Tim Winton is an Australian author and was one of Amy's favourite writers. She was halfway through one of his books when she died and it still sits unfinished by the side of the bed. I'm determined to read and finish it one day. Amy was the reader, not me.
Recently Eli excitedly told me about a book he was reading at school called Blueback. When I looked it up I saw that Tim Winton had written the book (along with another small handful of other children's books). It was a difficult realisation - was it nature or nurture that had made the book appeal to my little boy?
It's a beautiful book, about a boy (Abel Jackson) who lives by the coast with his Mum (Dora). The boy's best friend is a blue fish who lives in Longboat bay and the short story chronicles both the growing up to adulthood of the boy and the fragile beauty of the seas, which come under pressure from developers, greedy fishermen and pollution. It's wonderfully written and I was so grateful to Eli for sharing it with me.
My throat caught a few times while we were reading it together as when I read the evocative words, I knew with 100% assurity that Amy would have loved the book too.
No comments:
Post a Comment