Swallow the Air

by Tara June Winch

When May' s mother dies suddenly, she and her brother Billy are taken in by Aunty. However, their loss leaves them both searching for their place in a world that doesn' t seem to want them. While Billy takes his own destructive path, May sets out to find her father and her Aboriginal identity. Her journey leads her from the Australian east coast to the far north, but it is the people she meets, not the destinations, that teach her what it is to belong. Swallow the Air is an unforgettable story of living in a torn world and finding the thread to help sew it back together.

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2025

About the author

Tara June Winch is an Australian (Wiradjuri) author. Her first novel, Swallow the Air won several literary awards. In 2008, she was mentored by Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka as part of the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. After The Carnage, her second book was published in 2016 to critical acclaim. Her third, The Yield, was first published in 2019, to commercial and critical success and took out three prizes including Book of the Year at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Voss Prize, and the Prime Minister's Literary Award. She resides in France with her family.

Reviews

[Helen Maurice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful description of jacaranda trees

[Danaë Paternoster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Swallow The Air has been a roller-coaster of emotions.
Losing her mum, trying to survive in this harsh world without good support around her, and then, the search for family and finding home.

How many more will find their way home?

The Treaty Bill passed Parliament in Victoria, and this means we're one step closer to reconcilliation and unity.

I wish more people would read these First Nation Classics like this book. They are an essential read!

[Susi Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, stories like the story of May and her search for belonging need to be told so that we can understand - really understand - our First Nation People and the impact of colonisation then and still ongoing. Thank you for creating and sharing it.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5. Beautifully written but didn't do much for me

[Marco Caselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. A reread for school. Only two parts of the book were remembered from last time. I think I liked it better this time around though.

[Tylah Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, such beautiful writing.

[Nya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the writing and how I could feel the sea and her heartbreaking. The plot itself was a bit anticlimactic