That Eye, the Sky

I love Tim Winton's writing and I just love this short novel. A struggling family is trying to live the fading dream of an alternative life on a farmlet on the fringe of a city. Disaster strikes and the family members react in different ways. As life falls apart around them, an edgy, mysterious and ambivalent character enters their lives and soon turns them upside down. The son (the narrator) and mother turn to faith, while the daughter heads in the opposite direction. The ending is as ambivalent as the mysterious stranger, but full of hope and symbolism. This is a simple story, but told with Winton's trademark unpretentious but powerful style. The son is a naive yet knowing observer with an unorthodox and numinous spirituality. The dialogue is full of laconic Aussie humour. The mother's and son's fortitude and faith are inspiring, and their brief tangles with conventional religion quite hilarious. Most of all, the reader feels for them as they struggle with the difficulties of life, and I felt completely drawn into their life together. Reading and re-reading this book has been a wonderful experience.

I agree with the reviewer in April of 2003. I really enjoyed the book. You fall in love with Ort. Seeing things through his eyes are very touching and funny at times. The end is definately what you make of it - a good book for discussion - book club.

That Eye, the Sky is a novel about a family in the outback of Australia. Life goes wrong when the father is in a car accident and in a coma afterwards. It is narrated by twelve year old Ort Flack. Through his eyes we meet his Dad, his Mum, the helpless hippy, Tegwyn, his angry sister, Fat his only friend and Henry, the missionary that saves them. Through the eyes of Ort, the story of the Flack family unfolds, in simple, but beautifully written language. The novel jumps from reality to surreality, from living on the dole in the outback to miracles and mystical lights. It end on a strange surreal note and the reader is left to make of it what he/she chooses. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I don't quite know what to make of the end of this book. I would love to discuss it with someone that read it.