet fondly, and recommend it to anyone interested in Australian fiction. It's not, and never was, 'state of the art', but it's gutsy and real and some kind of an event. It's pop culture, and it ain't going away. I hear The Turning is good too.(less)

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Feb 17, 2011 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Julie by: Brendan

Shelves: australia-new-zealand-south-pacific, best-of-2011, historical-fiction, read-2011

Tim Winton is a most spiritual writer. It's shameful in a world of bloated, overachieving prose that screams to the top of best-selling lists that someone as connected to the forces of nature and the foibles of man should be so little known.

Cloudstreet chronicles the aching, bitter, crude, and sweet fortunes of two Australian families, the Lambs and the Pickles, from 1944-64. Brought together by need, greed, tragedy and a mysterious Other, the families' stories collide and spring away over the...more

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May 11, 2013 Chrissie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australia, kirkus, sample-ok, audio, hf, alt, 2013challenge, relationships

Dysfunctional Families Australian Style.

Those words are the best I can come up with to depict this book. There are two families living in one house on Cloudstreet near Perth, Australia. This house and these families become the center attraction of the entire neighborhood. Both families are of the working class; in fact they are lucky if they even have a job. The time period is 1944-1964, so the end of the war and the hard times that followed determine the setting. Life is hard; it is a struggle...more Dysfunctional Families Australian Style.

Those words are the best I can come up with to depict this book. There are two families living in one house on Cloudstreet near Perth, Australia. This house and these families become the center attraction of the entire neighborhood. Both families are of the working class; in fact they are lucky if they even have a job. The time period is 1944-1964, so the end of the war and the hard times that followed determine the setting. Life is hard; it is a struggle. Booze, gambling, promiscuity, adultery, child abuse, anorexia and children with mental retardation - all play a central role in this novel. It sounds pretty depressing, doesn’t it? Sometimes, too, the language is downright crude. Nevertheless, by the end of the novel you care for the characters. Maybe they are total losers, but some of them are trying their best. Even the losers have some good qualities. There is moreover another theme to the book – the strength of families. So the book isn’t depressing, and there is humor, albeit sad humor.

I am glad I read this book. For me a three star book is one I liked; it is one I am glad I read! This book is considered an Australian classic. It is definitely a total immersion course in Australian life, at least those of the working class after WW2. It is so, so, so Australian - full of colloquialisms and expressions foreign to me. For this reason I must wholeheartedly recommend the audiobook narrated by Peter Hosking. Through his clever intonations you can more easily guess the meaning of expressions and words foreign to those of us who are not Australian. I LOVED how Oriel Lamb spoke. Yeah, she was also kind of my hero all through the story. There are lots of dialogs, and the characters are reinforced by the narrator’s ability to distinguish between each.

The conflict between the Aboriginal people and other Australians is portrayed to a lesser extent, but it is hinted at. The inherent wisdom of Aboriginal beliefs comes to the fore through spooky premonitions. I found this kind of corny, but I guess it had to be drawn into a book about Australian life. It sort of belongs.

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Jul 01, 2011 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Here's how my reading of Cloudstreet progressed:

First week: Ok, this is pretty good, I guess.

Second week: Hm, I don't know about this.

Third week: Oh god, I think I'm going to throw up. Seriously, I think I'm going to throw up and I'm not kidding. Ok, I'm actually gagging on the subway.

Fourth week: Ok, I have to read my book, but I know it will make me nauseated. I just know it.

Fifth week: GOD this book is a bore.

Sixth week: Hey, this is pretty good . . . . Ok, it was going pretty well for a whi...more

21 likes · like · see review

Oct 31, 2007 Annie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who have read the Bible, those who enjoy Australian accents

Not to be hyperbolic, but I adore this book and I wish I could score it even more highly! I read it for class and I spent quite a few more hours on it than most readers will, but if you enjoy it on the first read, I recommend giving it another read or so. The Biblical allusions are complex and unsettling. The prose is visceral and grounded. I felt so immersed and connected to the people and the land in this book. In fact, I kind of want to read it again right now, just thinking about it. There i...more

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Aug 08, 2008 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had to read a few chapters before I became really engaged in this book but my initial skepticism about the characters was gone long before the end. I really love long stories of families and this *almost* falls into my "classic epics" genre. I think it misses fitting that category only because it is focused on a relatively short period of time. My only critique is that I wish a few of the characters were a little more developed. When Rose rose (ha) as a character toward the end, it made me wis...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 21, 2009 lyndel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would highly recommend this book . Its full of magical realism and is poetic and funny at the same time . The characters are really eclectic, loveable and totally beleivable despite the strange goings on around them . It has overtones of the House of spirits and even the colour purple although I can safely say its unlike any other book I've ever read . I really got the feeling of australia and the hidden forces there . The overiding theme of luck and guardian angeles got me totally
hooked !

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Nov 28, 2007 Preeta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Why did it take me so long to get to this, and why isn't it better known (or is it?)? It's gorgeously poetic and chock full of characters who are memorable in name (Quick Lamb, Hat Lamb, Fish Lamb) and desire. The writing really is unlike anything I'd read recently -- so muscular and Australian. The book is huge, but it you sort of hurtle through it, it has so much momentum -- it's impressive to see that kind of momentum come from the rush of pure language, with so little reliance on plot.

5 likes · like · see review

May 15, 2013 Sarahr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So this is the greatest Australian novel of all time? I’m frankly amazed that it’s so critically lauded and considered such an iconic part of Australian literature. It’s a diverting enough ramble through the lives of two eccentric families but for me lacked the resonance and emotional power of truly great literature. The plot explores the lives of ordinary working class people; it’s been lauded as quintessentially Australian, but it reminded me more of stories of my father’s working class London...more So this is the greatest Australian novel of all time? I’m frankly amazed that it’s so critically lauded and considered such an iconic part of Australian literature. It’s a diverting enough ramble through the lives of two eccentric families but for me lacked the resonance and emotional power of truly great literature. The plot explores the lives of ordinary working class people; it’s been lauded as quintessentially Australian, but it reminded me more of stories of my father’s working class London family then any modern Australian experience – it seems more about nostalgia for simpler times.

So why is this book so acclaimed? The writing style is admittedly lovely, particularly in the more poetic and symbolic parts, and the dialogue has a laconic realism. The magic realism is sensitively woven into the fabric of the story, in a way reminiscent of the strange tales that are passed down in any family.

The symbolism of the river, water and the natural landscape gives an otherwise sprawling plot a unifying element; still, I felt it rather heavy handed. And too often it’s used as a handy metaphor for spiritual awareness in place of actual character development.

(view spoiler)

I never really cared for any of the characters. I found myself longing for a terrible tragedy to befall one of the families, partly because I found them all so irritating but mainly because I just wanted something to happen. As a collection of vignettes about picaresque characters the book works well; but in a novel this length I want more depth to the emotional climaxes and conflicts. Adultery and death occur but don’t seem to have any lasting impact on the narrative - is this the symbolism of the river of time sweeping everything away?

I found the treatment of indigenous people in the story embarrassingly dated. “Is he really going to have a ‘mystical black person’ character?” I thought at one point, “Surely not!” But yes, there really is a magical black man who appears to offer pearls of wisdom to characters at crucial moments.

Then there’s its glib treatment of anorexia (you can just snap out of it after a good talk with your mum or dad) (view spoiler)

The whole book is pervaded with sincere nostalgia for the past which seems out of place in intelligent literary fiction. Cosy domesticity is celebrated, and the roles of women as wives and mothers are never challenged either by the characters or the narrative voice. (view spoiler) No, this is a book about marrying the boy/girl next door and living happily ever after with your endearingly eccentric family… with a little musing about age and loss so it can be considered literary fiction.
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Mar 09, 2013 Susan Bennett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I resisted reading Cloudstreet for the longest time but it is so regularly voted one of the best Australian novels, that finally I relented and gave it a go.

Twenty pages in I knew I would be crying at the end, quite simply because I didn't want the book to be over. I gave up watching any television in favour of lying on the bed with a glass of wine reading Cloudstreet as soon as dinner was finished.

Cloudstreet easily equals To Kill a Mockingbird. The characters are wonderful, all flawed and woun...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Ljuneosborne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second time I've read this book, and it was like reuniting with some long-lost dear friend. There is something about this book that sets it apart from the standard fiction story. It could be the perfect blend between gritty realism and a more elastic, malleable reality, where ghosts have their own room of the house and a hunter can see himself running by in the sights of his own rifle. The Pickle family inherits a large house from a deceased relative, on the condition they don't sell...more

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Jul 12, 2009 Evan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Tim Winton explores the lives and histories of two poor, Australian families with such intensity and fervor for life, it is contagious. Every time I put the book down, I felt infected with his hunger for everything. The salty stink of a mud flat at low tide, the depictions of the spiritually mysterious singing pig, everything--all the sights, sounds, and smells of everything all are written with in that feverish and poetic voice. Winton seems to savor the all dirt, blood, sweat, sex, love, joy,...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Dean Thompson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came to this after the mini-series (of which I saw only 1.5 episodes of. The series drew me into investigating the novel. I can now say that after 2 attempts I have completed the book.

In summary my experience went along the lines of I hate this, I tolerated this, I persisted with this, and finally I grew to thoroughly enjoy this story.

I found the first half of the book very difficult to read both times. On the most recent occasion I came to Cloudstreet after reading the Hunger Games Trilogy an...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Fatma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cloudstreet is a wonderful introduction to Australian literature. I say this, having only ever read 'The Slap', which left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

The blurb summed it up perfectly when they compared Winton to a mash-up of John Steinbeck and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, although in my opinion diluted versions of both. Steinbeck wrote poverty and harsh realities in the extreme, and Winton's portrayal of the Depression era and its hardships were far more subtle, merely touched on rather than b...more Cloudstreet is a wonderful introduction to Australian literature. I say this, having only ever read 'The Slap', which left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

The blurb summed it up perfectly when they compared Winton to a mash-up of John Steinbeck and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, although in my opinion diluted versions of both. Steinbeck wrote poverty and harsh realities in the extreme, and Winton's portrayal of the Depression era and its hardships were far more subtle, merely touched on rather than blazing a depressing trail through each page.

As for the Garcia Marquez influence, that is unmistakable. The magical realism is also more subtle, although definitely kooky and poignant. In 100 years of solitude, Marquez asserted that a town was not really a town until they buried one of their own dead. In Cloudstreet, Winton asserts that a town cannot call itself a city until it has its first murder. There are ghosts, and supernatural animals. There are ominous strangers, and weeping walls.

Winton charts the progression of two families living in Number One, Cloudstreet. The families, the Lambs and the Pickles, have their troubles and their secrets, and try to coexist as best they can. I felt as though each half of the house was a metaphor: one family represented fate, or rather a fatalistic attitude, and the other represented freewill and determination. That two families in relatively similar circumstances at the start, can lead very different lives, depending on the way they view their role in it. Sam Pickles believed in the 'shift shadow of God', otherwise known as Lady Luck, whereas Oriel Lamb was the can-do fixer of problems, and serial campaigner for all lost causes.

The language was beautiful, definitely lyrical and non-suffocating.(MINOR SPOILER) If I have one criticism it would be that the part in the story where Rose Pickles has a dalliance with some hipster journalist. I felt like it was a bit contrived, and the only purpose of Toby Raven was to deposit Rose at a turning point, where things really start to take shape. Maybe that's the point though, but Toby was a bit of a flat character, I never believed him.

I might be going back to this book again, sometime in the future, and I am definitely going to read more Tim Winton. (less)

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Mar 05, 2010 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

Well what do I say about Cloudstreet. It is a rollicking roller coaster of a novel. With lots of characters and a good story. Is it the best Australian novel written? I would have to say I hope not. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the book. I did. It just that I was expecting something truly outstanding.

I couldn't get the sense of place again with this novel. Just off the cuff remarks to war and old cars doesn't create a sense of time. In all the reviews I read about Cloudtreet a comparison t...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Joshua rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My favorite novel of all time. I've read it three times. Once with Susanna on our honey moon.

Some might not like this because there is no single man character. But I don't care. The two families that make up the story are so well and appropriately developed. The book reads more like our lives should be lived--who we are in context of others around us. This is more the Illiad rather than the Odyssey in that way.

The prose reads like prose poetry at the right times. You have to want to sit with th...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Jodie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

It is safe to say that this book is regularly lauded as an Australian classic, but not only that, it is loved. So I am being sacrilegious as an Australian in saying I didn't really like most if it. I loved the way Mr Winton talks about the water, the longing for it, the descriptions of the sun as it dozes in the ocean, the water like sheet metal, the pull of the River. That alone is 5 star writing. But Cloudstreet, I did not like. I did not like the house or most of the people that lived there....more

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Oct 02, 2011 Jones rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really cannot see the appeal of the book or why it is rated so highly. There were several things about the book that really annoyed me and really removed any enjoyment I may have derived from reading it.

Winton, in my opinion is one of those authors who believes he is so much better than he actually is. The absence of a complication made the book seem more a series of mundane events rather than an engaging story. The descriptiveness hailed by some was to me agonising. Do we really need a Where...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Claire Malyon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would put this amongst the best books I've ever read. It captures the atmosphere and energy of Australian people over a 20 years and picks up on the world events that occurred during this period of time . Cloudstreet tells the story of two families brought together by unfortunate circumstance to live together in suburban Perth house. The prose and narrative is beautiful and the descriptions are so vivid that you feel the humidity or light breezes Winton is writing.

The Pickles family is plague...more

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Oct 05, 2009 Malcolm Walker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This rollicking family saga really touched me by the end. While as magic realism it's not in the same league as One Hundred Years of Solitude it does capture something of Australia and the Australian psyche, particularly the Anglo-Celtic aspect in that period just after the war. Winton's language is musical and lyrical and overrides some of the more cliched aspects of characterisation and plot. There are some unexpected turns and surprises as well. The narration, which he cleverly manipulates ri...more

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May 27, 2012 Penny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a story of two families living under the one roof, complete with house ghosts and a pig, set over a twenty year period. Sound simple? It's not! Not so much a novel with gripping pace, this one meanders through the years, rather like its characters meander through their lives. The characters and their distinctly different voices stay with you and become like people you might recognise if they walked down your street. The research that must have gone into this novel, of a personal story le...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Emily added it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

Richard accused me the other day of being a little hard to pin down sometimes, regarding my straight-up opinion of a book. Did I like it? Did I not? Ah well. Such is the danger of the anti-review form practiced here at Evening All Afternoon. And sad to say, I'm afraid my thoughts on Tim Winton's Cloudstreet will not exactly help my reputation in this regard. There are so many things to love in this grittily atmospheric family saga of working-class life in Western Australia: gorgeous, chewy prose...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Eliza rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

3/19/2013: Cloudstreet is a big novel in every way; Winton tries to encompass most of the major themes of human endeavor, and spreads it over the vastnesses of Western Australia and the rambling "Cloudstreet"--a house in Perth. Spanning over 20 years in the lives of the interesting but less than successful Pickles and Lamb families, and their time living together in Cloudstreet, the novel, like the families and the house, grows and breathes. Everything is alive in this world, and nothing ever re...more

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Jan 25, 2009 penelopewanders rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rings-rays-loans-traded

After a bit of a grinding start, I mostly enjoyed this very much. At times the lurking shadow of fate caught me by the throat and I felt enough was enough, but on the whole it was a good read. Maybe spoiled by a lot of the romance I read these days I did rather wish someone would kick over their traces and come to something really really good... but the benign "not bad" is also a reality of many people's lives, I expect. The otherworldly aspects remained a bit opaque to me - was Fish meant to be...more

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Nov 20, 2010 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Emma by: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4562363">Linzy</a>

Shelves: aussie-authors, fiction

It’s kind of hard to read a book when you just want to hug it to you so often.

Cloudstreet is the long tale of two families who wind up living side-by-side in a strange old house, a house home to other stories even before their mobs move in.

The book is crowded with characters who you can’t help but love despite all their failings. I think my heart broke for them on nearly every other page. But they still made me laugh out loud more than once, all those crazy Lambs and Pickles.

The language is unr...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Paula rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read 'Cloudstreet' about five years ago and I enjoyed it much more the second time around. There is something special about the story, the characters and lives are brilliantly written and the way they all connect to each other makes for great reading.

My favourite character was 'Fish' (his real name is Samson), his nickname was 'Samsonfish' and was eventually shortened down to 'Fish', what a delight he was to read, he was seen in so many different ways by everyone but they all could see how spe...more

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Dec 19, 2010 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, classics, aussie, historical-fiction

This is an extremely hard one to rate. 3.5 if it were an option.

I think this book probably means a lot more to Australians (especially those from the country) than it ever could to me. I had no sympathy for any of the characters for the longest time, and it really prevented me from getting into the story. That being said, I really loved the last 100 pages or so, and I almost wish he'd just gotten to there sooner. It's over 400 pages, and I felt like I spent at least the first 250 waiting for him...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had a bit of trouble getting into the writing style and think I would have liked the book better if I could have felt "connected" sooner. I'm really glad I stuck it out (not that I had a choice, as it was a book club book), because the last 100 pages or so were great. Most books are best at the end, but it's especially true for this one.

The content was somewhat reminiscent of One Hundred Years of Solitude in that it was about a family (two, but functioning as one, really), its wanderings, its...more

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Jan 25, 2010 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

wow. am i uninformed or is this book not yet highly spoken of in the west?

cloudstreet is a sprawling, embattled human struggle run through with religious allegory, history and australian wit and whinge. winton's writing is in turns engaging, raw, tender, eloquent and unforgiving. the book spans the early and mid-20th century as something of an australian amalgamation of grapes of wrath and as i lay dying, but with magic and redemption surpassing both. engaging on many levels - multiple interest...more

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About Tim Winton

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

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Quotes from Cloudstreet

“Will you look at us by the river! The whole restless mob of us on spread blankets in the dreamy briny sunshine skylarking and chiacking about for one day, one clear, clean, sweet day in a good world in the midst of our living. Yachts run before an unfelt gust with bagnecked pelicans riding above them, the city their twitching backdrop, all blocks and points of mirror light down to the water's edge.” — 8 people liked it

“When I was a girl I had this strong feeling that I didn't belong anywhere,... It was in my head, what I thought and dreamt, what I believed..., that's where I belonged, that was my country.” — 5 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/617550.Cloudstreet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1194457602l/617550.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/617550.Cloudstreet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Cloudstreet by Tim Winton[/url]

Cloudstreet

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