Breath - Hardcover

Winton, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374116342 ISBN 13: 9780374116347

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2008

Synopsis

Breath Venturing beyond all limits--in relationships, physical challenge, and in sexual behavior--there is a point where oblivion is the only outcome. Full of Winton's lyrical genius for conveying physical sensation, "Breath" is a rich and atmospheric coming-of-age tale. Full description

About this title

Review:

""Breath" is a coming-of-age novel written with Tim Winton's customary tenderness and vivid sense of place and psychological truth. He manages to portray brilliantly made characters against a mythic landscape, thus creating a narrative that is gripping and breath-taking both in its vast scope and in its use of emotional detail. This is his most forceful and perfect novel to date." --Colm Toibin, author of "The Master"

"Plunge into this novel and you, too, will be pulled under."--"The Miami Herald "

"Stunning in the depth of its audacity . . . limitlessly beautiful prose."--"The Washington Post Book World "

"Darkly exhilarating . . . a tautly gorgeous meditation on the inescapable human addiction to 'the monotony of drawing breath, ' whether you want to or not."--"The New York Times Book Review "

"Both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of the costs of losing one's balance, in every sense of the word."--"The New Yorker "

A "NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW "NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR
A "WASHINGTON POST" BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN "ECONOMIST "BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Majestic . . . charged with physical danger, physical courage, and Winton's brand of rugged introspection."--"The New York Review of Books
"

"Plunge into this novel and you, too, will be pulled under."--"The Miami Herald "

"Stunning in the depth of its audacity . . . limitlessly beautiful prose."--"The Washington Post Book World "

"Darkly exhilarating . . . a tautly gorgeous meditation on the inescapable human addiction to 'the monotony of drawing breath, ' whether you want to or not."--"The New York Times Book Review "

"Both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of the costs of losing one's balance, in every sense of the word."--"The New Yorker
"

"A tender, incisive, sometimes brutal, and always moving coming-of-age novel . . . The prose is always astonishing, the descriptions of sea and weather especially vivid. . . . The book seems as simple, and as vital, as the act of breathing itself."--"The Seattle Times"

Majestic . . . charged with physical danger, physical courage, and Winton's brand of rugged introspection. "The New York Review of Books"

Plunge into this novel and you, too, will be pulled under. "The Miami Herald"

Stunning in the depth of its audacity . . . limitlessly beautiful prose. "The Washington Post Book World"

Darkly exhilarating . . . a tautly gorgeous meditation on the inescapable human addiction to 'the monotony of drawing breath, ' whether you want to or not. "The New York Times Book Review"

Both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of the costs of losing one's balance, in every sense of the word. "The New Yorker"

A tender, incisive, sometimes brutal, and always moving coming-of-age novel . . . The prose is always astonishing, the descriptions of sea and weather especially vivid. . . . The book seems as simple, and as vital, as the act of breathing itself. "The Seattle Times""

Majestic . . . charged with physical danger, physical courage, and Winton's brand of rugged introspection. The New York Review of Books

Plunge into this novel and you, too, will be pulled under. The Miami Herald

Stunning in the depth of its audacity . . . limitlessly beautiful prose. The Washington Post Book World

Darkly exhilarating . . . a tautly gorgeous meditation on the inescapable human addiction to 'the monotony of drawing breath, ' whether you want to or not. The New York Times Book Review

Both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of the costs of losing one's balance, in every sense of the word. The New Yorker

A tender, incisive, sometimes brutal, and always moving coming-of-age novel . . . The prose is always astonishing, the descriptions of sea and weather especially vivid. . . . The book seems as simple, and as vital, as the act of breathing itself. The Seattle Times

"

"Majestic . . . charged with physical danger, physical courage, and Winton's brand of rugged introspection." --The New York Review of Books

"Plunge into this novel and you, too, will be pulled under." --The Miami Herald

"Stunning in the depth of its audacity . . . limitlessly beautiful prose." --The Washington Post Book World

"Darkly exhilarating . . . a tautly gorgeous meditation on the inescapable human addiction to 'the monotony of drawing breath, ' whether you want to or not." --The New York Times Book Review

"Both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of the costs of losing one's balance, in every sense of the word." --The New Yorker

"A tender, incisive, sometimes brutal, and always moving coming-of-age novel . . . The prose is always astonishing, the descriptions of sea and weather especially vivid. . . . The book seems as simple, and as vital, as the act of breathing itself." --The Seattle Times

Review:

"Darkly exhilarating." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Tender, incisive, sometimes brutal and always moving coming-of-age novel." (The Seattle Times)

"Winton is pitch perfect in capturing (but not exploiting) adolescent angst, and he describes surfing and the sea so thrillingly that even non-swimmers will want to plunge right in." (Library Journal)

"Tim Winton's newest novel offers an irresistible taste of oceanic communion." (Los Angeles Times)

"This slender book packs an emotional wallop... Winton is well-known in Australia and should be here." (Publishers Weekly)

"Winton's latest novel is both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of the costs of losing one's balance, in every sense of the word." (The New Yorker)

"The new novel from the twice "Booker" shortlisted author. Bruce Pike has always been forbidden to go down to the beach but when he meets Loonie, the local wild boy, he defies his parents and discovers the wild joys of surfing and an erotic current that he can't resist. An absorbing, powerful and deeply beautiful novel." (The Observer)

"This aptly titled novel knocks the breath out of the listener as it recounts a youth's daredevil surfing exploits, evoking the fragile balance between life and death. Paramedic Bruce Pike looks back in this coming-of-age story of his thrill-seeking youth in 1970s Australia. He and his friend, Loonie, meet a charismatic surfing legend named Sando, who mentors them in the science and art of surfing, and drives them to more and more reckless behavior. Dan Wyllie delivers an easily understandable Australian accent and shifts subtly between tentative teen and jaded adult. Wyllie's delivery of Winton's vivid descriptions is mesmerizing, and he ably conveys the image of breath as a metaphor throughout the story. This compelling novel may entice the listener to seek out the well-known Australian author's many other works." (AudioFile Magazine)

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0374116342
• ISBN 13: 9780374116347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 217