Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

very real

Customer Rating:

I've heard this described as 'the great Australian novel'. While not sure I fully agree I certainly rate it very highly. The book evokes Australia very strongly and in great detail. As an expat Australian I felt somehow at home... each of the interesting and complex, yet wholly real and easily related to characters had elements of people I've known. The way it is written is very thoughtful and empathetic, yet the language manages to stay low key and (as other reviewers have noted) loaded with Aussie slang which made it fun to read. The storyline is engaging, sweeping and epic. I found myself rejoicing at the ups and frowning at the downs they experienced, and admiring the strength of just about all of them at one time or another. The only thing I didn't like was one or two of the plot turns. Rose's reconciliation with her mother seemed a little put on, for example. But it's the characters that made this story for me. On the whole, a very enjoyable read.

ONE NEVER TO FORGET	Customer Rating:
WHY didn't this novel win the Booker Prize? Reading Winton is the happiest and most startling relationship I've had with books since first reading Cormac McCarthy. Simply amazing!

An absorbing and moving book

Customer Rating:

This book follows the lives of two Australian families who share a house from the 1940s to the 1960s. Both families are poor, but one believes in "luck" and the other creates their own luck. It's a wonderful, absorbing portrayal of a wide variety of characters, the ups and downs of their lives and the vicissitudes and joys of their crowded lives. The writing was very engaging, although American readers might have some trouble with some of the Australian language.

A beautiful, lovely story.	Customer Rating:
I loved this book. It's the story of two working class families in Perth, Australia, over twenty years time during the 40s/50s/60s. It's really fantastic. The story is rich with details and description, and the characters are extremely well developed and compelling. I was sad to finish it.

My favourite book - an all time great

Customer Rating:

I remeber David Malouf talking about good writing - about what distinguishes it - and he said it was the rhythm. And Cloudstreet has an amazing rhythm, a cadence and tone that sucks you up and propels you forward from the first page to the last and leaves you aching for more. It is a sweeping saga of post war Australia and through it I could see my grandparents and parents doing their best in this world. I have probably bought about 12 copies over the years, lending them knowing the chances of return will be squat. Read it and love it.