Customer Reviews

Dirt Music : A Novel

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If Cloudstreet could be considered as a contender for the'Great Australian Novel' then Dirt Music is something more. Yet it is no less a novel that explores where we as Australians feel at home. Winton creates yet another beautiful male character in Luther Fox, whose attachment to the earth is multifaceted. He hears its resonances in the dirt music he plays and in the ocean where he is comfortable and then most powerfully in his journey north through Western Australia.
This novel is a love story that tests boundaries. Georgie, the female protagonist inspires many emotions in us, but we are admire her determination in following Luther and 'saving' him.
Underscoring this is winton's magical evoction of place and the rhythyms of the land. Most interestingly of all you can buy the double CD that acts as a soundtrack that underscores the necessity of music in our lives. We are lucky when we get a double dose - Winton's words with the music he believes best reflects what he is saying. Beautiful!

This novel hummed to me in such a strong voice, I found myself slowing down my pace in order to relish the experience. There is something intriguing about Australia, almost a mirror image of the United States but dramatically different. As in Dermot Bolger's "Father's Music," the music metaphor and its connection to the people in the story makes it almost a character in itself. The descriptions of the land are so vivid, you almost feel the dust in your throat. But what made this book soar for me was its ruminations on the nature of love. Not romantic love, but love warts and all -- the lost love of a man for his family, the lessening of love between a man and a woman, the complicated love a woman feels for her own highly dysfunctional siblings. I recommend this book, without any reservation.

"Dirt Music" is more than just a story about a tangled relationship between Georgie Jutland, Jim Buckridge and Luther Fox, it's also a journey to uncover the ghosts of their past. It's a story that is well-written by Tim Winton, without being too artificial or too practical. Sensitive without being soppy; practical without being mechanical.

Through the bleak landscape of Western Australia, we learn that protagonists also have weaknesses and the 'bad' guys also have their own reasons to behave the way they do. This is the reason why I can identify with the characters and understand the way they behave. Having lived in Australia for some years also makes me recognize the 'aussieness' of this novel - it seeps through every sentence that is written: how the locals are afraid of the Asian invasion; how men are suppposed to be men; and many more little themes that are included within the novel. The book is also seasoned with Australian cheekiness and humour which makes it a delight to read - however, that doesn't mean that the book is a trivial read. Tim Winton brings us to scenes and makes us breathe in the surrounding, stand and witness whatever that is happening in the following pages.

I heartily recommend this book to those who want to visit Western Australia, and to read how each character deals with the ghosts of their past. A great read - full stop.

Tim Winton has an indisputable gift for language; seldom will you find more cleverly turned phrases or richer metaphors and similes, but "Dirt Music" is ultimately too opaque and self-indulgent. The language remains rich, but the story loses its way and the last 100 pages seem more the ramblings of a sunstruck psychedelic than an eloquent writer with a compelling story to tell. Most of the action takes place in the close-knit Western Australia fishing village of White Point, which is populated by characters who have a spiritual kinship to a dozen of Steinbeck's. Georgie Jutland, a well-traveled, well-worn forty-something ex-nurse from a dysfunctional family, is adrift in a brackish pool of indecision about her life and which man she wants to devote it to. Jim Buckridge, a stoic, widowed father of two young sons, stands tall and straight among them-a master fisherman and a strong, silent type who Georgie pities more than loves. Luther (Lu) Fox is a poacher of the first water whose crippled psyche draws Georgie like cat hair to a black sweater. But the Foxes are outcasts in this rough and tumble community while the Buckridges are its respected pillars. When the inevitable triangle forms, Lu is victimized in a particularly cruel way and Georgie is cast into a limbo darker than any she's ever known. Lu departs and Georgie's live-in relationship with Jim and his boys is flayed and filleted. Winton's long description of Lu's journey then not only leads the story off the beaten track, but off the track altogether. After forty or fifty pages of that, I no longer cared what happened to any of the characters.

Dirt Music is a wild ride -- a story of love, death, the mess people make of their lives, and their redemption through love. It is essentially the love story of Georgie Jutland and Luther Fox: Georgie, on the verge of alcoholism and finding herself in an unsure relationship with a widower named Jim and his two boys; Lu, the survivor of a world of death (everyone he loved has died in ghastly, gory ways) terrified of the thought that he is cursed, that anyone he loves will meet a horrible fate. The other characters are just as dodgy but only Jim (who, in his desire for his own redemption, seeks to help Georgie discover herself, even at the cost of their relationship) is drawn with any of the detail with which Georgie and Lu are delineated. These rough characters exist in a rough landscape: Western Australia, somewhere north of Perth, in a fishing town where most of the locals (who are literally White Pointers) have become rich from harvesting lobster but still maintain their frontier ways, often solving disputes with shotguns. Georgie is a blow-in, unsure of how she ended up living in this wild west town; Lu is a local but he's an outcast in a town of outcasts. He plays the dobro but, after the grim fate of his music-playing family, he is afraid of the psychic pain returning to music might give him so he makes a living poaching fish and crustaceans from his fellow townsfolk - a dangerous game in this unforgiving place.
Through this landscape, and the even harsher landscape of the Kimberley, the love story (it would be too banal to call it a romance) of these two is played out. The novel is a genuine page-turner and a quick read, partly because of the effortless prose and partly because we can't wait to see what happens next -- in that sense it's full of suspense as well, almost like a thriller/mystery. The dialogue is both sharp and blunt at the same time and only occasionally strays into unbelievability. The characters speak in metaphors laced with morbid and acerbic wit, to cover their real emotions:

"She's on the way out, son. Cancer of the bowel. Like it's goin outta fashion ... I'm for circlin the wagons and takin every pill and poison they give her but she wants to go out with her boots on, give it the big Up Yours. You know, blaze of glory. Wants to drive into the eye of the storm sorta thing."

The novel's climax is in the extreme northern country, where Lu escapes after he is nearly killed by redneck White Pointers. Georgie and Jim follow and try to find this lone, dazed, half-mad figure hiding in the wilderness. The ending is cataclysmic and I won't tell you whether Lu's curse is played out again .. you'll have to read the book for yourself and get deep into the world of Tim Winton, a genuinely original Aussie voice.

I wonder why people who did not like this book gave it three stars anyway? Ooh, ooh, I know! It is a wonderful book with believable characters and a beautiful setting! That's why! We meet Georgie surfing the net at 4 am; she does not even try to hide from her husband (who is a lobsterman and arises every morning at 4 for work) that she has spent another sleepless night drinking in front of the computer. Jim does not bother to ask Georgie why she does this every night and the stage is set: a loveless, amicable marriage with the wife searching for her future and the husband hiding from his past. Add another man attempting to eke out a living after a horrible loss (he explains the odd title for us) and sit back and enjoy the ride. Western Australia comes to life with Winton's beautiful prose, and I spent a sleepless night reading on my couch to discover what happened to these three lost souls at the end of this gripping novel. I look forward to reading other works by Mr. Winton!

"What's it about?", I'm asked after a friend hears me give a low whistle of appreciation while reading, Dirt Music. Umm...well, it's set in Australian townships...rather gritty...a love story is involved...Something called an Ute rolls over...I think that's a vehicle and it's a tremendous tragedy...

Lookit...I can only recommend picking it up and reading it for yourself. Winton writes so bloody well, his book doesn't need a plot. Now, I know that doesn't sound too promising and indeed, rather odd, however, let me ask others readers this question. Have you read as many books as I have that possess a magnificent story line only to leave you groaning in parts where the author's writing just isn't worth the effort to read? Oh, please...just read this book like you're listening to music. Don't try real hard. Winton does all the work. It's not a tidy story. It's music.

I found this an enjoyable read. The subject matter interested me - dealing with grief and mid-life relationship crisis. I liked the setting and felt he evoked the landscape superbly. He also captured small town, insular Australia exceptionally well in the few characters drawn from the locale. Georgie's role as an outsider in her wealthy family rang true.

Actually the sum of the parts rang more true for me than when it was put together. The idea of the grand passion coming at a time when she was adrift emotionally was good. The hurt of the young boys which isolated her within the domestic setting was achingly poignant. Small town politics and the dynamics of Jim's place in a power structure was interesting and not something I can recall having read much of in the past, especially with respect to my own culture (Australian).

However, I found the last part of the book troublesome, and I think it disintegrated once the action moved to the remote island. I found it unbelievable and a bit of a Survivor / Boys Own Adventure stretch of the imagination.

Winton is a fluid writer - I didn't find the prose clumsy, cliched or contrived, I didn't cringe at all as I all too often find myself doing these days. I reckon there's a great book inside here wanting to get out. I read that Winton was ages behind on deadline for delivery of this, and seemed to be blocked. I read he had a whole different book written, which he scrapped and then wrote this almost in one go. I think it shows.

I am going to seek out some more of Winton's work, because I think he's a skilled writer, exploring some themes I find interesting, and his settings wonderful, and I have read better Winton books than this - Cloudsteet, and children's books The Deep and The Bugalugs Bum Thief .

Like all great writers Tim Winton can make the very ordinary seem extraordinary. The storyline of this novel revolves around three characters. Each is dissatisfied with their lives for different reasons. Georgie is bored and losing interest in her current partner Jim, a successful fisherman who is still nursing the emotional scars caused by the death of his wife. Lu Fox is in an eternal struggle with seemingly everyone as the town loner and illegal fisherman. The triangle is formed when Lu helps a stranded Georgie whose car has broken down in the vast plains outside their town in WA. Their fling is very brief as Lu is run out of town for his covert raids on the town's important fishing waters.
The impression Georgie and Lu make on each other ensures that their thoughts bring them closer despite Lu's attempts at physical isolation in the remote top end of Australia.
Winton creates interesting characters, constantly struggling with their past as well as each other. He also has a special talent at somehow incorporating the natural environment of Western Australia into the lives of the novel's characters, the land is as alive and furtive as they are, as harsh and unforgiving as it is beautiful and vast, it is real frontier country and as such the characters endure and are molded by its extremities in their quest to find each other and their lost selves. You don't so much read about this countryside as smell, taste and become immersed in it along with the three protagonists.

Having never read anything by Tim Winton prior to picking up this book two weeks ago, I had no expectations whatsoever. However, from the first page I was drawn into his tale and suffered several near sleepless nights as a result of not being able to put the book down. The characters, location and plot are all highly believable AND interesting. His descriptions of the landscape just made me want to go back to Western Aus and explore more vigorously. Having lived and worked for a short time in the gold mining industry in that state, I can assure the reader that Mr. Winton captures the essence of this land and it's people. It is a truely great book and I will be reading all of his other works.