From the Bookshelf of Aussie Readers…

How It Feels

Brendan Cowell

Why we're reading this: "I had no idea how free we were. That's how free I was."
An old friend, a best friend, a first love and t…more
[close] "I had no idea how free we were. That's how free I was."
An old friend, a best friend, a first love and the dreamer Neil Cronk who connects them all...
Four schoolfriends are on the verge of adulthood and the next 12 hours will change the course of their lives... Friendships will be broken, virginity lost, love unleashed and secrets buried.
A decade later, one is dead, one is famous, two are getting married, and the truth is about to erupt.
Wildly funny, brutal, tender and true, How It Feels is a coming-of-age story set in Sydney's Sutherland Shire with stopovers in Bathurst and London. Brendan Cowell's electrifying debut novel is a devastating ode to youth, capturing the beauty of growing up by the beach, and the darkness which moves beneath its surface.
Because this is how it feels.

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What Members Thought

Aug 05, 2011 Mary rated it it was ok

I found this book to be extremely depressing. The writing seems to be really well done, and I can visualise the whole thing as it happens. I can easily see it being a movie, but the subject matter wasn't my cup of tea. It is extremely removed from my own experience of high school and being a young adult, that i couldn't relate to it. I was really glad when the book was over, just so i could put the whole experience behind me. As well written as it is, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone to read. ...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Jenny rated it really liked it

So, how does it feel? Like a nightmare. From an artistic perspective, this is a masterpiece. (For this reason and this reason only I'll give it 4 stars.) ButI can't for the life of me work out why the world needs it. The story, rife with drug-taking, sex and every unimaginably disgusting act a human is capable of, holds all the fascination of a four car pile up on the highway: something you don't want to look at but just can't help yourself. Similarly, it leaves you feeling ashamed and disgusted ...more

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Sep 28, 2011 Kirstin Knight rated it it was ok

Not really sure whether I liked this book or not. I love Brendan Cowell as an actor/co-writer of Love My Way and I Love You Too and this book has a similar feel to it. The storyline is raw and at times confronting. I guess I just found it hard to relate to the characters. But the book did make me laugh and cry at times so it seems the book must have touched me on some level. I'm not sure I liked the ending either, it seemed unfinished to me. ...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Reader's Lust rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-2018

An in your face account of the lives of four characters. It involves a lot of sex, drugs, suicide and decisions that change the characters lives forever. It is a book that you will either love or hate. Beautifully written and engaging.

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