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Shallows
Tim Winton brings the landscape to life in Shallows, a historical fiction novel about pride and loneliness.One hundred and fifty years after the establishment of land-based whaling in Australia, its last outpost is Angelus, a small town already struggling for survival. Long-dormant passions are awakened by the arrival of the conservationists, who threaten the town’s livelihood and disturb the fragile peace under which its inhabitants live. ‘A moving and powerful elegy . . . Winton writes vividly, and with courage, about serious matters in a cynical world.’ –Observer
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
61 people are currently reading
825 people want to read
About the author
Tim Winton
76 books2,367 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 84 reviews
July 22, 2020
Another truly amazing book from an Australian author who deserves every bit of acclaim he has ever received.
The Shallows is set in a small Western Australian beach side town in the 70's, it is a whaling town and the narratives that occurred around whaling in WA around Albany are woven into the story as are descriptions from diaries of the original whaling back when WA was still a penal colony. The strongest themes of the story however are the people themselves, long term residents of the town and their ties to the town, each other and their internal landscapes. Winton has created such strong and convincing internal dialogues that it feels like we are a voice inside the heads of the characters in the book. Like many of Winton's characters they are not necessarily particularly happy characters. The motifs of uncertainty, loneliness and ineffectual are strong, some are just outright repugnant individuals, grasping and brutally uncaring of their fellow men. The interesting thing about this book is how enjoyable I found these characters, normally I struggle to enjoy characters that I don't like but the empathy with which these characters are written means that it is no struggle to follow their lives.
In terms of actual plot, we have Reverend Pell (Yes, I know!! That knocked me back on my heels at first!) about to retire and concerned what will happen to the community and the congregation when his young replacement takes over. We have Queenie Couper, born and raised in the area by her grandfather Daniel Couper and her freshly arrived husband Cleve Cookson. When a group of objectors to whaling come to town and stage a demonstration at the whale processing plant, Queenie leaves her husband and takes up with them, since whales have been a constant part of her life and she feels strongly about them. Meanwhile Cleve languishes in a no hope job wanting to bond with the town, reading the old journals given to him by Queenies grandfather which describe the early days of whaling and the experiences of a Couper ancestor.
The way the book goes back and forth from person to person, from one point of view to another is fascinating. The vivid scenes which the writing invokes in the reader are unique. In this book we get a little less landscape than in some other books by the same author, but enough to make the place seem real.
Now,I know a lot of people do not revel in Winton's writing as much as I do. Some people have described his stories as depressing, which I have never felt about them but in this book I finally understood what they might mean: The sense of despair, aimlessness and hopelessness that the characters experience finally permeated my reading. That might be because I was in a fairly bad place personally while reading parts of it, or it might be because reading about whaling is always a difficult subject for me. Anyway - now I get it. Overall though, despite a few small blimps in the reading experience, the wealth of the characters, the beauty of the location and the fascination of the slowly unfolding plot won out and overall, I absolutely loved this book.
The Shallows is set in a small Western Australian beach side town in the 70's, it is a whaling town and the narratives that occurred around whaling in WA around Albany are woven into the story as are descriptions from diaries of the original whaling back when WA was still a penal colony. The strongest themes of the story however are the people themselves, long term residents of the town and their ties to the town, each other and their internal landscapes. Winton has created such strong and convincing internal dialogues that it feels like we are a voice inside the heads of the characters in the book. Like many of Winton's characters they are not necessarily particularly happy characters. The motifs of uncertainty, loneliness and ineffectual are strong, some are just outright repugnant individuals, grasping and brutally uncaring of their fellow men. The interesting thing about this book is how enjoyable I found these characters, normally I struggle to enjoy characters that I don't like but the empathy with which these characters are written means that it is no struggle to follow their lives.
In terms of actual plot, we have Reverend Pell (Yes, I know!! That knocked me back on my heels at first!) about to retire and concerned what will happen to the community and the congregation when his young replacement takes over. We have Queenie Couper, born and raised in the area by her grandfather Daniel Couper and her freshly arrived husband Cleve Cookson. When a group of objectors to whaling come to town and stage a demonstration at the whale processing plant, Queenie leaves her husband and takes up with them, since whales have been a constant part of her life and she feels strongly about them. Meanwhile Cleve languishes in a no hope job wanting to bond with the town, reading the old journals given to him by Queenies grandfather which describe the early days of whaling and the experiences of a Couper ancestor.
The way the book goes back and forth from person to person, from one point of view to another is fascinating. The vivid scenes which the writing invokes in the reader are unique. In this book we get a little less landscape than in some other books by the same author, but enough to make the place seem real.
Now,I know a lot of people do not revel in Winton's writing as much as I do. Some people have described his stories as depressing, which I have never felt about them but in this book I finally understood what they might mean: The sense of despair, aimlessness and hopelessness that the characters experience finally permeated my reading. That might be because I was in a fairly bad place personally while reading parts of it, or it might be because reading about whaling is always a difficult subject for me. Anyway - now I get it. Overall though, despite a few small blimps in the reading experience, the wealth of the characters, the beauty of the location and the fascination of the slowly unfolding plot won out and overall, I absolutely loved this book.
May 19, 2011
My first exposure to Tim Winton was with his post Cloudstreet works: The Rider, Dirt Music, Breath. After those three novels, I read Cloudstreet, the work that has become an Australian institution. I then decided to read his pre Cloudstreet novels (An Open Swimmer, Shallows, That Eye That Sky, In the Winter Dark), anticipating a less mature production. However, to my surprise, Winton’s voice in those first four works was surprisingly strong.
Of the four, Shallows seems closer in style and tone to his later works. If, indeed, he seems somewhat less assured in the other three of his first novels, with Shallows, the descriptions of place are breathtaking, the dialogue, pitch perfect and the themes—death, loss, family, redemption—are played out with great reflective force.
One new revelation hit me and that is Winton’s comedic vein--a gentle nod to a magic realism that re-emerges in "That Eye, the Sky" and "Cloudstreet". His characters are often overwhelmingly somber: they struggle with their pasts and are not always optimistic about their futures. They are common people leading uncommon common lives. Shallows ends on a vividly tragic note, leaving the reader with an image that jolts. But amid the somber and the jolting, images like that of Des Pustling losing his teeth from bloodless gums or of Daniel Coupar traveling from his home to Angelus on a tractor are light-hearted and playful. That playfulness is repeated in his other works.
The plot does move slowly and some reviewers have found that movement a distraction. But Winton’s novels focus on the development of characters, entwining them in the Australian landscape and in the quirks of their families and of the other characters. The movement is in lives and not in actions. Winton’s novels are savored rather than gobbled.
Of the four, Shallows seems closer in style and tone to his later works. If, indeed, he seems somewhat less assured in the other three of his first novels, with Shallows, the descriptions of place are breathtaking, the dialogue, pitch perfect and the themes—death, loss, family, redemption—are played out with great reflective force.
One new revelation hit me and that is Winton’s comedic vein--a gentle nod to a magic realism that re-emerges in "That Eye, the Sky" and "Cloudstreet". His characters are often overwhelmingly somber: they struggle with their pasts and are not always optimistic about their futures. They are common people leading uncommon common lives. Shallows ends on a vividly tragic note, leaving the reader with an image that jolts. But amid the somber and the jolting, images like that of Des Pustling losing his teeth from bloodless gums or of Daniel Coupar traveling from his home to Angelus on a tractor are light-hearted and playful. That playfulness is repeated in his other works.
The plot does move slowly and some reviewers have found that movement a distraction. But Winton’s novels focus on the development of characters, entwining them in the Australian landscape and in the quirks of their families and of the other characters. The movement is in lives and not in actions. Winton’s novels are savored rather than gobbled.
May 6, 2012
This is the book that got me writing my own novel. I thought, he's younger than me, he's surfed round Albany, and he's already written 2 national award winners. I can have a go. A long time down the track and Winton has 22 books and is arguably Australia's most awarded writer. I have one, but this is still the book that got me going.
An Augustan-style tale based around the whaling protests in Albany in the 70s, that were the flashpoint that started the fire that stopped whaling in Australia, paralleled with an emblematic convict yarn of hard settlement, this is still the best Winton book I've read. I moved on after the first 5 ('That Eye, The Sky') and never went back, though I was tempted by reports of 'The Riders' and 'Dirt Music'. There's been some silly remarks on this novel, particularly in The Washington Post, but it still loomed large in my imagination when I came to edit 'The Last Whale' some 25 years later, Chris Pash's non-fiction account of the same anti-whaling protests.A terrific effort.
An Augustan-style tale based around the whaling protests in Albany in the 70s, that were the flashpoint that started the fire that stopped whaling in Australia, paralleled with an emblematic convict yarn of hard settlement, this is still the best Winton book I've read. I moved on after the first 5 ('That Eye, The Sky') and never went back, though I was tempted by reports of 'The Riders' and 'Dirt Music'. There's been some silly remarks on this novel, particularly in The Washington Post, but it still loomed large in my imagination when I came to edit 'The Last Whale' some 25 years later, Chris Pash's non-fiction account of the same anti-whaling protests.A terrific effort.
November 27, 2020
Whales and whalers and anti whalers meet in this book about....uh......um...... relationships I think. There are some fun facts about whales in this book, for example: They are smart. This mystified me on account of I always assumed them to be dumb because I never met one that could explain the U.S. tax code to me or teach me how to love again like the whale in that movie with the boy who releases one back into the water after the whale plays with his emotions. Thats it. Whales aren't smart. They're manipulative. They don't know physics but they can make a grown man cry and make a boy commit felonies to release them.
Well, only some of that happens in this book. One way to look at it is that a woman breaks up with her alcoholic husband to go fight for whales rights. Yeah! Hooray! But another way to see it is that the whale conspired to break up a perfectly decent man's marriage and then drove him to drink. It's ultimately for the reader to decide. What side are you on?! All I am saying is that this woman spends a lot of time in the water for someone who is as innocent as she claims.
There's a funny man who keeps loosing and regrowing teeth and some sexy stuff but not too much and there is a Frenchman and a bit of shark hunting, but the best is when a man shoots a kangaroo with a harpoon gun (probably mistaking it for an adulterous whale) now why didn't I think of that?
This book is for: People who like romance and whales, people who like Australian whales, whales.
This book is not for: Whalers, people what don't understand the literature of the Aussies.
Well, only some of that happens in this book. One way to look at it is that a woman breaks up with her alcoholic husband to go fight for whales rights. Yeah! Hooray! But another way to see it is that the whale conspired to break up a perfectly decent man's marriage and then drove him to drink. It's ultimately for the reader to decide. What side are you on?! All I am saying is that this woman spends a lot of time in the water for someone who is as innocent as she claims.
There's a funny man who keeps loosing and regrowing teeth and some sexy stuff but not too much and there is a Frenchman and a bit of shark hunting, but the best is when a man shoots a kangaroo with a harpoon gun (probably mistaking it for an adulterous whale) now why didn't I think of that?
This book is for: People who like romance and whales, people who like Australian whales, whales.
This book is not for: Whalers, people what don't understand the literature of the Aussies.
December 7, 2016
I decided to give this book 3 stars because, while I didn't particularly enjoy it, I think it still addresses some important and interesting issues that are still relevant today, such as environmental/animal activism and the questioning of tradition.
This is the first Tim Winton book I have read, and I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy it, given the frequency with which some of his other titles appear on lists of the best Australian literature, and also because I was drawn in by the ominous one-word title. I didn't feel connected with the story or characters. Throughout, it felt as though I really was an outsider, or simply watching the story play out without really having any true understanding or inclusion in the character's lives. This disconnection was yet another source of disappointment for me, as I do feel that the issues covered in the story are very relevant to myself and to the world today. For example, the fishing and whaling industries are still - or more - damaging now, and there is still a conflict between tradition (humans have always eaten and used sea creatures and should continue to do so) and ethics (the fact that we continue to over-fish in the name of tradition and money despite knowing the negative impacts it is having on the environment and species). Being someone that cares about the environment a lot, I really wanted to feel some sort of emotional connection with the characters in 'Shallows', but on the contrary felt rather indifferent throughout. The story failed to get my heart racing, even though in my head, I wanted to find out what happened next, and my hopes for a positive outcome were left unfulfilled.
Despite the way I feel about this book, I suspect that Winton may have wanted the readers to feel this way. The fact that I felt like a complete outsider with no understanding of the characters is exactly the kind of reception that the activists are given when they protest against whaling in Angelus; told that they have no understanding of the importance of the whaling industry in that town, and to 'go home... and let the workers alone'. This is a conflict of interests which reflects how I approached the book; I wanted to find many characters sympathetic to the cause I would support, but was left disappointed. In addition, I think Winton may have wanted readers to feel unemotional throughout because this reflects that many people do feel indifferent about environmental issues and it is very difficult to change people's minds, especially when the economy is so tightly linked to the industries that do the damage.
Overall, I can't say I enjoyed reading this book. However, it is still worth reading both for its relevance to today's issues and for Winton's literary skill in making the reader feel a particular way, and maybe even to question their own beliefs.
This is the first Tim Winton book I have read, and I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy it, given the frequency with which some of his other titles appear on lists of the best Australian literature, and also because I was drawn in by the ominous one-word title. I didn't feel connected with the story or characters. Throughout, it felt as though I really was an outsider, or simply watching the story play out without really having any true understanding or inclusion in the character's lives. This disconnection was yet another source of disappointment for me, as I do feel that the issues covered in the story are very relevant to myself and to the world today. For example, the fishing and whaling industries are still - or more - damaging now, and there is still a conflict between tradition (humans have always eaten and used sea creatures and should continue to do so) and ethics (the fact that we continue to over-fish in the name of tradition and money despite knowing the negative impacts it is having on the environment and species). Being someone that cares about the environment a lot, I really wanted to feel some sort of emotional connection with the characters in 'Shallows', but on the contrary felt rather indifferent throughout. The story failed to get my heart racing, even though in my head, I wanted to find out what happened next, and my hopes for a positive outcome were left unfulfilled.
Despite the way I feel about this book, I suspect that Winton may have wanted the readers to feel this way. The fact that I felt like a complete outsider with no understanding of the characters is exactly the kind of reception that the activists are given when they protest against whaling in Angelus; told that they have no understanding of the importance of the whaling industry in that town, and to 'go home... and let the workers alone'. This is a conflict of interests which reflects how I approached the book; I wanted to find many characters sympathetic to the cause I would support, but was left disappointed. In addition, I think Winton may have wanted readers to feel unemotional throughout because this reflects that many people do feel indifferent about environmental issues and it is very difficult to change people's minds, especially when the economy is so tightly linked to the industries that do the damage.
Overall, I can't say I enjoyed reading this book. However, it is still worth reading both for its relevance to today's issues and for Winton's literary skill in making the reader feel a particular way, and maybe even to question their own beliefs.
September 17, 2019
Normally I love Tim Winton books. However this one was tediously difficult to get through. I found, as usual, his swallowing of a thesaurus tiring. I decided to press on, (I do not like to leave a book halfway through) and found the drollness of the character background starting to drag me down. As the book progressed, I found my interest starting to rise. We finally get past the descriptive of the background for each character, and we start to actually feel for them. Albeit more than halfway through the book!
The last few chapters were probably the best in the whole book and I actually enjoyed some of the revelations of the characters starting to match the whales progression.
Would I recommend this book to someone who has not read Tim Winton before; No. Whilst it was insightful and interesting enough, it was bogged down by, almost, Dickensian style of descriptive.
To be honest, I found it depressing, and whilst I respect that fact of the whales being killed IS depressing, it was not a book I enjoyed.
The last few chapters were probably the best in the whole book and I actually enjoyed some of the revelations of the characters starting to match the whales progression.
Would I recommend this book to someone who has not read Tim Winton before; No. Whilst it was insightful and interesting enough, it was bogged down by, almost, Dickensian style of descriptive.
To be honest, I found it depressing, and whilst I respect that fact of the whales being killed IS depressing, it was not a book I enjoyed.
March 13, 2024
A Tim Winton classic that explores the dynamics between individual passions and shared dreams in marriages and villages.
The book is typically Australian as all Winton’s are, taking you to the beach in search of wisdom, whales and wonder. Littered with biblical wisdom he tracks the hopes and goals of two who cannot be completely together of one mind nor go their separate ways.
It deals with the complexities wondrously and is worth the read.
The book is typically Australian as all Winton’s are, taking you to the beach in search of wisdom, whales and wonder. Littered with biblical wisdom he tracks the hopes and goals of two who cannot be completely together of one mind nor go their separate ways.
It deals with the complexities wondrously and is worth the read.
July 6, 2020
This is Winton’s second novel, published in 1985. My first Winton was Cloudstreet - an approach I encourage others to avoid - and I have read almost all of the others, so it seemed important to complete the catalogue. This is an award winning book. It has all of the things I love about a Winton novel - exquisite descriptions of place, raw, real people, and a plot of angst, anger and human vulnerability. Nevertheless, it just didn’t grab me. Set during the whaling protests of the 70s, it is, perhaps, the setting and its horrors that kept me from loving it. Or perhaps I’m just too exhausted at the moment to give it my full attention. I’m not sure. But it’s a no from me.
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June 28, 2023This is a Tim Winton book that has been sitting on my shelf for many years. I picked it up a few weeks ago to start. I got half way through and found myself frustrated - frustrated that I was not engaged in the story, the characters, the town. I expect a lot from Tim Winton. He is the most amazing human being and writer but I just did not want to keep reading. I also didn’t want to give up, so I borrowed the audio book version as a digital download and finished reading this book by listening to it. I listened as I walked my dog, as I folded washing and put it away, as I tried to get to sleep at night and on my way to work in the car. The over riding emotion I had from this book was one of frustration. It was not until I got to the end that it occurred to me that this might be just the feeling Tim was trying to elicit in his readers. In the book we have characters who are frustrated by their age, frustrated by their inability to make a difference, frustrated by the town they live in and the choices they have made. In fact, every single character is yearning for something more than they have. I wanted this book to have some element of hope and you get a sense that it just might finish this way but, it does not and rightly so, as a hopeful, happy ending would be extremely out of place for this novel.
So, I ask myself these questions after finishing this book:
Did I enjoy this book?- no
Did I want to enjoy it? - yes
Is it important to enjoy a book for it to be a good book? - no
Would I recommend this book to others? - only those who already love Tim Winton
Did this book make me feel something? - yes
In conclusion, this is a good book. It is thought-provoking and beautifully written. It is not an easy experience to read this book (or listen to it) but I’m glad I persevered. It is a Tim Winton book and, although it did not make me feel uplifted or joyful, it succeeded in making me feel exactly how I was supposed to feel and this in one of Tim Winton’s greatest strengths.
So, I ask myself these questions after finishing this book:
Did I enjoy this book?- no
Did I want to enjoy it? - yes
Is it important to enjoy a book for it to be a good book? - no
Would I recommend this book to others? - only those who already love Tim Winton
Did this book make me feel something? - yes
In conclusion, this is a good book. It is thought-provoking and beautifully written. It is not an easy experience to read this book (or listen to it) but I’m glad I persevered. It is a Tim Winton book and, although it did not make me feel uplifted or joyful, it succeeded in making me feel exactly how I was supposed to feel and this in one of Tim Winton’s greatest strengths.
January 2, 2021
One hundred and fifty years after the establishment of land-based whaling in Australia, its last outpost is Angelus, a small town already struggling for survival.
The arrival of the anti-whaling conservationists, threatens the town’s livelihood and delicate fabric of society. The conflicts between conservative leaning people and the more progressive are fueled by the urging threat on the ability to provide of many of the people that work in the dwindling wailing industry.
The conflict splits families and brings to the surface society tensions.
The book is well written and researched and gives us a good picture of the possible disasters that modernization causes some parts of society to face. The book could be set in a mining town or, based on the hardships that many industries face and will face as modernization and planet conservations makes them obsolete.
A good read, as it may be a preparation for what many of us or our close ones may endure in the close future.
The arrival of the anti-whaling conservationists, threatens the town’s livelihood and delicate fabric of society. The conflicts between conservative leaning people and the more progressive are fueled by the urging threat on the ability to provide of many of the people that work in the dwindling wailing industry.
The conflict splits families and brings to the surface society tensions.
The book is well written and researched and gives us a good picture of the possible disasters that modernization causes some parts of society to face. The book could be set in a mining town or, based on the hardships that many industries face and will face as modernization and planet conservations makes them obsolete.
A good read, as it may be a preparation for what many of us or our close ones may endure in the close future.
May 16, 2020
Reminds me quite a bit of McCarthy’s The Crossing. Similar themes of futile deaths and wasted endeavours and humankind’s intensely conflicted relationship with the other living things with which we share the planet. I found it a slow narrative at first, but enjoyed the richness of the writing. Main complaint is that not all of the subplots relating the large cast of townspeople seemed to have a lot of relevance to the conclusion; I’m still wondering why I spent to much time reading about the Reverend and small-town real estate mogul. Their dramas feel oddly disconnected from the core themes of the book.
November 25, 2024
Finished Monday evening. Was alright, a bit too opaquely evocative, plotless.
April 28, 2024
Tim really named is book after his characters with this one.
March 31, 2022
Tim Winton captured small town dependency on a major activity perfectly. He showed all the underground activity in a locality that the tourists don't see and shows how constricting it can be to be different in such a place. He eloquently shows life was tough in the past and still is in the present.
He captured the feel of Australia's development perfectly.
He captured the feel of Australia's development perfectly.
December 18, 2020
Shallows is set in the small whaling town of Angelus in Western Australia, where whaling has been a part of the town for over 150 years. When Queenie meets a group of anti-whaling protesters in the town, she decides to join them - defying her husband (who she leaves to take up with the protesters), her family and her town.
I love a Tim Winton book, with this being the fifth book of his that I’ve read. This one however is probably my least favourite of the books I have read.
It still has the trademark atmospheric writing where you can feel, see and taste where you are. Angelus is practically a character of its own and the writing conveys a relatively sleepy, slow town that goes about its business and doesn’t particularly like change.
Collectively, the characters are an extension of the town with people who have lived the same way and alongside the same families for generations and you really get a sense of the slow pace and small town feel of the characters. Individually, the characters lacked something for me and I didn’t feel any connection to any of them whatsoever, which is why I didn’t enjoy this book at much as his others.
There is some great information about whales in this book, which I really enjoyed and wished there was more of! Although this book didn’t wow me, I certainly didn’t dislike it and appreciate that there were underlying themes to think about that are certainly very relevant to our lives currently. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I love a Tim Winton book, with this being the fifth book of his that I’ve read. This one however is probably my least favourite of the books I have read.
It still has the trademark atmospheric writing where you can feel, see and taste where you are. Angelus is practically a character of its own and the writing conveys a relatively sleepy, slow town that goes about its business and doesn’t particularly like change.
Collectively, the characters are an extension of the town with people who have lived the same way and alongside the same families for generations and you really get a sense of the slow pace and small town feel of the characters. Individually, the characters lacked something for me and I didn’t feel any connection to any of them whatsoever, which is why I didn’t enjoy this book at much as his others.
There is some great information about whales in this book, which I really enjoyed and wished there was more of! Although this book didn’t wow me, I certainly didn’t dislike it and appreciate that there were underlying themes to think about that are certainly very relevant to our lives currently. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
March 30, 2021
This novel set in the small Australian whaling town of Angelus in the 1970’s, presumably pays homage to the environmental protestors who demonstrated and petitioned to stop the cruel whaling industry.
This story ought to have engaged me totally, as I am a keen environmentalist. The slaughter of whales over a century and a half occupied a dark time in marine history. However, the characters in ‘Shallows’ never captured my empathy. I found them all dull and lacking in intelligence. Their efforts resulted in a media frenzy with reporters and journalists flocking to the town to party and disrupt, rather than to effectively initiate change.
I struggled to finish the story, as it was as depressing as the landscape. Angelus, a previous penal settlement, certainly was not an inviting setting. The main characters, especially Queenie and Cleve Cookson, spent their lives in a state of melancholic helplessness. They had no ambition or direction. There was too much unresolved introspection. The flowery language could not mitigate the lack of flow or clarity in the storyline.
Only the plight of the whales held my attention. Even the long-suffering whales gave up at the conclusion!
I love some of Tim Winton’s work. But not this one.
This story ought to have engaged me totally, as I am a keen environmentalist. The slaughter of whales over a century and a half occupied a dark time in marine history. However, the characters in ‘Shallows’ never captured my empathy. I found them all dull and lacking in intelligence. Their efforts resulted in a media frenzy with reporters and journalists flocking to the town to party and disrupt, rather than to effectively initiate change.
I struggled to finish the story, as it was as depressing as the landscape. Angelus, a previous penal settlement, certainly was not an inviting setting. The main characters, especially Queenie and Cleve Cookson, spent their lives in a state of melancholic helplessness. They had no ambition or direction. There was too much unresolved introspection. The flowery language could not mitigate the lack of flow or clarity in the storyline.
Only the plight of the whales held my attention. Even the long-suffering whales gave up at the conclusion!
I love some of Tim Winton’s work. But not this one.
January 1, 2015
The conclusion of this novel left me with a sense of hopelessness. In fact, the novel felt like it has a pervading sense of gloom throughout. The many characters are intensely morose.
Yes, it's a serious subject that deserves intense consideration, but without the usual Winton humour it has a feeling of drab flatness, no pathway to redemption, just resignation…and perhaps rightly so, since we are still defending the whales from human exploitation.
The narrative is steeped in the historical and I found it difficult to hold the narrative together, something of a saga condensed.
And yes, it is faithful to how things were in 1978.
The little cameo paragraphs are beautiful. And the usual Winton immersion in the natural environment is ever present in this work.
Yes, it's a serious subject that deserves intense consideration, but without the usual Winton humour it has a feeling of drab flatness, no pathway to redemption, just resignation…and perhaps rightly so, since we are still defending the whales from human exploitation.
The narrative is steeped in the historical and I found it difficult to hold the narrative together, something of a saga condensed.
And yes, it is faithful to how things were in 1978.
The little cameo paragraphs are beautiful. And the usual Winton immersion in the natural environment is ever present in this work.
September 30, 2022
“Whales don’t operate their best in shallow water… their sonar gets hazy in that kind of uniform terrain… they can’t identify it properly, make mistakes, get frantic, they’re stuck. And all this complicated loyalty. If one goes, all go… being a whale in shallow water is a godawful business. Navigation is ultra-complex.”
Pretty much sums up how easily our own loves & loyalties can get us, and those around us, inexplicably beached. What a wonderful book.
Pretty much sums up how easily our own loves & loyalties can get us, and those around us, inexplicably beached. What a wonderful book.
February 27, 2018
I've read four other books by this author and enjoyed them greatly. This book was a struggle to get through. I get why it won such critical praise its sparse, at times poetic, and tackles important issues of the time it was written, but for me it was very slow going. None of the characters were all that interesting, and even from the very beginning I kept wondering is this a part two of another book. The fleshing out of the characters- what little was provided happened in drips and drabs, and again they just weren't that interesting.
I still like the author but for me his more current books are just more interesting.
I still like the author but for me his more current books are just more interesting.
January 10, 2013
He is good - that Tim Winton fellow. I hadn't heard of this book and neither had the friends I asked. Set in Angelus/Albany - whaling industry/protesters -3 different periods of history.
He is a bit of a master. Quite a powerful book. Think I might have to read it again to take it all in. The whaling industry has long ceased in Albany (& they've figured out you can make money out of tourism) - but there is still the Japanese whaling - so this is still a very relevant book for these times. Well worth a read.
He is a bit of a master. Quite a powerful book. Think I might have to read it again to take it all in. The whaling industry has long ceased in Albany (& they've figured out you can make money out of tourism) - but there is still the Japanese whaling - so this is still a very relevant book for these times. Well worth a read.
October 15, 2022
I love Tim Winton’s writing, but this one I struggled through, a brutal experience of brutal subject matter, so much despair, and nauseating … which is exactly what whale hunting is. Maybe it should be four stars rather than three…?
February 4, 2024
Tim Winton's "Shallows," his second novel, takes place in the turbulent waters of a dying whaling town, Angelus (a thinly-veiled stand-in for Albany, West Australia). Queenie Cookson is caught between tradition and conservation. As she grapples with her family's whaling legacy as activists descend upon the town, the surrounding characters are richly drawn and wrestle with complex moral dilemmas. The novel explores environmentalism, community conflict, and personal transformation. However, for mine, the book stumbles into an underdeveloped subplot involving the local Aboriginal community.
Their presence remains mainly on the narrative's periphery as observers or vessels for exposition. We glean glimpses of their history, their connection to the land, and their disapproval of the whaling, but these insights remain fragmented and unexplored. Their voices are rarely heard, and their perspectives are seldom genuinely integrated into the central conflict.
This lack of development weakens the novel's thematic complexity. While "Shallows" critiques the environmental and cultural destruction caused by whaling, it doesn't fully engage with the historical and present-day impact on the Aboriginal people. Their inclusion feels tokenistic, a missed chance to delve into the complexities of colonialism, dispossession, and the fight for environmental justice from a truly intersectional perspective.
It's worth acknowledging that, writing in 1984, Winton's approach to engaging with the Aboriginal story within the narrative may have been different than if he were writing today. However, in a 2024 reading, the concern for whales, while undeniably important, feels jarring when juxtaposed with the relegation of the region's First Peoples to almost an afterthought. This leaves a lingering sense of incompleteness, a shallowness that mars the otherwise rich narrative depths.
"Shallows" remains a powerful novel, but its treatment of the Aboriginal community serves as a reminder of the evolving landscape of representation and the importance of critically examining even well-regarded classics through a contemporary lens.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
Their presence remains mainly on the narrative's periphery as observers or vessels for exposition. We glean glimpses of their history, their connection to the land, and their disapproval of the whaling, but these insights remain fragmented and unexplored. Their voices are rarely heard, and their perspectives are seldom genuinely integrated into the central conflict.
This lack of development weakens the novel's thematic complexity. While "Shallows" critiques the environmental and cultural destruction caused by whaling, it doesn't fully engage with the historical and present-day impact on the Aboriginal people. Their inclusion feels tokenistic, a missed chance to delve into the complexities of colonialism, dispossession, and the fight for environmental justice from a truly intersectional perspective.
It's worth acknowledging that, writing in 1984, Winton's approach to engaging with the Aboriginal story within the narrative may have been different than if he were writing today. However, in a 2024 reading, the concern for whales, while undeniably important, feels jarring when juxtaposed with the relegation of the region's First Peoples to almost an afterthought. This leaves a lingering sense of incompleteness, a shallowness that mars the otherwise rich narrative depths.
"Shallows" remains a powerful novel, but its treatment of the Aboriginal community serves as a reminder of the evolving landscape of representation and the importance of critically examining even well-regarded classics through a contemporary lens.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2
November 28, 2025
There’s a tinge of sadness on every page reading Shallows. I’ve read a few of Winton’s book and they are steeped with emotion. This is no exception. The towns lifeblood, whaling, is also its nemesis, and as each whale is flensed so is the town’s soul.
. The whaling metaphor in powerful - The elders of the town, as with the head of the pod, determine the rhythm and direction and if one or two make a wrong turn it can spell destruction for the whole group. Youngsters influenced from birth must fight to continue if these elders perish.
The shallows are death for the whale, life is shallow in the town - no jobs, prospects, survival critical and a perpetual thought. Each day is a new breath which must continue to live but those breaths are getting weaker - literally for some!
Whilst the shallows loom, deeper water, a future, hope, is always there - it just takes a special kind of person, a leader, to get them there.
. The whaling metaphor in powerful - The elders of the town, as with the head of the pod, determine the rhythm and direction and if one or two make a wrong turn it can spell destruction for the whole group. Youngsters influenced from birth must fight to continue if these elders perish.
The shallows are death for the whale, life is shallow in the town - no jobs, prospects, survival critical and a perpetual thought. Each day is a new breath which must continue to live but those breaths are getting weaker - literally for some!
Whilst the shallows loom, deeper water, a future, hope, is always there - it just takes a special kind of person, a leader, to get them there.
January 20, 2024
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Winton’s second novel, Shallows, tells the story of the community of Angelus - the last whaling port in Australia. Taking place in the late 70s, what happens when lines are drawn between the livelihood of the townspeople and the rights of these great animals?
As Winton is wont to do, Shallows follows the threads of a number of characters and their contributions that bring a setting to life, making the scenery as much a contributor as its inhabitants.
Shallows is vivid, provides vast social commentary and explores the things that go unsaid, crafting someone’s personality, affecting their relationships and aspirations.
Some character threads weren’t really picked up toward the end, which left me a bit wanting, however, this is a great story to be slow with, savoured and then prepared for the subtle, but dazzling crescendo to finish.
3.5
Winton’s second novel, Shallows, tells the story of the community of Angelus - the last whaling port in Australia. Taking place in the late 70s, what happens when lines are drawn between the livelihood of the townspeople and the rights of these great animals?
As Winton is wont to do, Shallows follows the threads of a number of characters and their contributions that bring a setting to life, making the scenery as much a contributor as its inhabitants.
Shallows is vivid, provides vast social commentary and explores the things that go unsaid, crafting someone’s personality, affecting their relationships and aspirations.
Some character threads weren’t really picked up toward the end, which left me a bit wanting, however, this is a great story to be slow with, savoured and then prepared for the subtle, but dazzling crescendo to finish.
3.5
August 29, 2018
I had to read this for school. Everyone (including me) hated it - and put me off reading Winton for years. Luckily I tried Dirt Music - and he won me over in a big way, and I've loved everything he's written since.
Wondering whether I should give this another try. Was it just not pitched for a 17 year old Melbourne suburban girl?
Wondering whether I should give this another try. Was it just not pitched for a 17 year old Melbourne suburban girl?
July 5, 2020
I'm a big Tim Winton fan, I've loved everything of his I've read, to date, except this. Beautifully written with, as always, gorgeous use of language, but it's wasted a story where nothing happens. Couldn't wait to get to the end just so it would be over. I kept reading as I was convinced something workgroup happen. So disappointed
August 9, 2017
I don't know why I keep coming back to Tim Winton, when I've struggled and not enjoyed his style before. For some reason I thought the movie "The Shallows" was an adaptation of this novel and I wanted to see the movie. The movie now I've seen it, was fantastic, the novel not anything to do with the movie was very ordinary and failed to keep me interested.
September 13, 2019
Another great read from Tim Winton. Pretty dark, fantastic characters and a great setting. Pace is nice, easy to sink in to. A read that looks at the bleak things humans do to themselves when sometimes trying their hardest look for good.
April 15, 2021
A very well written book about the Australian whaling industry and one woman’s plight to try and stop the practice of whaling. It covers environmental and political issues as well as flashbacks to the brutality of the early settlers against the land, Nature and the indigenous people.
June 4, 2023
A difficult, fragmented book to read, not my fave Tim Winton, but as always damn good enough to drag you along, sometimes kicking and screaming. In the end it left it’s mark which is all you can ask for.
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