Breath: Tim Winton
Hamish Hamilton $45
******
By Jason Catlett
This is a magnificent Australian novel. Tim Winton's maturity and mastery of craft enable him to choose the most basic material for every element of his art, thus producing a masterpiece. His prose is rich yet clear; without sentimentality but full of profound emotional effect. It has the broadest popular appeal, but never panders or condescends. His dialogue sounds no more complex or unusual than the talk commonly overheard in the pub, but it's as powerful as G.B. Shaw's. Breath is written in a language that every Australian can feel proud to recognize, and which any writer would be challenged to equal.
The plot is so simple and perfectly paced that to disclose its detail prematurely would rob the reader of enjoyment, so a summary of the structure and themes will have to suffice here. It's brief not because it is trite, but because of the work's towering unity. Bruce Pike begins his narration as a 50-year old ambulance driver, called to the home of a teenager who is no longer breathing. The reason - which only Pike grasps - is slowly explained, after the character recounts the story of his teenage years, when he was known as Pikelet.
We are shown through a life which has not been a great success. Pike's life - or at least the earlier parts of it when he was really living - has been a dance on water, but he has barely avoided many terrible ends, most often by drowning in the surf. Thirsty for joy, gasping for air, he skids across this ubiquitous medium of life and death, grasping for a little grace along the way.
It is difficult to avoid superlatives in any honest summary of the importance of this novel. It will surely be a classic of Australian literature, enjoyed and admired by all who read it.