Blog Nº 55
“Life was something you didn’t argue with, because when it came down to it, whether you barracked for God or nothing at all, life was all there was. And death.”
One of the great Australian novels, I was gifted Cloudstreet by my parents ahead of a big solo trip to Australia – my first visit to one of my now favourite countries. There was something extra special about reading it while I was in Australia. I am a fan of epic novels and have reviewed several on this blog to date, and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Forced by separate personal tragedies, in 1943 two poor families – the Pickles and the Lambs – leave their rural homes and come to Perth, Western Australia, where they share a large house called Cloudstreet. Left to the Pickles by a relative, they rent out half the house to the Lambs, who open a grocery store on the ground floor. The Pickles family comprises parents Sam and Dolly, plus children Rose, Ted and Chub. Sam and Oriel Lamb are parents to Mason (nicknamed Quick), Samson (nicknamed Fish), Hattie, Elaine, Red and Lon.
Over the next twenty years, the two families live side by side and we live with them through their experiences, relationships and hardships. While major events in the world occur throughout the story such as the end of WWII, the Korean War and the assassination of JFK, these only distantly impact the Pickles and the Lambs. Cloudstreet filters worldly events through a domestic, rooted lens. We learn that the Pickles have got by on luck and will shirk work where possible whereas the Lambs are devoutly religious and value hard work to achieve God’s grace.
The theme of community persists throughout Cloudstreet – it celebrates it as the two families learn to live alongside each other. Connections to the past, to each other and to one’s environment also come through strongly. While some family members do at points venture away from Cloudstreet, the house is at the centre of the novel.
Winton’s writing style in Cloudstreet is beguiling and quite unlike any other epic novel I have read. Paired with the ups, downs and growing up that the families go through over the twenty year period, Cloudstreet makes for a captivating read and an eye-opening look into the lives of ordinary people in mid-century Australia.
Happy reading,
Imo x
ImoReads 