Promotional Information
The Shepherd's Hut is an exquisite, brutal coming of age novel. It
tells the story of Jaxie, a boy on the run from his past, and
explores the way love and hate combine to form a young man's
beliefs.
About the Author
Tim Winton has published over twenty books for adults and children,
and his work has been translated into many different languages.
Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the
Australian/Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles
Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet,
Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for
the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt
Music). Active in the environmental movement, he is the Patron
of the Australian Marine Conservation Society. He lives in Western
Australia.
Reviews
The Shepherd's Hut is wonderful. Brutal, agonizing, tender.
Ultimately, it's a story of redemption and hope -- Sarah Winman,
author of When God Was a Rabbit and Tin Man
A novel that reminds us what fiction can do. Here is a voice that
digs into your viscera and changes you from the inside. This is
fiction in the raw. -- Ross Raisin, author of God's Own
Country
Winton's novel of breaking and mending is a searing, ardent and
deeply empathetic dive into the turmoil of a mutilated heart. I
will never be able to unhear the voice of young Jaxie Clackton,
plangent and profane, who is destined to become one of the greatest
characters in Australian literature. -- Geraldine Brooks, author of
Year of Wonders
Even a regular Tim Winton novel - if such a thing exists - would
knock most other novels into a cocked hat,
but The Shepherd's Hut is Winton at the top of his game, and
that's saying something. A fierce, pungent, slangy,
humdinger of a book, with a real kick in the tail. Fiction doesn't
get much better than this
-- Rupert Thomson, author of
Divided Kingdom
Landscape and destiny are inextricable in Tim Winton's latest
novel, and the result is a gritty realism that ultimately propels
the story into the timelessness of a parable. All that I love about
Winton's work is here: the poetry of the colloquial, fully realized
characters, and the fearlessness to enter the deepest mysteries of
being.
The Shepherd's Hut is a brilliant reminder that
Winton is one of the world's great living novelists. -- Ron Rash,
author of
Serena
A richly compassionate work, deeply informed by Winton's poetic
genius -- Alex Miller, author of
Journey to the Stone
Country
A masterpiece from a masterful storyteller. We have not seen many
people like Jaxie in Australian literature. When reading this book
I wondered if Winton had actually found someone like Jaxie and had
simply recorded him telling his incredible story. This is the magic
of this book. The voice is so authentic and the language of this
young character rings true to the people I have met throughout my
life. I will not forget this book -- Alexis Wright, author of
Carpentaria
Describes the chaotic struggle of new masculinity better than
anything else I've read. As an exploration of the intergenerational
trauma that plagues men, it couldn't be more timely. Seriously,
it's incredible -- Ben Quilty
Tim Winton's Jaxie Clackton brings to mind the voices of other
great survivors in literature, such as Huckleberry Finn and Oliver
Twist, who struggle against impossible odds with pluck, common
sense, and a refreshingly keen command of the vernacular. Once you
start reading this book, you won't want to put it down. A powerful,
most compelling story -- Brad Watson, author of
Miss
Jane
Shot through with the breathtaking evocation of landscape that is
Winton's forte,
The Shepherd's Hut is a hymn to the wild
forces of nature and unsentimental belonging. Winton's enviable
ability to elicit passion for Jaxie through his immaculate, poetic
and troubled rush of vernacular-no matter how terrible Jaxie's
actions-is broken, beautiful and ugly in all the best ways. -- Ray
Robinson, author of
Electricity
Superb. It's rare to feel fury and hope on the surface of the skin
at the same time, and more rare to find that convincing in a story
-- Cynan Jones, author of
Cove