The Turning: New Stories [Hardcover]

Tim Winton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2005

Set on a coastal stretch of Western Australia, Tim Winton's stunning collection of connected stories is about turnings of all kinds -- changes of heart, slow awakenings, nasty surprises and accidents, sudden detours, resolves made or broken. Brothers cease speaking to each other, husbands abandon wives and children, grown men are haunted by childhood fears. People struggle against the weight of their own history and try to reconcile themselves to their place in the world. With extraordinary insight and tenderness, Winton explores the demons and frailties of ordinary people whose lives are not what they had hoped.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Well-known in his native Australia and twice shortlisted for the Man Booker, Winton (Dirt Music, etc.) is overdue for wider recognition in the U.S. This collection of linked stories showcases his strengths: memorable characters colliding with the moments that define them—for better or worse—and clean, evocative prose that captures the often stultifying life in smalltown Western Australia. In the title story, Raelene, a young wife and mother living in a trailer park with her abusive husband, Max, becomes fascinated with her happy new neighbors; the seemingly perfect couple's influence sets Raelene on a muddled path toward self-examination, resulting in a transformation shocking for both its brutality and naïveté. "Sand" reveals Max's cruelty as a young boy—he tries to bury his younger brother alive—while "Family" shows the two brothers meeting again as adults, with the balance of power between them shifting dramatically. Another character, Vic, is central to the book: he appears as an awkward adolescent fixated on unattainable older girls, as a young man coping with the legacy of his father's alcoholism and abandonment, and as a middle-aged man unable to come to terms with his past. Winton reveals a wide but finely turned swath of simmering inner lives; the sweetness of these stories, as well as their sharp bite, feels earned and real. (Sept.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Painful, raw, eloquent—these tales comprise a powerful defense for a much maligned genre, the short story collection. It’s no surprise that many of the stories here have been previously published in literary journals like The Threepenny Review. Winton’s language is taut, his characterization masterful, and the local color pitch-perfect. But what truly sets these stories apart is their emotional impact: they are subtle yet stirring and sensuous. Winton has been short-listed for the Booker Prize twice and is acclaimed in his native Australia. This collection will likely earn him the attention he deserves in the United States.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743276930
• ISBN-13: 978-0743276931
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,960,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life's Turning Points, September 22, 2005

By 

Adam (Adelaide, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Turning: New Stories (Hardcover)

Tim Winton's latest book 'The Turning' is a collection of short stories, narratives that are to some extent connected, in that the same places feature in the book and the same characters come in and out of the stories.

Most of the characters in the stories have been in some sort of trouble of one kind or another and have been damaged. They are all at some turning point in their lives, where they are facing up to what has happened to them in the past and trying to work out who they are, before they set off into the future.

"There are turnings of all kinds - changes of heart, nasty surprises, slow awakenings, sudden detours - where people struggle against the terrible weight of the past and challenge the lives they've made for themselves."

Winton's depiction of the world of small-town Western Australian life is expressed with precise realism. He uses sensory detail to convey the atmosphere of the setting. Winton's use of the senses lets the reader share the intimacy of living in a small-town. However, Winton also illustrates the drawbacks of small-town life.

Winton's prose is simple and yet powerful. The characters are all interesting and he makes the reader think. You will read this book and want to read Winton's other books as well. Highly recommended.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars do yourself a favour, September 8, 2005

By 

sandra papas "sandy" (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Turning: New Stories (Hardcover)

for those of you who are yet to discover Tim Winton he is a legend here in Australia and you are in for a treat! Most of his novels are set in Western Australia - our country's largest,yet least poplutated state which is dreadfully hot in summer but full of magnificent surf beaches, stunning scenery and some of the best wineries in the world. I spent much of my childhood in Perth and Winton writes so well I spend weeks having flashbacks - I can smell the sand during our summer holidays.
The book is a series of short stories that turn out to be linked in some (often very subtle) ways. I cant recommend it enough - or any of his books for that matter - see Dirt Music.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not always a fan but this book may be one of the finest collections, March 29, 2006

By 

Ian Muldoon (Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Turning: New Stories (Hardcover)

Sometimes Mr Winton seems to be straining to be profound riddling his books with impressive literary devices - or maybe I'm too dumb to recognise great art. But with THE TURNING he seems completely at ease and as a consequence the stories ring with a truth - an emotional and spiritual truth firmly set in a believable landscape. The title story about Raelene's physical and spiritual journey, is in the patois of we Australians - a ripper! Mr Winton's great contribution to world literature may indeed be the way in which he is liberating the Australian language and bringing the voice and stories of our caravan dwellers, fishermen, and other inhabitants of small town Australia - working and otherwise - to the fore.
The Lockie Leonard trilogy and THE TURNING I expect have joined or will be joining our collective memories much as Blinky Bill, Ginger Meggs and Voss already have.