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Past the Shallows: A Novel Paperback – April 22, 2014

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Favel Parrett (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 53 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Washington Square Press; Reprint edition (April 22, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 147675487X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1476754871
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars"Out past the shallows, past the sandy-bottomed bays, comes the dark water - black and cold and roaring."
By Mary Whipple HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWER on August 2, 2014
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
(4.5 stars) Dark, stark, and potent in its story and its message, Past the Shallows reduces life to its most basic elements as perceived by two young brothers, Miles and Harry Curren, who share the story of their uncertain and impoverished lives on an island at the tail end of the inhabited world. Tasmania, off the south coast of Australia, where their father fishes for abalone in the dark water, offers no refuge, either physically or emotionally, from fate and the elements - just open water from there all the way to Antarctica. As difficult as the setting may be, the boys' dysfunctional family life is worse. Their father, a threatening and often intemperate "hard man," offers the young boys no emotional refuge from their difficult lives made worse by his drinking and irrational behavior. Their "Mum" died years ago in a car crash which they themselves survived, but can barely remember.

The narrative line hides itself within episodes told by both Miles and Harry, moving back and forth as they live their everyday lives and as they think about the past. Miles, who appears to be about nine or ten, "could stay out in the water, forever, even if it was freezing," and he "knew there were things that no one could teach you - things about the water. You just knew them or you didn't." He finds some relief in surfing with his much older brother, who lives elsewhere. Harry, the youngest, perhaps six or seven, hates the ocean, and fears it.

The author keeps her writing clean, developing strong contrasts between life at sea, where Miles is required to help his father on the boat, no matter the weather, and the life on land which Harry seeks.Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsFlawed
By Edwin Relf on October 11, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
As a male reader I felt violated with her interiority of the two boy children. It is so wrong/untrue - just too creepy. She should have left it all in the 3rd person and just described what they do and not try to interpret motive moment by moment. I didn't like the story or the way it was told. Favel writes well enough, but what is it all about? Some of the descriptive bits are quite good - like the shark landing on the deck and the chap breaking his leg - but what was the point of it all - where was the metaphor? The story was depressing and then it got more depressing. Another reader told me that both boys die at the end and I just didn't want to follow to that. I hated that the woman writer was getting into the two young boys heads in the 1st person. 3rd person fine, but cross gender 1st person is a no no. She got selfhood of young boys soo wrong. Equally I hate it when male writers try to be the 1st person female voice - which is the big flaw in Tolstoy's Anna K.
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4.0 out of 5 starsPulls you in and breaks your heart
By Julia Flyte TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on July 28, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
Miles and Harry live with their father in a remote coastal part of Tasmania. Their mother has died and their older brother Joe has left home. Their father is an abalone fisherman who forces 13 year old Miles to come out on the boat with him every day. Harry, aged 9, is scared of water and stays home alone. Their father drinks too much, neglects his children and is occasionally violent. Gradually we will learn some of the reasons for his behaviour.

This is a very atmospheric book which has a tremendous sense of place. Miles and Harry capture your heart and as the realities of their very grim lives emerge, the book gets increasingly depressing to read. Now that I've finished the book, I'm finding it hard to let them go. The writing is sparse and detached. It's not the kind of book that tells you how you should feel, but maybe because of this it is extremely moving.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA astonishing debut
By Maree Hall on January 15, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition
This mesmerising debut tells the story three brothers trapped on the margins of society. The story is told from the perspective of the two youngest brothers, Miles and Harry, as they seek escape from the abuses of their father, an embittered abalone fisherman.

The wild and inhospitable landscape of southernmost Tasmania provides a beautiful, ominous tension throughout, with the sea and dark weather front and centre. Right from the start, the book's lyricism is enough to take your breath away:

"Out past the shallows, past the sandy-bottomed bays,

comes the dark water - black and cold and roaring."

Harry's innocent voice tells of the ordinariness of neglect in his world, the whole while maintaining an optimism at once totally believable and profoundly touching.
Miles, older, but just as helpless is profoundly aware of what will happen if he does not escape the violence of his father and the fate that is life in this town. He speaks of the cannery:

"Most kids ended up working there. Miles knew them; kids from school

who left before the end of Year Nine. But they didn't look like kids

any more. They were hard. Just big arm muscles and thick hands"

Past the Shallows completely immerses you as family secrets unravel and the boys' lives are revealed with quiet urgency. This is the kind of book you read in one greedy sitting. And then read again. Compelling and beautiful.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsThey face a grim future where hope seems nonexistent and where all...

Past the Shallows is the story of three brothers: Joe, Miles, and Harry. They can’t change a past where their mother is dead, their uncle is lost to the ocean, and their father is... Read more

Published 1 month ago by NAM
5.0 out of 5 starsPast the SHallows

this book is a delightful read, a book you cannot put down, The characters are beautifully drawn, so strong that you are really involved with them with emotion, . Read more

Published 5 months ago by Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 starsI was disappointed. Whilst I did really feel for the two ...

I was looking forward to reading this book after all the hype I'd heard about it. Sadly, I was disappointed. Read more

Published 8 months ago by M. Baker
5.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyed even more on second reading

Enjoyed even more on second reading. Themes of: relationships, both family and Australia and Antarctica of the cold and dark and the similarities and differences with Australia... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Andy
4.0 out of 5 starsA beautiful little book but very heart

A beautiful little book but very heart wrenching

Published 11 months ago by chris webster
5.0 out of 5 starsI loved this book!

This beautifully written book in a stunning setting, takes a dark subject,family secrets, stirs your passions and makes you think about it long after you've finished the story

Published 17 months ago by Gina McCoy
2.0 out of 5 starsThe powe of the seaand the dicscriptions of its mood truly great. I...

A first novel so congratulations. The powe of the seaand the dicscriptions of its mood truly great. I felt the fear of former trips in my life. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Helen Warman
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Beautiful book, best i have read in years.

Published 18 months ago by Daryl McKenzie
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Loved the book and thought his characterisations superb

Published 19 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsMoving novel with a sweeping setting and heartbreaking moments

Past The Shallows is a deep yet simplistically written book. I knew after the first few pages that it was my kind of novel. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Emily @ Falling for YA

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