The Shepherd's Hut: A Novel Kindle Edition

Immediately engrossing and repellent, I read without considering stopping.By the end I knew the characters too well to agree that their actions were plausible, so the spell was broken as a manufactured ending did serious damage to a wonderful story.

This book was recommended by a friend, but I forget why her review got me interested. Whatever it was, apparently it didn't spark what I expected, as the style and content of the story were something of a surprise to me. A young man in not-very-good financial circumstances, ill-used by his father and doing a slow burn since childhood, comes home to a shocking discovery and heads out for the territories where no one will find him. The tale of his fairly resourceful activities after that and his sometimes also-shocking remembrances - which he goes over in his head frequently - is, to put it mildly, absorbing. Told in Australian idiom and slang, it might take a bit of getting used to, but it certainly isn't dull. I'm a slow reader (I like to savor passages) and I zipped right through this. Tim Winton, the author, is a premier Australian writer who has been short-listed a few times for the Booker Prize, and deserves the accolades.

Well written. A pleasure to read.

I'm a huge Tim Winton fan and have to say this isn't one of my favourites. It's an interesting read, albeit disturbing in a multi-layered way which I'd have to give away plot to explain. If you haven't read any of Winton's work before, I'd recommend you don't start with this one. Instead try The Riders or Dirt Music or Cloudstreet. If you're into short stories which is a good way to get into Winton's work try his book The Turning. This one takes a little more effort due to the dialogue, but as in all of Winton's work the Australian landscape is the star.

At first I thought I wouldn’t like it because his culture specific terminology was hard to follow, but it wasn’t long before I was thinking in his terms. The book is a read that keeps pulling the reader along and while it seems as if the author could just speed things up a bit, I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened next. And I read to the very end...The characters are believable and genuine. I wanted them to survive and succeed, even though I thought they probably wouldn’t. It is a refreshing read and even though the protagonist is a youth, I identified with him and even wanted to make suggestions.I passed the book along to my grandson who is fourteen.

A gripping read although the ending disappointing in that I was left wanting more. Tim Winton takes the reader into an often brutal world filled with brilliantly drawn characters living on the edge but he doesn’t always offer the reader much more than a glimpse of hope or redemption. The harshness of the Australian landscape infuses everything. But I guess there is enough beauty that emerges so I keep going back for more.

I am a Western Australian and I have lived in the Murchison Goldfields. Tim Winton has captured the feeling of isolation absolutely. His description of the bush, the salt lake, the old hut - it is all correct, right, complete. The dreadful, desolate landscape of the salt lake was so real to me that I could almost smell it. The story he has woven into the landscape is also very believable. I know places and characters like that so the connecting story line falls into place with such a raw, pure truth it is engrossing. This is a true Winton classic which will be read for many years to come.

Tim Winton is, in my humble opinion, one of the most creative authors around today. Many prolific authors get stale and formulaic with the same thoughts and perceptions constantly being repackaged. Tim Winton's books are always fresh and new. Some of the scenery is the same and not in a bad way, but his characters are generally very individual and fresh. His books never fail to satisfy. I can highly recommend this book to everyone. Tim Winton is a truly gifted and talented man!

I found this book absolutely outstanding. Written in the first person narrative Jaxie Clackton's life has not been easy. Living in a small town in Western Australia he has been subjected to abuse, violence and social ostracism which has led him to develop a tough protective and prickly outer shell in order to survive. At the start of the story when he flees the town he is not very likeable but his meeting with Fintan and their slowly growing relationship leads to reflection and growth on the part of Jaxie and, possibility, redemption for Fintan. The language used in not for the faint hearted but the brutality it is part of Jaxie and his way of survival ( he is, after all, still only in his mid teens with all the uncertain swagger of that age) and the descriptions of the outback scenery are haunting. This is, without doubt, one of the best books I have read in a very long tome

Jaxie Clackton is a product of abuse. His life is not simple or pretty. He is complex. Vicious, gentle, profane, poetic. He’s searching for something and for himself. Brought to life by Tim Winton, Jaxie should be hard to love but you will root for him from page one and at the end you will hope for him. I loved it. Couldn’t put it down.

There’s probably spoilers ahead.This was slow to start, due to the extensive recount. Slog on. Jaxie finds his way into your heart and stays there. This novel picks up the pace at around page 120.The way Winton describes the landscape is sublime; he manages to add texture with a light touch. He also captures the distinct voices of the characters.There are 1+ deaths in this book, yet the descriptions about how the characters died are either non-existent or confusing. Winton is so careful to explain and describe the landscape but when it came to characters dying, he seems to dodge it or assumed the reader knew more than they did.My main frustration is with the ending. Throughout the novel, there are pages dedicated to describing Jaxie’s backstory, plus his journey on foot. It appears that there’s no rush, and that a lot is made of the smaller details, which is a delight.However, in stark contrast to this, when things hit their climax, Winton hits us with a montage and it’s game over. Page 265 and 266 contain enough material for 20 pages, yet this is skimmed over and rushed. Why? We dragged ourselves through the harsh climate of WA, and all we get is a final montage. It’s not enough.I already miss the characters.

Absolutely love this book. Lived in Australia for a year and reading the characters natural lingo was refreshing. The boys background is heartbreaking and gives very good understanding of why teenage boys can come across as tough on the outside. The developing bond with the expriest was moving with all the differences between them. The book had enough tension to keep you hooked but I also loved the description of the land

I nearly gave up on this book at the 40%mark (read Kindle version). I'm in the UK and at first I found the language and Aussie lingo hard to understand but once I could hear Jaxie's voice and grasped the descriptions it became clearer. Tough to read the early abuse and hard life he had and when he set off I thought it was going to be all about surviving in the bush, hunting food and finding water etc definitely not my thing and wondered why I was bothering to struggle through, but as soon as he arrived at the but and met Fintan I was hooked and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ending was so tense I was hardly breathing. Well done Tim a totally different kind of read for me so so glad I stuck with it.