Reaching Tin River

by Thea Astley

Belle's life is defined by three men: the American father - a musician - whom she never knew; Seb, her partner in a loveless marriage; and Gaden Lockyer, the subject of Belle's research, a pioneer Australian whose love for his country mirrors Belle's own. (Nancy Pearl)

Genres: Australia, Fiction, Novels, 20th Century

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Thea Astley was one of Australia's most respected and acclaimed novelists. Born in Brisbane in 1925, Astley studied arts at the University of Queensland. She held a position as Fellow in Australian Literature at Macquarie University until 1980, when she retired to write full time. In 1989 she was granted an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Queensland.

She won the Miles Franklin Award four times - in 1962 for The Well Dressed Explorer, in 1965 for The Slow Natives, in 1972 for The Acolyte and in 2000 for Drylands. In 1989 she was award the Patrick White Award. Other awards include 1975 The Age Book of the Year Award for A Kindness Cup, the 1980 James Cook Foundation of Australian Literature Studies Award for Hunting the Wild Pineapple, the 1986 ALS Gold Medal for Beachmasters, the 1988 Steele Rudd Award for It's Raining in Mango, the 1990 NSW Premier's Prize for Reaching Tin River, and the 1996 Age Book of the Year Award and the FAW Australian Unity Award for The Multiple Effects of Rainshadow.

Praise for Thea Astley:

'Beyond all the satire, the wit, the occasional cruelty, and the constant compassion, the unfailing attribute of Astley's work is panache' Australian Book Review

Reviews

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging novel about Belle, a strong willed, rebellious and ambitious young woman who becomes obsessed with the story of a long dead colonial pioneer. Her research becomes a way of coming to terms with her own past. She grew up with her mother, Bonnie, in Outback Queensland. Bonnie, a musician, had a very brief affair and became pregnant, and brought up Belle on her own.

Another concisely and vividly written Thea Astley novel that her fans should find a satisfying reading experience. She has won the Miles Franklin Award four times, in 1962 for ‘The Well Dressed Explorer, in 1965 for ‘The Slow Natives’, in 1972 for ‘The Acolyte’ and in 2000 for ‘Drylands’.

This book was shortlisted for the 1991 Miles Franklin Award.

[Michael Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange and hilarious book whose odd humour cloaks some furious points about gender and sexual politics. This felt like a complete change of gears from the previously Astley books I've read, but I really enjoyed it.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belle is seeking a centre, a place to anchor herself. We follow Belle from a youngster to a mature woman as she tries to find purpose and meaning in her life.
Now that would seem like a pretty dull novel when put so simply, it is so very far from that. For Astley has this amazing ability to take something seemingly mundane and give you something completely unexpected.
With this story you are either swept away with Belle or you are not. I found Belle to be complex and never really sure of where she was going. You cannot fathom Belle’s motives without understanding the other characters around her. For is the story about a woman trying to come to terms with the men in her life being her absent father, horrid husband or the enigmatic Gaden Lockyer? Or this is about a mother and daughter relationship and how a mother who does not fit the parental norms impact a child growing up?
As you follow Belle’s journey it becomes apparent that she is displaced, that she is not sure of herself. That she lives in an enclosed world of her own making at times and that becomes apparent towards the end. Even that would sell Belle as she is certainly aware of her position in society “I am assaulted by the realization that my gender is meat.”
The other main characters are her mother Bonnie who has an interesting relationship with Aunt Marie. The two sisters play dance halls around rural Queensland. She is not a conventional mother for the time period and that is part of what is appealing about her. There is certainly a case study in deciphering the relationship between Marie and Bonnie.
Belle’s husband Seb is just a nasty piece of work, full of self-importance and entitlement. Their relationship is certainly about command and control. Though he does not land any physical blows the demeaning mental abuse takes its toll on Belle.
Astley’s writing is pin sharp in providing simple descriptions that capture the essence of a character “With grandfather pinned to a walking stick and unable to do much except in a roaring supervisory capacity, it fell to the three women to keep the place solvent.” Towards the end of the book, Astley allows a sense of dread to creep in as you wonder about what choices Belle will make.
This is a wonderful book, rich in detail, and beautifully executed. You as a reader are in the hands of a masterful writer.

[Noah Melser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel about a woman searching for a centre. This one meanders and has some frustrating apparently magical elements. But got all that hot dried out towns, lonely sparse flats in lazy towns and people with each other but all uncomprehending and lonely, while others wander through with broken down dreams. Damn fine scenes all over the place. Such beauty.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am once again rating an Astley five stars

[Xander Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would call this book the Australian Bell Jar, as it very deliberately depicts a personal account of a woman who becomes obsessed and determined to make something of her position in life, while the audience only witnesses the madness and bizarre nature of her actions as she becomes more unhinged.

Belle is the daughter of eccentricities, and she believes she is normal throughout her childhood and beyond. Her family is disjointed and impersonal, her searches for personal growth are marred by conventions that she despises, and she finds that even her obsessions into the past of one Mr. Lockyer who lived over a century ago is what drives her passions and life for several years.

Very cerebral and very interesting.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s hard to dislike this book b/c
I admire Thea Astley as a writer
...but it is hard to defend it.

Ms Astely's first novels were dazzling....
filled with autobiographical tidbits and
a dense almost poetic style.

"Reachng Tin River" was her last novel
and she felt pressured to produce a novel
every 2 years..or you're dead meat.

Ms Astely wrote 5 drafts of this book and
I am afraid that was not enough to create a
book I will long remember. On the contrary
...I'll forget this one after today.

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Women's unpaid labour is prominent in this piece. A woman is driven by men and personal (and impersonal) history. Strange characters but well-written, the ending was a little disappointing.

[Kim]

I thought I was going to like this book but the characters became more and more unlikable.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

average

[Keith Lawrence · Rating 1 out of 5]

Strong-willed Belle, a product of 1950s outback Australian upbringing, narrates her tale of a childhood and young adulthood in parochial Queensland prior to her obsession with a long-dead disgraced businessman and minor politician, Gaden Lockyer.

With youth centred around a middle-of-nowhere town called Jericho Flats, an absent (American) father and a mother, Bonnie, breaking all the rules as a drummer performing with her pianist sister, Marie, at barn dances, bars and weddings throughout the local territory, Belle struggles with stability.

Continued at:
https://anopinionortwo.wordpress.com/...

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange, wonderful story. Astley moves from being genuinely funny to crafting the kind of loneliness you find in, say, Carson McCullers. Very different from most of what else was happening in Australian lit at the time except maybe for Richard Flanagan. Not exactly the same kind of novel but way ahead of Grenville and Miler's best known novels of the 2000s and deals with some of the same motifs. Loses some credibility for being jarringly out of touch when describing queer characters, though.