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An Open Swimmer
Jerra and his best mate Sean set off in a beaten-up old VW to go camping on the coast. Jerra's friends and family want to know when he will finish university, when he will find a girl. But they don't understand about Sean's mother, Jewel, or the bush or the fish with the pearl. They think he needs a job, but what Jerra is searching for is more elusive. Only the sea, and perhaps the old man who lives in a shack beside it, can help. An Open Swimmer is the remarkable first novel by award-winning author Tim Winton.
163 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1982
44 people are currently reading
671 people want to read
About the author
Tim Winton
76 books2,407 followersTim Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, but moved at a young age to the small country town of Albany.
While a student at 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 Franklin Award in 1984. It wasn't until Cloudstreet was published in 1991, however, that his career and economic future were cemented.
In 1995 Winton’s novel, The Riders, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, as was his 2002 book, Dirt Music. Both are currently being adapted for film. He has won many other prizes, including the Miles Franklin Award three times: for Shallows (1984), Cloudstreet (1992) and Dirt Music (2002). Cloudstreet is arguably his best-known work, regularly appearing in lists of Australia’s best-loved novels. His latest novel, released in 2013, is called Eyrie.
He is now one of Australia's most esteemed novelists, writing for both adults and children. All his books are still in print and have been published in eighteen different languages. His work has also been successfully adapted for stage, screen and radio. On the publication of his novel, Dirt Music, he collaborated with broadcaster, Lucky Oceans, to produce a compilation CD, Dirt Music – Music for a Novel.
He has lived in Italy, France, Ireland and Greece but currently lives in Western Australia with his wife and three children.
While a student at 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 Franklin Award in 1984. It wasn't until Cloudstreet was published in 1991, however, that his career and economic future were cemented.
In 1995 Winton’s novel, The Riders, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, as was his 2002 book, Dirt Music. Both are currently being adapted for film. He has won many other prizes, including the Miles Franklin Award three times: for Shallows (1984), Cloudstreet (1992) and Dirt Music (2002). Cloudstreet is arguably his best-known work, regularly appearing in lists of Australia’s best-loved novels. His latest novel, released in 2013, is called Eyrie.
He is now one of Australia's most esteemed novelists, writing for both adults and children. All his books are still in print and have been published in eighteen different languages. His work has also been successfully adapted for stage, screen and radio. On the publication of his novel, Dirt Music, he collaborated with broadcaster, Lucky Oceans, to produce a compilation CD, Dirt Music – Music for a Novel.
He has lived in Italy, France, Ireland and Greece but currently lives in Western Australia with his wife and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
October 10, 2021
3.5★
“Jerra held out the garlands of hooks, gangs of barbs glinting in the lamplight.
‘Vicious looking —’
‘Vicious eaters.’ He showed the marks on his fingers. ‘Tailor. Slice up fish bigger than ’emselves.’
‘Funny how the vicious ones have better meat.’
‘Eat better.’”
This is young Jerra watching his dad string fish hooks. It’s a story that revolves around fishing, whether from boats, or beaches or underwater, but there are family and friendship dynamics as well as a mysterious old bloke camped by the beach.
This is Winton’s first published novel, but even before it was published it won The Australian/Vogel's Annual Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 30 (now under the age of 35). No surprises as to why. He may have been only a uni student when he wrote it and only 20 when he submitted it, but his trademark sense of place and powers of description are clear already.
Sometimes it’s poetic. Immediately after the excerpt above about setting the hooks, he writes this.
“Smooth skin of the river parted behind, an incision folding back to the banks. The engine chuckled just how he remembered it from his boyhood. The river coiled out to the estuary channel. The estuary was a broad teardrop, meeting the ocean at its narrowest point.
Jerra sat in the bow, trailing a hand over the smooth flesh of water.”
I can just imagine a celestial surgeon slicing through the landscape to reveal the water.
Sometimes it’s direct and straightforward, as when he and his mate are camping.
“They pissed and went to bed. The smell of smoke in his clothes made Jerra feel he had been there for ever.”
Jerra, Jeremy, has been friends with Sean since childhood. Sean has now gone to work for his father in the city, something corporate, while Jerra still prefers to fish – on his own, not on the boats where he’s worked in the past. They decide to go on a camping trip for a couple of weeks in Jerra’s old VW bus.
There are many complications between them and their families, and when they meet an old bloke who lives on the beach, we see there are more mysteries. I can’t say I was happy with this book because I found the actual story hard to follow. I’m not sure exactly who did what to whom in the past, but the writing and the language are so strong that I don’t think I’d ever mistake it for anyone else’s.
“The dull gravel strip led down to the coastal hills. There was nowhere else. He slid on the surface. In the gullies, ochre puddles lay across the road. The deeper ones slopped up into the windscreen leaving mud and grit on the glass. Ruts and holes deepened. Jerra slowed down, wincing as the old bus was jarred and shaken crossing the hollows and washouts. The black sand was hard, packed down with rain, and the tyres ran whispering over, the wide ruts curving up gently to a smooth hump in the middle. Dark wet roots protruded, and grass grew high, rasping the underside of the body. Trees had grown thicker, leafier. Below in the stillness, the sea through the trees was grey and opaque. Boughs and leaves brushed squealing against the fenders and the roof, showering heavy drops on the ground. A bird slapped skyward.”
He is still a favourite author who’s won more awards than you can shake a stick at (if you’re inclined to), and I couldn’t be more pleased that he is such a strong voice for environmental protections, particularly for his beloved Western Australia and the Ningaloo Reef.
“Jerra held out the garlands of hooks, gangs of barbs glinting in the lamplight.
‘Vicious looking —’
‘Vicious eaters.’ He showed the marks on his fingers. ‘Tailor. Slice up fish bigger than ’emselves.’
‘Funny how the vicious ones have better meat.’
‘Eat better.’”
This is young Jerra watching his dad string fish hooks. It’s a story that revolves around fishing, whether from boats, or beaches or underwater, but there are family and friendship dynamics as well as a mysterious old bloke camped by the beach.
This is Winton’s first published novel, but even before it was published it won The Australian/Vogel's Annual Literary Award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 30 (now under the age of 35). No surprises as to why. He may have been only a uni student when he wrote it and only 20 when he submitted it, but his trademark sense of place and powers of description are clear already.
Sometimes it’s poetic. Immediately after the excerpt above about setting the hooks, he writes this.
“Smooth skin of the river parted behind, an incision folding back to the banks. The engine chuckled just how he remembered it from his boyhood. The river coiled out to the estuary channel. The estuary was a broad teardrop, meeting the ocean at its narrowest point.
Jerra sat in the bow, trailing a hand over the smooth flesh of water.”
I can just imagine a celestial surgeon slicing through the landscape to reveal the water.
Sometimes it’s direct and straightforward, as when he and his mate are camping.
“They pissed and went to bed. The smell of smoke in his clothes made Jerra feel he had been there for ever.”
Jerra, Jeremy, has been friends with Sean since childhood. Sean has now gone to work for his father in the city, something corporate, while Jerra still prefers to fish – on his own, not on the boats where he’s worked in the past. They decide to go on a camping trip for a couple of weeks in Jerra’s old VW bus.
There are many complications between them and their families, and when they meet an old bloke who lives on the beach, we see there are more mysteries. I can’t say I was happy with this book because I found the actual story hard to follow. I’m not sure exactly who did what to whom in the past, but the writing and the language are so strong that I don’t think I’d ever mistake it for anyone else’s.
“The dull gravel strip led down to the coastal hills. There was nowhere else. He slid on the surface. In the gullies, ochre puddles lay across the road. The deeper ones slopped up into the windscreen leaving mud and grit on the glass. Ruts and holes deepened. Jerra slowed down, wincing as the old bus was jarred and shaken crossing the hollows and washouts. The black sand was hard, packed down with rain, and the tyres ran whispering over, the wide ruts curving up gently to a smooth hump in the middle. Dark wet roots protruded, and grass grew high, rasping the underside of the body. Trees had grown thicker, leafier. Below in the stillness, the sea through the trees was grey and opaque. Boughs and leaves brushed squealing against the fenders and the roof, showering heavy drops on the ground. A bird slapped skyward.”
He is still a favourite author who’s won more awards than you can shake a stick at (if you’re inclined to), and I couldn’t be more pleased that he is such a strong voice for environmental protections, particularly for his beloved Western Australia and the Ningaloo Reef.
August 29, 2022
Tim Winton's first book, written many years ago. His vivid description of place, especially Western Australia and the remote coast most of this takes place, are present. Also his use of Aussie strine, thankfully just in dialogue here, not the entire narrative as in Shepherd's Hut. Once again, this is a boy's book with confusion as to who Jerra is, but not having a clue emotionally.
Jerra is not ready to start life as most expect him to, finish Uni, get a job, get a girl. His best mate Sean has taken a job with his father's bank, but Jerra's still not sure where he wants to go, except his love for fishing.
This was far rougher than any of Winton's later books and not always easy to follow or decipher, but a good beginning for a master writer.
Jerra is not ready to start life as most expect him to, finish Uni, get a job, get a girl. His best mate Sean has taken a job with his father's bank, but Jerra's still not sure where he wants to go, except his love for fishing.
This was far rougher than any of Winton's later books and not always easy to follow or decipher, but a good beginning for a master writer.
February 23, 2011
After absolutely loving Dirt Music, I was disappointed by An Open Swimmer.
I'm not someone who needs, or even likes, to have everything that's going on in a novel clearly explained... another reviewer put it perfectly: I enjoy "piecing stories together from fragments" until everything finally fits together and becomes clear. But in An Open Swimmer I found it a bit of a chore to read through sections where I had no idea what was going on or how it fitted into the picture, and it never quite all came together. Jerra reads and composes poetry, which I have never found interest or enjoyment in, so perhaps the significance of these verses was lost on me. In the early part of the book, I found the faltering conversations between Jerra and Sean hard to follow - the voice of the characters wasn't distinct enough to work out who was saying what, and I often had to re-read sections to be sure. Consequently I never really identified with any of the characters, and I didn't get drawn into the story in the way that I did with Dirt Music.
Winton's descriptions of the Australian bush are as powerful and evocative as ever. I think that I'll come back and re-read this at some point, and will benefit from knowing the story arc in advance. It's not a long novel, and I think it would be better read quickly, over a day or two, rather than a couple of chapters each night.
I'm not someone who needs, or even likes, to have everything that's going on in a novel clearly explained... another reviewer put it perfectly: I enjoy "piecing stories together from fragments" until everything finally fits together and becomes clear. But in An Open Swimmer I found it a bit of a chore to read through sections where I had no idea what was going on or how it fitted into the picture, and it never quite all came together. Jerra reads and composes poetry, which I have never found interest or enjoyment in, so perhaps the significance of these verses was lost on me. In the early part of the book, I found the faltering conversations between Jerra and Sean hard to follow - the voice of the characters wasn't distinct enough to work out who was saying what, and I often had to re-read sections to be sure. Consequently I never really identified with any of the characters, and I didn't get drawn into the story in the way that I did with Dirt Music.
Winton's descriptions of the Australian bush are as powerful and evocative as ever. I think that I'll come back and re-read this at some point, and will benefit from knowing the story arc in advance. It's not a long novel, and I think it would be better read quickly, over a day or two, rather than a couple of chapters each night.
September 11, 2019
This is Winton’s early writing and his descriptive style is already apparent. He has the remarkable skill of creating an intense atmosphere just by describing the environment. I would also say that some of the themes that grip him in this early writing (like coming of age and domestic violence) continue to appear in his subsequent novels with slightly more depth. My main difficulties with this novel relate to the graphic and repeated killing of animals and the sudden and frequent scene shifts which left me a little confused. This is probably not the book of choice for vegetarians or animal lovers due to powerful imagery but that is a personal choice. I would still recommend this if you are a fan of Winton’s writing.
August 8, 2012
I read this when it first came out, to great acclaim. I thought the acclaim was absolutely deserved. It was a delight, a revelation, full of joy in the ocean. The ocean was the real main character and love interest! I remember the poignant story, a sort of coming-of-age story, but it is the ocean and the swimming which stay with me still, and particularly the feeling he creates around them. I take from the book a lasting sense of joy.
March 10, 2018
Tim Winton is one of my favorite novelists. After a rough beginning with “The Riders” in 1996 that soured me on Winton for over 10 years, I ended up engrossed with “Dirt Music”, “Breath”, “The Riders” (after a second reading), “Cloudstreet”, “That Eye, That Sky”, “In the Winter Dark” and the collection of short stories, “The Turning”—all read in 2010 and running into 2011.
I am always suspicious of first novels, anticipating a certain rawness even from masters as Winton. I was, however, surprised at the strengths of Winton’s debut work, “An Open Swimmer”, written when he was 19.
It is in some sense a coming of age novel. Jerra is on his way somewhere but it is certainly not clear to him nor to us where. His past relationships are not sustaining him. Those with his best mate, Sean, have soured: Sean had moved on through university and into a steady city-located job while Jerra is still at home in a small town and living with his parents, in the same room he grew up in. Others who had helped to sustain him in his younger years—like his grandfather or his Aunt Julia—have died. And he is incapable of consummating a newer relationship with his girl friend. Jerra’s past and the people who inhabited that past weigh heavily on him, seemingly impeding or inhibiting his moves into a future.
The past holds Jerra as it will hold Winton's other characters in all of his novels. And in “An Open Swimmer” the physical environment—the landscape and the sea—intertwine intimately with the characters, serving to help define them. Here again—in the structural importance of the physical environment—is another characteristic that emerges effectively in Winton’s first novel and that defines all of his future, fictional works.
“An Open Swimmer” was not without its defects. . One of Winton’s great talents is his writing style. His prose is agile, sparse, edgy, poetic. However, in “An Open Swimmer” the writing was at times uncharacteristically choppy, almost too sparse and occasionally forced or strained. His metaphors and comparisons are not as enlightening as they are in his more mature works. And at times the story line itself seemed unnecessarily obscure. There is always some level of mystery that etches each of Winton’s works in some way. But in “An Open Swimmer” the mystery on occasion remained curiously unresolved. For example, the nature and extent of his relationship with his Aunt Julia was never clear to me.
While “An Open Swimmer” was clearly not Winton’s at the height of his powers, it was still a strong work from an obviously gifted writer. I was not disappointed.
I am always suspicious of first novels, anticipating a certain rawness even from masters as Winton. I was, however, surprised at the strengths of Winton’s debut work, “An Open Swimmer”, written when he was 19.
It is in some sense a coming of age novel. Jerra is on his way somewhere but it is certainly not clear to him nor to us where. His past relationships are not sustaining him. Those with his best mate, Sean, have soured: Sean had moved on through university and into a steady city-located job while Jerra is still at home in a small town and living with his parents, in the same room he grew up in. Others who had helped to sustain him in his younger years—like his grandfather or his Aunt Julia—have died. And he is incapable of consummating a newer relationship with his girl friend. Jerra’s past and the people who inhabited that past weigh heavily on him, seemingly impeding or inhibiting his moves into a future.
The past holds Jerra as it will hold Winton's other characters in all of his novels. And in “An Open Swimmer” the physical environment—the landscape and the sea—intertwine intimately with the characters, serving to help define them. Here again—in the structural importance of the physical environment—is another characteristic that emerges effectively in Winton’s first novel and that defines all of his future, fictional works.
“An Open Swimmer” was not without its defects. . One of Winton’s great talents is his writing style. His prose is agile, sparse, edgy, poetic. However, in “An Open Swimmer” the writing was at times uncharacteristically choppy, almost too sparse and occasionally forced or strained. His metaphors and comparisons are not as enlightening as they are in his more mature works. And at times the story line itself seemed unnecessarily obscure. There is always some level of mystery that etches each of Winton’s works in some way. But in “An Open Swimmer” the mystery on occasion remained curiously unresolved. For example, the nature and extent of his relationship with his Aunt Julia was never clear to me.
While “An Open Swimmer” was clearly not Winton’s at the height of his powers, it was still a strong work from an obviously gifted writer. I was not disappointed.
June 18, 2018
Man, I LOVE Winton. His sentences are a sumptuous, lyrical poetry, and serve to render simple lives as rich and meaningful.
This book sings of the sea; the people within it are inhabitants of the beach and shore, and become more and more lost as they withdraw from it.
Treasure is not to be found amongst the rocks and reefs, but beyond, in the dark, colder waters of the ocean.
But to get there... that’s the journey...
There’s the trademark Winton style at play here - jumbled plot lines, shamanic visions, and obscured truths that lie beyond the readers sight. It can be frustrating, but there’s more than enough flesh on the bones to satisfy my appetite.
This book sings of the sea; the people within it are inhabitants of the beach and shore, and become more and more lost as they withdraw from it.
Treasure is not to be found amongst the rocks and reefs, but beyond, in the dark, colder waters of the ocean.
But to get there... that’s the journey...
There’s the trademark Winton style at play here - jumbled plot lines, shamanic visions, and obscured truths that lie beyond the readers sight. It can be frustrating, but there’s more than enough flesh on the bones to satisfy my appetite.
March 11, 2020
This is a great read. I first read it in 1992 and have read it three times since.
This book focuses on two mates, Jerra and Sean. Jerra is planning on going somewhere but it’s unclear where. He has come to resent Sean, who went to university and has a good job in the city. Jerra’s Previous relationships did not work out for him. He can’t seem to relate properly to his current girlfriend.
Jerra still lives at home in a small town with his parents, in his childhood room. He has a terrible, soul destroying job in a local deli. He feels stultified, impeded from moving forward. The good and positive people from his past who sustained him, like his grandad and his aunt Julia, are dead and gone. The past has a ferocious and adverse grip on him.
Jerra and Sean embark on a road trip in a VW. The cracks in their old friendship emerge. Jerra meets an old man in a shack, whilst fishing. He gels with the old man, who seems to understand him better than anyone.
Environment, the landscape and the sea, plays a big part in Tim Winton’s luminous debut novel. Considering the enormous role that Winton played in holding the line on preventing development of a magnificent area of Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef) a few decades after this book was written, the strong environmental focus reverberates. Tim Winton, when this book was released in 1982, was an emerging writer, who held no sway. By the advent of the Save Ningaloo Reef campaign in the early 2000s he had become regarded as a national treasure; a man who wielded much influence. To those who are scathing of the power of books and reading, take heed!
I enjoyed the spare prose used by Winton in An Open Swimmer. The story is obscure in parts. There’s a mystery. There’s a lot of showing rather than telling in the story, which greatly appealed to me.
Winton is always attuned to his environment when he writes, whether it be the natural environment, or the avaricious financial backdrop to his home town, Fremantle. In a much later book, “ Eyrie”, he incisively exposes the truth of Fremantle being held back by a selfish landlord monopoly, as he quips that the town is held captive to “half a dozen brazen, greedy landlords.”
I highly recommend this coming of age, wonderfully written book.
This book focuses on two mates, Jerra and Sean. Jerra is planning on going somewhere but it’s unclear where. He has come to resent Sean, who went to university and has a good job in the city. Jerra’s Previous relationships did not work out for him. He can’t seem to relate properly to his current girlfriend.
Jerra still lives at home in a small town with his parents, in his childhood room. He has a terrible, soul destroying job in a local deli. He feels stultified, impeded from moving forward. The good and positive people from his past who sustained him, like his grandad and his aunt Julia, are dead and gone. The past has a ferocious and adverse grip on him.
Jerra and Sean embark on a road trip in a VW. The cracks in their old friendship emerge. Jerra meets an old man in a shack, whilst fishing. He gels with the old man, who seems to understand him better than anyone.
Environment, the landscape and the sea, plays a big part in Tim Winton’s luminous debut novel. Considering the enormous role that Winton played in holding the line on preventing development of a magnificent area of Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef) a few decades after this book was written, the strong environmental focus reverberates. Tim Winton, when this book was released in 1982, was an emerging writer, who held no sway. By the advent of the Save Ningaloo Reef campaign in the early 2000s he had become regarded as a national treasure; a man who wielded much influence. To those who are scathing of the power of books and reading, take heed!
I enjoyed the spare prose used by Winton in An Open Swimmer. The story is obscure in parts. There’s a mystery. There’s a lot of showing rather than telling in the story, which greatly appealed to me.
Winton is always attuned to his environment when he writes, whether it be the natural environment, or the avaricious financial backdrop to his home town, Fremantle. In a much later book, “ Eyrie”, he incisively exposes the truth of Fremantle being held back by a selfish landlord monopoly, as he quips that the town is held captive to “half a dozen brazen, greedy landlords.”
I highly recommend this coming of age, wonderfully written book.
December 25, 2023
Worth reading as Tim Wonton's first - it has the elements that I love in his later works (gorgeous writing technique; compelling story lines; credible characters), but not quite as well-formed at this stage in his career Like a number of books from the 1980s, it feels a bit clunky, deliberately vague/poetic and overly "deep and meaningful" in parts. Still worth reading for the fundamentally compelling story of Jerra.
February 17, 2019
In haunting language, Winton traces the lives of those who have turned their backs on modernity for a hunter-gatherer existence on the edge of industrial society. This reader for one wants to some day take aim at an "open swimmer" (which refers to a fish ...)
October 10, 2023
Audio book 🎧
I normally enjoy this authors books. I was disappointed with this read.
I normally enjoy this authors books. I was disappointed with this read.
November 17, 2015
Jerra’s family want him to make something of himself. A girl and a job would be a good start.
But Jerra is tormented by secret memories – thoughts that beach themselves like broken shells caught in the tide wrack of an uneasy sexual awakening and a sense that he has betrayed those he loves.
On a bleak southern shoreline in Western Australia, Jerra meets an old codger whose conscience is as tortured as his own. Unable to confess or forgive, they find an ancient law/hope hovering in their mutilated lives: a single witness shall not stand…
Jerra, Jeremy, Jeremiah: identity ebbs and flows as Winton’s first novel offers up a stormsurge of images. His prose is like flotsam spinning by, eddying back, washing up in mysterious nuanced shapes of sometimes spare, sometimes lyrical scenes.
Jerra’s search for self becomes a quest to find the legendary pearl in the brain cavity of a King fish. Whatever the cost. ‘What are you? Gotta mutilate fish to find what you want? Why don’t you hack yourself open?’ Invisibly to all around him, even to the old man who understands him better than anyone else, this is exactly what Jerra is doing to his soul. His poetry changes from images of lost love to severed men.
Undercurrents of Biblical allusion glimmer through the book – the Mosaic law code; the fleeting identification of Jerra with Jeremiah, the weeping prophet; the sense that the mystical pearl of the open swimmer – the King fish – is really the Pearl of Great Price and that forgiveness that will enable Jerra to integrate his scarred, torn life.
An Open Swimmer was the winner of the 1981 Australian/Vogel Award.
Over it all slants the long shadow of the gospel, still tantalisingly out of reach.
But Jerra is tormented by secret memories – thoughts that beach themselves like broken shells caught in the tide wrack of an uneasy sexual awakening and a sense that he has betrayed those he loves.
On a bleak southern shoreline in Western Australia, Jerra meets an old codger whose conscience is as tortured as his own. Unable to confess or forgive, they find an ancient law/hope hovering in their mutilated lives: a single witness shall not stand…
Jerra, Jeremy, Jeremiah: identity ebbs and flows as Winton’s first novel offers up a stormsurge of images. His prose is like flotsam spinning by, eddying back, washing up in mysterious nuanced shapes of sometimes spare, sometimes lyrical scenes.
Jerra’s search for self becomes a quest to find the legendary pearl in the brain cavity of a King fish. Whatever the cost. ‘What are you? Gotta mutilate fish to find what you want? Why don’t you hack yourself open?’ Invisibly to all around him, even to the old man who understands him better than anyone else, this is exactly what Jerra is doing to his soul. His poetry changes from images of lost love to severed men.
Undercurrents of Biblical allusion glimmer through the book – the Mosaic law code; the fleeting identification of Jerra with Jeremiah, the weeping prophet; the sense that the mystical pearl of the open swimmer – the King fish – is really the Pearl of Great Price and that forgiveness that will enable Jerra to integrate his scarred, torn life.
An Open Swimmer was the winner of the 1981 Australian/Vogel Award.
Over it all slants the long shadow of the gospel, still tantalisingly out of reach.
January 13, 2011
If it was a longer book, I probably wouldn't have read the whole thing. I usually enjoy having to piece stories together from fragments, but I found this a little too vague to enjoy. Also too overwritten for my tastes. Setting is captured perfectly but I found the characters were lost in the careful descriptions of place. I can see why people admire it though, as a first novel especially. I'm glad I already like Tim Winton from his later work before I read this.
December 29, 2025
once again incredible.
a bit confused at times clipping between present and past memories, and understanding what's going on. the writing seemed designed for making inferences which means that feeling confused sometimes is reflective of how the main character feels.
overall very happy. I feel like I understand the main messaging, and the passages of the present. can accept some of the memories aren't meant to be understood conventionally.
tim winton writes in a way that just feels so real. ive never been able to I recall such vivid imagery as what he describes. he has life's essence down pat. the descriptions are so close to real that sometimes the story feels ordinary. only when finishing the book and stepping back do i realise the beauty. reflective of life too i guess.
just incredible work honestly.
a bit confused at times clipping between present and past memories, and understanding what's going on. the writing seemed designed for making inferences which means that feeling confused sometimes is reflective of how the main character feels.
overall very happy. I feel like I understand the main messaging, and the passages of the present. can accept some of the memories aren't meant to be understood conventionally.
tim winton writes in a way that just feels so real. ive never been able to I recall such vivid imagery as what he describes. he has life's essence down pat. the descriptions are so close to real that sometimes the story feels ordinary. only when finishing the book and stepping back do i realise the beauty. reflective of life too i guess.
just incredible work honestly.
May 4, 2023
3.5 stars. A coming of age short debut novel about Jerry Nilsam, a young man who enjoys being at the coast. The novel is set in Western Australia. The story begins with Jerry and his friend Sean, going on a trip to the coast to swim and fish. There they meet an old man living by himself in a shack on a beach near their camp site. Sean goes to University and works as a clerk. Jerry is uncertain as to what he wants to do with his life and later revisits the camping site alone.
There are very good descriptions of fishing and the coastal landscape. A worthwhile reading experience that Winton fans should find a satisfying reading experience.
This book was first published in 1982.
There are very good descriptions of fishing and the coastal landscape. A worthwhile reading experience that Winton fans should find a satisfying reading experience.
This book was first published in 1982.
July 26, 2023
Although I’m a Tim Winton fan, I don’t think I’d have stuck with this book in text form. But as an audiobook it is excellent.
I’ve deducted a star as I’m not keen on fishing or hunting and the graphic descriptions of both were a bit stomach-turning.
I’ve deducted a star as I’m not keen on fishing or hunting and the graphic descriptions of both were a bit stomach-turning.
August 5, 2022
Listened in and out… but what a fantastic visual writer x
February 7, 2023
Not as good as the others I’ve read of late, but still thematically similar - just with less introspection - and rather more cardboard characters. Or perhaps I just didn’t get it.
October 13, 2024
“he would have jumped into the fire, but he was too cold to burn.”
August 11, 2024
Not a huge fan of this one. I found it very vague to the point of wondering what was going on and who was speaking a lot of the time. On the flip side, it's always fun reading a book set in WA. Some lovely scenes set.
February 6, 2014
This is the first novel that I have read by Tim Winton. It was a page turner and written in a unique style. It centred on a young man growing up, but, yet to find a road to his destiny to true adulthood which impacted on the one real frienship he had. It is a novel about love on different levels, the secrecy of illicit love and the complexity of love among heterosexual males and the jealousies and frustrations this often brings. The role of the old man was interesting in drawing thoughts and an attraction to engage from the young man when he obviously had problems engaging with his parents and escaping from their natural instinct to protect, but, not let go. He was a young man adrift. Why did he return to the beach inhabited by the old man? Did he feel that there was a clue to how he would end up had he just drifted through life without some sort of definite plan? The storm, its victims and the analogy of the VW and its fate which forced conclusive and decisive action by the young man. Was the final action his release and redirection? I'd recommend this book, primarily as an introduction to Tim Winton and the troubles of youth with an Australian tint - primarily set in the great and vast Australian outdoors.
August 19, 2017
The first novel by Tim Winton, written when he was in his early 20's that covers many of the themes Winton must have been experiencing himself.
Jerra doesn't know what to do with his life, he's a dreamer and he spends his days watching his neighbour mow his lawn, working a terrible job in a deli / cafe and fishing with his father or with his friend Sean. Jerra likes fishing and has a mission to find a pearl in the head of a fish, supposedly the distilled experiences of the fish; people think it is an urban myth. The only one who shares his belief is an old man who lives in a shack on the beach. Jerra and the man strike up a bond and talk about life in living in the bush and of course fishing.
The once close friendship with Sean is shown breaking down over the course of a fishing trip; over Sean's climbing the corporate ladder and Jerra's relationship with Judy.
A novel that celebrates the sea, the landscape of Western Australia and friendship but asks questions about responsibility and becoming an adult. As with all of Wintons books that I have read so far, excellent.
Jerra doesn't know what to do with his life, he's a dreamer and he spends his days watching his neighbour mow his lawn, working a terrible job in a deli / cafe and fishing with his father or with his friend Sean. Jerra likes fishing and has a mission to find a pearl in the head of a fish, supposedly the distilled experiences of the fish; people think it is an urban myth. The only one who shares his belief is an old man who lives in a shack on the beach. Jerra and the man strike up a bond and talk about life in living in the bush and of course fishing.
The once close friendship with Sean is shown breaking down over the course of a fishing trip; over Sean's climbing the corporate ladder and Jerra's relationship with Judy.
A novel that celebrates the sea, the landscape of Western Australia and friendship but asks questions about responsibility and becoming an adult. As with all of Wintons books that I have read so far, excellent.
September 15, 2016
An excellent first novel by a West Australian of remarkable promise in his writing. Set around a series of fishing trips undertaken by two old school friends. The story in many ways tells the history of them both, one straight, the other a dreamer who cannot settle to adult life. Very evocative of the WA coastline and the lifestyle of many late teenagers. A very good read though you have to work at it at times to understand what is going on. Highly recommended
July 20, 2022
Not the book for me - I read my one WA fishing book in year 8 English and that was more than enough.
November 17, 2011
This novel didn't appeal to me like some of Winton's other novels such as 'in the winter dark',' breath' and 'cloudstreet'. But pretty amazing to think he wrote this when he was so young.
March 1, 2013
Readers can interpret in so many different ways. Was interested in how bits have been borrowed for more recent works. Great read, loved the interweaving of themes and unanswered questions.
August 19, 2019
As a life-long lover of all books 'Winton', "An Open Swimmer" was an absolute labour of love. The only thing that kept me going was a commitment to 'hear Tim out', finish the read and make a fair judgement at the end. That being the case, my review is as follows:
1. I imagined that the editor and publisher had a quiet chat with the young Tim Winton at its publication and said something like..."Mate! Lighten up!" Truly, I have read perhaps most of Tim Winton's books and have a deep attraction to the way he describes the Australian landscape (maybe its because we are the same age and are coastal dwellers) but this book was bleak, BLEAK, B-L-E-A-K!!
2. Any Russian author (I'm thinking "A Day in the Life of Ivan Devisovich" by Solzhenitsyn) would be proud to write this book because it is dark, heavy and sombre in a way up until now I thought only Russian authors could nail. Tim? Is Igor your middle name?
3. The only light relief, where I managed a relieved and tentative smile and actually got to relax and not hold my breath was when Winton was describing the intricacies of spear-fishing, something I know not much about. He describes the ocean, water and all things aquatic with such love and tenderness. He uses the full depth and breadth of the English language to make whatever scene he is describing feel wet, sandy, slimy, cold, gorgeous, dangerous...it's like I am beside him with snorkel and flippers on. This is why I love his writing...its an immersive experience? This is where the 1 star of my review has been earned!
I still love the writing of Tim Winton. I am just glad that this is not the first book of his I read, otherwise I am sure it would have been my last. So please, if you are new to Tim Winton, please read something lighter from his work. My favourite is "Land's Edge", "Blueback-a fable" and "That Eye the Sky".
1. I imagined that the editor and publisher had a quiet chat with the young Tim Winton at its publication and said something like..."Mate! Lighten up!" Truly, I have read perhaps most of Tim Winton's books and have a deep attraction to the way he describes the Australian landscape (maybe its because we are the same age and are coastal dwellers) but this book was bleak, BLEAK, B-L-E-A-K!!
2. Any Russian author (I'm thinking "A Day in the Life of Ivan Devisovich" by Solzhenitsyn) would be proud to write this book because it is dark, heavy and sombre in a way up until now I thought only Russian authors could nail. Tim? Is Igor your middle name?
3. The only light relief, where I managed a relieved and tentative smile and actually got to relax and not hold my breath was when Winton was describing the intricacies of spear-fishing, something I know not much about. He describes the ocean, water and all things aquatic with such love and tenderness. He uses the full depth and breadth of the English language to make whatever scene he is describing feel wet, sandy, slimy, cold, gorgeous, dangerous...it's like I am beside him with snorkel and flippers on. This is why I love his writing...its an immersive experience? This is where the 1 star of my review has been earned!
I still love the writing of Tim Winton. I am just glad that this is not the first book of his I read, otherwise I am sure it would have been my last. So please, if you are new to Tim Winton, please read something lighter from his work. My favourite is "Land's Edge", "Blueback-a fable" and "That Eye the Sky".
February 14, 2026
This reads exactly how I would expected it to read after encountering Tim Winton's style first in The Cloudstreet but still quite surprised to learn that this was his first book and he wrote it at nineteen. Yes, it is a bit rough around the edges but still 3.5-4 stars?
Putting aside my apathy for fishing, camping and the sea as well as my dislike of hunting and extremely descriptive detailing of preparing these hunted animals for food, I enjoyed it. Not too surprising because I love Winton's prose quite a bit. It's so vague and almost spiritual and the settings are characters themselves and the characters are loonies in the best ways (which is that you remain human while being that but remove that layer of societal civilities). I am apathetic towards fishing but I believe in it as Jerra does. And I am jealous of the ease and natural proclivity he has towards these activities.
I do think I would have liked it if it was longer and more fleshed out. His relationships with everyone (Sean, his parents, his grandparents, his aunt Jewel) were fascinating and deserved more time in my opinion. It would have only helped in showing his 'lost'-ness. But ehh I do know Winton only got better after this based on my earlier reading of The Cloudstreet. Oh, read this mostly on the flight from Perth (first time there!) to Canberra. So, a lot of it was read technically in WA.
Putting aside my apathy for fishing, camping and the sea as well as my dislike of hunting and extremely descriptive detailing of preparing these hunted animals for food, I enjoyed it. Not too surprising because I love Winton's prose quite a bit. It's so vague and almost spiritual and the settings are characters themselves and the characters are loonies in the best ways (which is that you remain human while being that but remove that layer of societal civilities). I am apathetic towards fishing but I believe in it as Jerra does. And I am jealous of the ease and natural proclivity he has towards these activities.
I do think I would have liked it if it was longer and more fleshed out. His relationships with everyone (Sean, his parents, his grandparents, his aunt Jewel) were fascinating and deserved more time in my opinion. It would have only helped in showing his 'lost'-ness. But ehh I do know Winton only got better after this based on my earlier reading of The Cloudstreet. Oh, read this mostly on the flight from Perth (first time there!) to Canberra. So, a lot of it was read technically in WA.
January 8, 2024
I have no idea what I just read, but I think that is what makes this a great book. The description and imagery are strong and vivid and at the same time extremely paired back. The book is atmospheric. There is a strong sense of place. It is gritty and dirty. I felt like I needed to wash my hands of fish guts and scales after reading it. The dialogue is hard to follow: who is talking, and with broad Australian accents, even what is being said can be tough to discern. Nothing is spelt out for you. As the reader, you end up working hard to figure out what is going on, and in the end you still don't really know what really happened or is happening. That confusion reflects the confusion in Jerra's mind as he tries to figure himself out.
In some ways this is an easy read. It's not dry or boring. It is a page turner. But it's also hard. If you want stuff spelt out for you, then you won't like this book.
In some ways this is an easy read. It's not dry or boring. It is a page turner. But it's also hard. If you want stuff spelt out for you, then you won't like this book.
March 7, 2023
This is Tim Winton’s first novel, and it has a first-novel feel to it, reaching and striving to be deep and meaningful.
Fortunately for Winton, he has the talent to pull it off, and the book IS deep, but sometimes a bit more obscure than his later work.
He draws a vivid picture of the life of Jerra, a young West Australian man trying to find his place and some meaning in his family and the world, moving from the bush to the town, from job to relationship, and always circling around his friend Sean and his doomed mother.
Winton’s true skill here is the use of his formidable talent to paint pictures of the action. Whether lyrical or grotesque, the reader’s treated to dramatic and evocative scenes of happiness, sadness, and pointless rage.
A quite wonderful book with treasures to offer the careful reader.
Fortunately for Winton, he has the talent to pull it off, and the book IS deep, but sometimes a bit more obscure than his later work.
He draws a vivid picture of the life of Jerra, a young West Australian man trying to find his place and some meaning in his family and the world, moving from the bush to the town, from job to relationship, and always circling around his friend Sean and his doomed mother.
Winton’s true skill here is the use of his formidable talent to paint pictures of the action. Whether lyrical or grotesque, the reader’s treated to dramatic and evocative scenes of happiness, sadness, and pointless rage.
A quite wonderful book with treasures to offer the careful reader.
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