Author Language English Media type Paperback | Country Australia Publication date 1984 | |
Publisher Allen & Unwin, Australia | ||
Shallows (1984) is a novel by multi-award winning Australian author Tim Winton. It won the 1984 Miles Franklin Award It was also the 1985 Joint Winner Western Australian Premier's Book Award - Fiction
Contents
Carolyn See called it "a dark masterpiece that ranks with Moby-Dick".
Story outline
The novel is set in 1978 in the fictional town of Angelus, Western Australia. The town is the last remaining remnant of Australia's whaling industry and the novel details the conflicts that arise as a group of outsiders, intent on closing down the whaling industry, come to town.
Critical reception
Marian Eldridge in The Canberra Times was impressed with the work: "It is a book resonant with meanings. On the surface it looks at a contemporary situation, a year-old relationship under strain as one partner becomes an active conservationist and the other an uncommitted, embarrassed observer. Whatever one decides the novel is saying, Shallows is a satisfying book."
Awards
1984 Miles Franklin Award.
1985 Joint Winner Western Australian Premier's Book Award - Fiction.