Breath
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Price:
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$29.95
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On Sale:
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20/05/2008
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Formats:
Hardcover
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We talked about skill and courage and luck—we shared
all that, and in time we surfed to fool with death—but for me there was still
the outlaw feeling of doing something graceful, as if dancing on water was the
best and bravest thing a man could do.
—From Breath
The Times (UK) said it best: “Tim Winton is not just a great Australian
novelist; he is a great novelist, full stop.” Winton’s astonishing and
unforgettable new novel confirms this declaration. Set against the rugged
coastal landscape of Western Australia that Winton has made his own, Breath is
the story of a man remembering a boyhood defined by risk-taking and the legacy
of fear and damage that remains.
Pikelet and Loonie are barely adolescents, but they’re
restless and addicted to extreme behaviour. They just love danger. Stuck in a
sawmill town between forest and sea, they discover the power of the ocean and
fall under the thrall of Sando, an older, enigmatic surfer whose devotion to
risk is almost religious. Soon, all three—the guru and his two young
disciples—are caught up in an escalating regimen of testing their nerve, surfing
unimaginable storm swells and hazarding shark-infested reefs miles out to sea.
Playing with death, pushing each other to the outermost boundaries of courage,
endurance and sanity, the trio is pulled into an uneasy and increasingly
disturbing bond that stretches to include Eva, Sando’s puzzling wife. At the
farthest edges of self, a young man comes face to face with the only logical
outcome—oblivion.
Breath is a shattering work of fiction, a powerful
coming-of-age novel that confirms Tim Winton’s lyrical genius for evoking time
and place, and for penetrating the darkest secrets of the heart.
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Author Extras
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Reader Reviews from First Look
In this tale of a boy's emergence into adolescence, Winton's casting of Bruce Pike's life is sympathetic and candid. A wonderfully woven tale from a highly accomplished writer.
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Stephen (Ottawa, ON)
In this tale of a boy's emergence into adolescence, Winton's casting of Bruce Pike's life is sympathetic and candid. A wonderfully woven tale from a highly accomplished writer.
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Stephen (Ottawa, ON)
"Breath" goes deep into the psyches of adrenaline junkies testing their limits. I'm a prairie girl, know nothing about surfing and didn't think I cared to know, but Tim Winton creates a world and gently nudges me into it. He explores pain and confusion in a quiet, honest and ultimately life affirming way. Well worth the read.
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Linda (Hanna, AB)
Tim Winton has done it again! His development of character and time and place is phenomenal. A great coming-of-age novel that can take it's rightful place beside some of the world's best.
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Kiki (Brooklin, ON)
Breath is yet another masterpiece from Tim Winton. It's a powerful and heartrending story. A complete page turner-I couldn't put it down.
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Marcella (Toronto, ON)
A great read!
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Valerie (Winnipeg, MB)
An engaging work pairing the turbulence of adolescence with the turbulence of the sea. Winton's descriptions are so enchanting, you can almost feel the ocean mist on your face!
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Christine (Winnipeg, MB)
Winton's beautiful prose, strong sense of place and and well-developed characters leave the reader "breathless". Definitely recommended.
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Marcia (Ottawa, ON)
The prose in this book is lyrical but not flowery. It's an interesting peek at a surfer's life and at a young man's outlook on life and its challenges.
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Leslee (Regina, SK)
This book was about growing up and the paths we take. Tim Winton is one of my favourite authors and I would recommend this book to anyone.
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Karen (Orleans, ON)
From and outsider's point of view this is a fscinating insight into the mind and soul of the thrill-seeking "extreme" surfer. The descriptions are vivid and the characters are real and engaging. Pikelet's growth and discoveries about life and its unfairness are very believable. Breath was hard to put down. Compelling and intriguing: a very good read.
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Fiona (Ottawa, ON)
Breath was phenomenal. I couldn't put it down! I look forward to more books from Tim Winton.
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Tracy (Windsor, ON)
Tim Winton takes the reader along on an ever-increasing test of risk and nerve with his characters, pushing the limits into that which is uncomfortably taboo. A compelling, sometimes disturbing, read.
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Lynn (Hamilton, ON)
I loved it. The last 25% of the book was so good that i could not put it down. Thank you!
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Sandra (Oakland,, NB)
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From the internationally acclaimed, Booker-shortlisted author of Dirt Music and The Riders comes a masterpiece of fiction. Tender yet searing, The Turning is a brilliantly realized work of 17 overlapping stories that reads like a novel. These are the turnings of life—sudden detours, awkward...
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Breath
Filled with the lyrical genius that has earned Winton international acclaim and a loyal readership worldwide, Breath is the coming-of-age story of two thrill-seeking boys who surf for danger of all kinds on the untamed coast of Western Australia. As the two boys fall under the thrall of Sando, a...
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