February 2024 Books

Breath – Tim Winton

The title of this novel is very clever, with the idea of breath popping up in various ways throughout the book. It begins with Bruce (a paramedic) on a callout then flashes back to his childhood in a small, West Australian coastal mill town. He falls into a friendship with Loonie, bonding over various adventure-seeking activities. As they range further afield they are befriended by a local surfing legend, who takes them under his wing as they seek out increasingly risky challenges. This is beautifully written, I often found myself circling back to enjoy certain paragraphs again. This coming-of-age tale takes a bit of a shocking turn 3/4 where we start to understand the origin Bruce’s dysfunctional adult relationships. This book was captivating and I’m looking forward to reading more of Tim Winton’s books. (Miles Franklin Award Winner) 5 Stars

LInes of note:

On seeing men out surfing early in the book: “I couldn’t have put words to it as a boy, but later I understood what seized my imagination that day. How strange it was to see men do something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant, as though nobody saw or cared. … there wasn’t much room for beauty in the lives of our men”

“I will always remember my first wave that morning. The smells of paraffin wax and brine and peppy scrub. The way the swell rose beneath me like a body drawing in air. How the wave drew me forward and I sprang to my feet, skating with the wind of momentum in my ears. I leant across the wall of upstanding water and the board came with me as though it was part of my body and mind. The blur of spray. The billion shards of light. I remember the solitary watching figure on the beach and the flash of Loonie’s smile as I flew by; I was intoxicated. And though I’ve lived to be an old man with my own share of happiness for all the mess I made, I still judge every joyous moment, every victory and revelation against those few seconds of living.”

“I withdrew into a watchful rectitude, anxious to please, risking nothing. I followed the outline of my life, carefully rehearsing form without conviction, like a bishop who can’t see that his faith has become an act”

Starsight – Brandon Sanderson

This is the second book in the Skyward series. Spensa is flung into a whole new world in this second book in the series. While I missed the characters from the first books, it was good to find out more about the universe beyond the confines of the protective layer around Detritus. Spensa makes all new friends, and some more enemies, of course. Partway through reading this, I wondered to myself why I was finding it so hard to stop reading and go to bed, and then I realised that almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. Great for my enjoyment, but not so great for my sleep. I’ve got the next two books ready to pickup on the reserve shelf at my library. (4.5 stars)

Lines of note:

“When you’re young, you can assume that everyone older than you has life figured out. Once you get command yourself, you realize we’re all just the same kids wearing older bodies.”

“Infinity went both directions. You could expand forever outward, but at the same time, the closer you looked at something, the more detail you saw.”