Blueback

by Tim Winton

The final volume in the iconic Penguin Australian Children's Classics series, Blueback is a deceptively simple allegory about a boy who matures through fortitude, and finds wisdom by living in harmony with all forms of life. A beautiful distillation of Winton's art and concerns.

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Young Adult, School, Nature, Contemporary, Childrens

65 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Tim 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.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook….read by Stig Wemyss
….1 hour and 27 minutes

Thank you Bianca for turning me on to this book!!

I CAN’T BELIEVE I CRIED!!!!

I’ve been meaning to read several novels by Tim Winton for years (even own a few of his paperbacks: where the print is looking smaller as I age)….
But this audiobook was a nice start - intro into Tim Winton…..
MORE THAN A NICE START!!!!

You gotta listen it it!!!!
Anything I say is just not it —
By the time you get to the end of this hour spent listening— you realize just how special this book is.

“Blueblack” — was first published in 1997…..soon to be adapted to a full length film in 2023.
It’s a touching story…..about a mum and a boy living a life in tune with the environment”….
… beware of those with greedy developers and overfishing …

Abel, ten years old, and his mother, Dora, who lived in Longboat Bay, worried about ways to keep their place safe.
Abel’s father died when he was little — and everything about the sea was a memory to Abel in relationship to his father. To his mother too!

Diving for abalone, Able sees an ‘old groper’ (the largest carnivorous bony fish species found living on reefs in the Australian waters) ….
Almost everyday Able swam with Blueback.
…. gotta listen to this audio to learn more that happens here—

At age thirteen, Able needed to go away to school -
I won’t go too much into this part other than, yeah, he did fine in school and made some friends but he felt home sickness for his home by the sea. I felt that homesickness right along with him.


…. then something sad happens …
Best not to say too much —
Remember— it’s only an hour of your time — and I promise it’s an hour worth spent!!

Its a marvelous fable for all ages…for people who love the sea. A story about growing up, love, loss, and showing great respect for our natural living world.

But the FEELINGS ….
The DEEP APPRECIATION that readers will feel must be experienced.

All around the land — the sea —was a National Park….. with an orchard of fruit trees: apricot trees lemon trees, Peppermint trees, (a tree Dora used as a type of shrine for the loss of her husband)… and others….
There was no electricity —no TV.
Abel and his mom grew their own vegetables.
It was hard work sometimes living the way that they did— but Abel had never known any other life.
He roamed through the forest and swam in the sea every day. He was lonely sometimes but he liked being with his mother.
Sometimes during the evenings he watched the kangaroos — I wanted to join him.

It was sooo tender sweet ‘taking in’ the inside voice of Abel. He knew that one day he wanted to work with fish. — He knew that the sea was his home.

Abel‘s father had been a Pearl diver. Every year his dad went north for Pearl season.
It was boring work his father said — but he went back every year. And one year a shark killed him. But the memory of who his father lives on and on.
I feel it too.

I loved this little family - this story -
I think my heart just grew wings!!!

Fishing, planting, the land, the water….it was life for Able — he didn’t care about more money — a bigger city —

Blueblack is a heartbreaking allegory about a boy and his mother and a blue groper—
It’s hard to explain why this book feels so magically wonderful…..
…..with a very sad — bittersweet sweet scene ( gotta examine it bigger I said to myself) —
But….
towards the end, during a walk, I had to sit down on the curb to wipe my eyes.

“We come from the water ….
We belong to it”.
These are words I’d like to paint - and put around my own tub of water in the yard.

Abel figured his mother knew all the secrets of the sea…. And I believed him!!!!

Note….
….everybody who reads this book is meeting over at Bianca‘s house — in Australia— to watch the movie next year. 🤫
I’ll bring snacks!! 💦🐠🦀🐬🐋🐳❤️

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple yet very sincere telling of a boys life attached to the ocean from babyhood to adulthood. 'We come from water' she said, 'We belong to it'. Abel is looking for the answer to the sea, and has devoted his life to finding out what this could be. What he knows for sure is that humans impact this perfect world. This text would be great for anyone from 9 years of age to 90. Tim Winton tells another story based on the ocean, a riddle of nature versus human spoiling, in his calm and steady manner. After this I am left thinking he is a wise storyteller.

[Dolors · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ocean possesses a special magnetism, humans have always sought to be beside water. The blue line where blue meets blue hypnotizes those lucky enough to witness such a natural spectacle, that of water and sky merging together in infinite horizon. The mind wanders, pupils dilate and body and soul breathe in unison, expanding with the little particles of seawater that washes us clean.

Abel Jackson, the protagonist of this allegoric tale, is fully aware of the value of the sea. As a child, he spent long days diving along the coast of Longboat Bay with his mother, searching for food to provide for their simple lifestyle, but also establishing a lifelong relationship with marine life. And an old groper, metallic blue like the ocean itself, becomes his best friend and also the symbol that will remain imbedded in his mind when he leaves his beloved coast of Western Australia to attend university.
But home is where the heart is, and Abel’s heart never left the small patch of the sea that made him the man he is. The world of his boyhood might be vanishing but he finds the courage to fight for a way of life that stays in tune with all forms of life and that respects the natural environment.

An unpretentious but poignant short story about family and belonging that will charm those in love with the sea, with the tides that roll in and out in perfect rhythm, speaking to us in a universal language that goes beyond our ancestry.
Humans are mostly water after all, it isn’t that strange that we quiver with life the closer we get to it, is it?

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 5 out of 5]

5★
“He whirled around to see a huge mouth and an eye the size of a golfball coming at him. The mouth opened. He saw massive pegs of teeth as it came on in a terrible rush. Abel screamed in his snorkel and pushed hard off the bottom but the big blue shadow suddenly had him by the hand.”

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a child or an adult reading this, it sounds terrifying and you want to know what happens next. Fortunately, it isn’t a shark wanting to rip him from limb to limb.

“The big gills fanned. All its armoured scales rippled in lines of green and black blending into the dizziest blue. The groper moved without the slightest effort. It was magnificent; the most beautiful thing Abel had ever seen.”

Blueback. He loves abalone, which is all he was trying to snatch from Abel’s hand, not take the hand itself.

For me, the best books for kids are those that are also enjoyable for adults to read. The author doesn’t talk down, but keeps the language simple enough to tell even a quite complex story and keep the plot moving.

This is one of those books. I’ve always enjoyed Winton’s writing, especially about his beloved Western Australian coast. I’m no diver, but I’ve experienced something of it courtesy of his descriptions.

Abel Jackson is ten years old and born to swim. His father was a pearl diver, lost at sea some years ago, so he and his mother are a family of two, living in Longboat Bay, the home of the Jacksons since the bloody days of whaling. They grow their own veggies and support themselves with fishing and diving for abalone.

“On the bottom his mother had found what they came for. Abalone. In a seam along the smooth granite rock, the shellfish grew round and silver like shiny hubcaps. They clamped tight to the rock and only a hefty screwdriver could budge them.”
. . .
Up and down they went, hanging onto each breath, taking a couple of abalone from each clump, leaving the rest to breed and grow. Small fish came out of the weed and crevices to snaffle bits of meat and pick over the sediment they stirred up. Wrasse, sweep, scalyfins, blennies, foxfish and blue devils–all kinds of reef fish–darted about them in bursts of colour.”

If kids want to look up the various fish, they can, but who cares if you know what blennies or foxfish are? We get the idea – it’s pretty lively down there!

The subtle early reference to “leaving the rest to breed and grow” is followed up later when a big commercial operation threatens the harmony of the place. The conservation message is at the heart of the story, as Abel grows up, leaves to get an education in the school system, and returns to the bay, determined to protect what he can.

I knew this was about a boy diving and befriending a giant blue groper, but I didn’t expect to see him become the man that he does. It covers a much longer timeline, which gives a strong sense of how a place and a caring parent can define a person and what a person can be inspired do to save the natural world that they love.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This YA novella is simple but endearing - it's about a boy and his mum, who live a modest life in Bremer Bay - an area in the SW of Australia (some 500+ km from Perth). I hear it's beautiful, but I haven't made it there yet. They fish, and grow fruit and vegetables.

The title of the book comes from the name the young boy, Abel, gave a giant blue fish that he liked to play/swim with.

This is a story about our connection with nature and places, the simple life and family.

There is a movie adaptation being released soon, I can't wait to watch it, the cast looks pretty good: Eric Bana, Radha Mitchell, Mia Wasikowska.

[Moses Kilolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any one can enjoy this book, whatever their age or literary likes or dislikes. Its brief enough to be read in an afternoon, but deep and wise enough to stay with you a thousand afternoons after.

Encompassing the life of a certain Abel and a fish named Blueback, it contains important lessons about life, the sea, and conservation.

Winton Writes:

"All these years I just wanted to know about the sea. I've been everywhere, I've studied, I've given lectures, become a bigshot. But you know, my mother is still the one who understands it. She doesn't go anywhere at all. She grows vegetables and eats fish. And she has saved a place. I'm a scientist, a big cheese, but I have never saved a place. She learned by staying put, by watching and listening. Feeling things. She didn't need a computer and two degrees and a frequent slyer program. She's part of the bay. That's how she knows it."

Makes one stop to think. And again.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely fable about love, belonging and the power of a place. There are few books that appeal to all ages, I think this is one. Abel and his mother live in a remote coastal area in Australia. The boy discovers and cultivates a relationship with a giant Grouper he names Blueback. Years pass and the long term friendhip becomes instrumental in creating Abel's identity. The descriptions of the sea and the place are exquisite. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

[Sean Kennedy]

Beautiful little novella that is almost like a fairytale. Winton writes so evocatively about the sea that you feel you're in there and you never want to leave.

[Charlie Fonseca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book dull, un-interesting and incredibly boring. All it was about was a boy, who's best friend was a fish {Which I think is pretty sad.}

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/06/b...
Tim Winton is magical. Blueback is a beautiful and whimsical story of a boy and his friendship with a Blue Groper affectionately named Blueback. For those who have never seen a Blue Groper, they are incredibly majestic and can be found in a variety in coastal waters throughout Australia, including exposed reefs. Tim Winton has used Blueback as a symbol of our marine wildlife and how it's paramount to protect our coastline. Although the storyline follows Abel from the age of ten up until he's in his thirties, it's his mother that is the shining example of an environmental warrior. After Dora Jackson's husband was taken by a Tiger Shark while diving, she has always fought for her beloved Bay through teaching Abel to respect their coast.

Throughout Abel's lifetime, his mother has seen illegal poachers who threaten to destroy the Bay by illegal fishing, developers who want to spoil the magic of the serene coastal property, raising a child alone with no support and living off the land to make ends meet. She's a phenomenal role model that should be celebrated. But it's her determination to protect her coast that will resonate with environmentalists worldwide.

It was simply beautiful. An incredibly poignant story that reminds us to take care of our environment from an author who leads by example. I hadn't heard of Tim Winton prior to reading Blueback, but the popular award winning Australian author is an incredible ambassador for Australian Marine Conservation Society and has been decalred a Living Treasure by the National Trust, and I can certainly see why. But the magic of Blueback isn't only confined to the storyline, but the series of Penguin's Australian Children's Classics are all simply stunning.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty bland read- even for year 5's- which I guess is the target audience.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Tim Winton book, and based on my enjoyment of this novella, I'll be looking for more from him. It's a beautiful story, simple yet graceful and thought provoking. It's supposed to be a children's book, but really I think it's a book for all ages.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about reading the right book at the right time. This felt like it was written for me. Phenomenal. I don't know what this would be like for other people, but for this lost scientist it was like runway lights showing the way home. Thanks Tim <3

[Peri Gradisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blueback by Tim Winton is a very meaningful novel, that puts across a strong message. That message is that we should all respect our environment properly. It is a very touching story that is set in a Coastal town in Australia, called Longboat Bay.

Blueback is about a boy called Abel Jackson and his mother Dora and their journeys through life and how they just happen to encounter a beautiful creature of the sea (Blueback) and fall inlove with it. Blueback captures Able's and Dora's heart and over the years they become very close.
When the abalone season comes along the Jacksons put up a fight to save Blueback because with all the dirty fisherman around his life is endangered.

Blueback is heart capturing story that all should read. It makes you think twice about how you respect the environment and some people in this world, obviously need the wake up call. Blueback is a great novel, it's an easy read and I recommend it to all ages. It's a very inspiring novel, that allows you to use your imagination and may even change some people's views on the subject.

[Judy]

Oh what a beautiful little tale. Tim Winton you have done it again.

This little book now has a home on the top bookshelf alongside the likes of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, as a feel good, uplifting gem of joy that can be picked up and enjoyed in a little over an hour. Guaranteed to uplift and improve your day.

It is now 2017 and I have just reread this gem for the umpteenth time. I love it more with each read. I have just handed the paper version to reading friend and had to read it again before it left.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story of the environment and a journey through life. Meh.

[Armelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful tale, simply told but richly described.

[Tarna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunning, beautiful book!! It’s the kind of story that I would love to read to Robyn in a few years. Can’t wait to see it become a full feature film!

[AMj · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a NO for me!

[Mecca_Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blueback was a nice short story, worlds away from what I usually read. I thought it was very interesting how you’re reading the tale of this family, but I think intrinsically as a reader, feelings and memories of your own family rise to the surface.

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairy tale for all ages with lessons about conservation and the sea.

[Alexander Sukacz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven’t read a fiction book for nearly 4 years but I think this was a gentle reintroduction. Really simple but eloquent book that had a bit of everything and stirred a little emotion.

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blueback and lochie Leonard??? I feel like not enough people talk abt this? National treasure

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

my first tim winton book and he lived up to the hype. this was such a sweet book, im actually at a loss of words. i’m so deeply in love w the ocean

thanks to @luka and @georgie for the book

[Winter · Rating 1 out of 5]

How is this book so famous and beloved? Like it's objectively badly written. Abel goes from being aged 12 to 25 or something within one or two chapters. We don't really get to know anything about the characters. Like who is the girl Abel married? I bet most people who read this book don't even remember her name, myself included. The message is alright, I guess, but there could have been more depth to it. Not to mention it is amazingly boring. Basically nothing happens, and despite it being short, it feels like it goes forever. The writing style is basic for obvious reasons, but it still feels confused with its audience. Either way, this book is so short it wouldn't hurt to read. But it's still one of my least favourites.

[Kylie Purdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blueback is one of those beautiful cross over books written fro children, but with so much to offer adults as well. On the surface it's the story about a boy and a fish, while deeper down it's about respect for our environment, the importance of keeping what matters in sight and the love of family.
I listened to this in car with my kids (aged 11 and 7) and love the fact they protested every time we had to stop. Winton's writing loses none of it's eloquence when he writes for children. His descriptions are as rich, his characters as accessible. Seriously, with Winton, you cannot lose.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

We had to read this for school in year 5.
The catch was we had to do activities as well so that's probably why i didn't enjoy this book as much as i would've.
It was alright though and it made me sad.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I get twitchy when I hear the word ‘fable,’ but it’s Tim Winton, so this one is the exception. A lovely novella. It made me homesick even though I was home and the story was set halfway around the world.

[Danielle McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a read for work but I genuinely love Winton’s writing style! His imagery is just delightful. This book is not thrilling to read but is really accessible to all readers.

[Darcey O'Shea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just ew.