Past the Shallows is the debut novel for Favel Parrett and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award.
This novel follows a Summer in the life of three Tasmanian brothers, Joe, Miles and Harry, after their mother has died in a car accident.
It is an evocative novel, filled with emotion and yearning for another way of life. As the story unfolds the sparse text intimates their father’s violence before he ever lays a hand on them.
The boys live under the shadow of their violent father and his irregular drunken beatings.
It is the character of Harry who is the heart and soul of this novel. As a reader, you can embrace his innocence as a ray of hope in the brothers’ lives.
It is only Harry, the youngest son, who escapes work on their father’s illegal fishing boat. His light hearted view of the world is contrasted against Miles and Joe’s oppressive and steeled ‘adult’ view of the world (yet Joe at 17 is the eldest of the three).
The depth of this novel lies in Parrett’s ability to draw the reader into the brothers’ lives without giving everything away up front. She uses the suggestive power of her writing style to great effect, particularly in the books striking concluding chapters.
Past the Shallows embodies the Tasmanian shoreline, rough and unrelenting – yet beautiful in its simplicity.
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