That Eye, the Sky

I thought I'd give some Australian literature a try...<br /><br />I enjoyed the early parts of the novel. Winton manages to evoke my childhood - I would have been about 5 years younger than the protagonist when the book was released, and living in a similar semi-rural, semi-suburban setting, though adjacent to a different city, and in less dire circumstances. He really captures the eternal boredom and freedom of long summer days spent "mucking around", and getting into trouble. At times the dialect felt authentic and natural, at other times I was cringing at the overuse of clichéd Australianisms, with sentences like, <i>"I stuff my essay on 'The Brave Anzacs at Gallipoli' into me schoolbag and Mum stuffs in a bag of Vegemite sangers."</i> (no kidding, that is an actual sentence from the book).<br /><br />But things take a turn for the worse when a mysterious stranger appears at the door. The blurb promises that <i>"</i>That Eye, The Sky<i> is about a boy's vision of the world beyond, about the blurry distinctions between the natural and the supernatural"</i>. But let's not beat around the bush. What the stranger brings is Jesus, and the family immediately accepts Him, and the book clearly wants you to accept Him too. This goes beyond being a story about religious people - the novel is trying to proselytize. So much so that I kept checking the covers to make sure there wasn't a hidden "Scripture Union" (another memory from my childhood) stamp somewhere. This is the book an evangelical pastor might give to that kid from the rough part of town, to show him that it's cool to believe in God, and that Jesus loves even the poor and the stupid. <br /><br />The entire second half of the book is spent in prayer and contemplation about God and faith. It is not good. The ending is truly awful.

I read this short novel in a night and enjoyed it. What really struck me was an echo of Flannery O'Connor's majestic story 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' maybe due to the arrival of the mysterious vagrant, the invocations to God and aspects of the ending. There is no doubt Winton is a good writer. His narrator, a 12 year old boy, is brought to life with a realistic voice and is a charming, believable character because of this success. Let's face it, writers don't always do this well. Trying to inhabit a child's mindset can lead to extraordinary riches.. check out my reviews of <br><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30512.Paddy_Clarke_Ha_Ha_Ha" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img alt="Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1168077668m/30512.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a> <br>and <br><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230066.The_Wasp_Factory" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img alt="The Wasp Factory" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271620222m/230066.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br>...or to the misfit that is a young child whose mouth is filled with an adult's words <br><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/283786.Hideous_Kinky" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img alt="Hideous Kinky" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437975005m/283786.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br>But Winton manages such keen, quirky observation of the world (something us grown-ups tend to fail at) that the work feels, in some sense, a vital one. The family's isolation from the community, the sense that they have sacrificed a great deal to follow their dreams, is captured well and makes the tragedy of the story all the more searing.<br><br>The problem, for me, comes with the element of the work that people have referred to as 'supernatural' but I would identify as 'spiritual.' I had a strong feeling by the end of the novel that I had read something that was evangelical in its nature and that is not my bag at all- hence 3 stars as opposed to more.

I would recommend that eye, the sky to fiction readers, but a lot of people will probably go away from it unsatisfied. There is a LOT to this story for which the author leaves no explanation and this may frustrate some people. Me, I love quirky writing and I know that I'll be mulling this book over in my head for a while now that I've finished it. For anyone who hasn't read a Tim Winton novel, I wouldn't suggest you start with this one -- try The Riders or Dirt Music (I haven't read anything else by him, but I did like the two I just listed). I plan to get my hands on every book this man has written.<br /><br />On page 102, it's Christmas Eve morning and the Flack family is having breakfast. Twelve year-old Morton Flack, called Ort, offers a prayer: "Jesus fix us up. We're breaking to bits here." This one line sort of captures the flavor of the entire novel. Set in Australia, the story is told from Ort's perspective. After a tragic car accident, the life he once knew changes. Ort lives with his mom, Alice, Sam, his father; his teenage sister is Tegwyn and there is Grammar his grandmother who is old and perhaps a bit senile. The family got by by raising chickens and their own veggies; Sam took on the odd job or two. One morning, though, Ort learns that his father was in a car accident and after that life completely changed for everyone, but perhaps most keenly felt by Ort. The biggest change of all, though is the appearance of Henry Warburton, who shows up to "nurse" Sam, home from the hospital but unable to function. While Ort is busy trying to make sense of all of the changes, Henry is trying to atone and expiate for something that happened in his past. Ort just keeps praying for a miracle as his household falls apart.<br /><br />You really have to take this one slowly. It is well worth the time and effort if you put some thought into it. If you're looking for straightforward plot line or everything neatly tied up in a bow at the end, you're going to be disappointed. This is a tough book to read, but beautifully written &amp; sort of reaffirms your faith in the power of a child's love.

I imagine that this is life viewed through the eyes of a 10-12year old boy. He is caught between the innocence of childhood and the harsh reality of assuming the full responsibility of "man of the house". He loves unconditionally, hopes optimistically for better times and stands fast waiting for his father to come home healed, to recommence his fatherly duties where he left off.<br />I loved Tim Winton's unashamed honest efforts to bestow functionality on a tragic family situation. His main character "Ort" is a lovable reminder that children are feeling, sensitive members of any family group who deserve whole hearted respect from the adults managing or mis-managing the day to day situation.

“That Eye, the Sky” is one of Winton’s earlier novels, written in 1986—the third of his currently 9 novels for adults and published before “Cloudstreet”. It has also been made into a movie.<br /><br />The narrator is a 12 year old boy (Morton Flack, Ort for short) on the verge of adolescence who sees and understands the world and his family through maturing eyes. Much that surrounds Ort is either broken or damaged—as are most of Winton’s characters in his other novels. But the supernatural also inhabits Ort’s world: a strain of magic realism that envelopes him protectively as the family’s struggles unfold.<br /><br />Ort’s immediate world is small: his father Sam, mother Alice, grandmother, sister Tegwyn, friend Fat Cherry and intruder Henry Warburton. And it becomes strongly conflicted when, in the opening pages, his dad has an automobile accident that leaves him in a coma. The accident not only immobilizes the father but it also challenges the family’s cohesiveness and resistance.<br /><br />What captivates me about Winton’s novels are not only the stories that he weaves but the prose that envelopes his characters. Winton essentially paints with words. A one point, Ort and his sister are swimming:<br /><br />“Tegwyn ad me duck and dive and swim around. Tegwyn stands on her hands so her legs come out the water and people whistle. Then the whole place goes mad. People swimming out to sea, wading, paddling at the water with their hands. Blokes on surfboards turning round and going like hell. Takes me a while to see the big lines coming in like a convoy of wheat trucks, some with bits of white blowing back off the top like wheat dust coming off the load.”<br /><br />The linkage of the ocean’s waves with the wheat harvest is both fresh and evocative. It is writing like that that sets Winton apart.<br />

Oh my gosh I adored this book! I cant stop thinking about it since I finished it! From the moment I started it I was gripped and emotionally tired to this story and the sweet voice of Ort and his observations of his family. My heart is just aching for this family. I could go on forever but basically I’m obsessed. The reading experience I had with this book is literally why I read ❤️

This is the first Tim Winton novel I’ve read. For some reason, my high school curriculum had different ideas for me than ‘Cloudstreet’. It was the first unread book I grabbed off my bookshelf and what convinced to me read on was the dedication – ‘Equanimity’ by Les A. Murray and it reads: <br /><br />“From the otherworld of action and media, this<br />interleaved continuing plane is hard to focus;<br />we are looking into the light –<br />it makes some smile, some grimace.”<br /><br />With the current political landscape and events in my personal life, this resonated. <br /><br />What followed was a tale from the perspective of the young boy that highlighted both the simplicity and complexity of youthful naivety in regards to how the world works, relationships both family and romantic, misfortune and death. What I liked the most was the Holden-Caulfield-esque dialogue (but not quite so good) at a pace that flowed comfortably and felt like I was in a small rural Australian town conversing with and absorbing, the wisdom of somebody that’s never known any lifestyle but exactly that. <br /><br />It's an intriguing introduction to Winton and if anybody has any recommendations, send them on over this way.

"That Eye, The Sky" is something of a cameo piece of Winton, in comparison with what came later, a prediction of what is to come, though the pace and humour are yet under tight rein and feel more like restraint and pathos.<br />The insight into a child's experience is there, along with the acceptance of 'paranormal' phenomena as being part of everyday life, normal rather than paranormal, although strange.<br />The introduction of the character Henry Warburton injects an undertone of threat that is maintained throughout the novel.<br />It's very much a story of vulnerability, of human failure and "what we close our eyes to" in order to just keep going. The child is the one who is willing to look but is simply too young to deal with what he sees.

My first Winton fiction. I loved this quick read. I am still trying to digest the ending. Will review properly later

Tim Winton never disappoints.