Product Description

Cloudstreet: a broken-down house of former glories on the wrong side of the tracks, a place teeming with memories of its own, a place of shudders and shadows and spirits.

From separate catastrophes, two families flee to the city and find themselves sharing this great sighing structure and beginning their lives again from scratch. Together they roister and rankle in a house that begins as a roof over their heads and becomes a home for their hearts.

'Imagine Neighbours being taken over by the writing team of John Steinbeck and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and you'll be close to the heart of Winton's impressive tale' Time Out

'Winton is just one of the best' Independent

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9303 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

About the Author

Tim Winton was born in Perth in 1960. His work includes novels, collections of stories, non-fiction and books for children. He has won the miles Franklin Award three times, and been twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, for The Riders (1995) and Dirt Music (2002).

Customer Reviews

An extraordinary book about extraordinary ordinary people
"Cloudstreet" tells fantastic stories which are undiminished by the normality of its characters. Set in Australia 1930s-1960s, it tells the tale of the Pickles family and the Lamb family. Both families, suffering from tragedy and shame, move into a large ramshackle house on Cloud Street, and the stage is set for each character to tell their story as it entwines seamlessly with the lives of those around them.

No character in this book is dislikeable - the very humanity of each individual, the way that they are formed by their failings and triumphs, makes you truly care about them. Whether they be unfulfilled Dolly Pickles, guilt-ridden Quick Lamb, dreaming optimistic Sam Pickles or hard-working Lester Lamb, these people jump off the page and become your neighbour/friend/enemy.

'Cloudstreet' is fiercely funny, painfully moving, and above all an utterly captivating triumph of love, and life, over adversity.

unsentimental depiction of ordinary courage
Winton has a sentimental affection for Western Audtralia and the land. However, Cloudstreet pays homage to ordinary people without the sentimentality that has spoilt similar novels. His characters are fundamentally decent people, coping with life's problems they best way they know how. Winton loves them enough to offer no excuses for their failings. Imagine people with nothing in common thrust into a house creaking with its own secrets and you have a reason to read cloudstreet. The novel sweeps through the years and its issues painlessly. The balance of humour and realism is wonderful. Winton has an unpretentious style which is easy to understand and sympathise with. He obviously loves these characters and you will come to as well. It's not a short novel, but it is well worth the effort. I am on my third read, and it is different every time. A book worth having.

Cloudstreet
This is an amazing book. Tim Winton has such a remarkable gift for writing characters that you can really visualise. His descriptions are breath taking and the characters are incredibly funny people, faulted as all people are, but loveable none the less. You will not be able to put this down and when you finish reading it, I suggest you read it again because its even better the second time.