Listen free for 30 days
-
Cloudstreet
- Narrated by: Peter Hosking
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £20.29
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Dirt Music
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Suzi Dougherty
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Georgie Jutland is a mess. At 40, with her career in ruins, she finds herself stranded in White Point with a fisherman she doesn't love and two kids whose dead mother she can never replace. Leached of all confidence, she spends her days in isolated tedium and her nights in a blur of vodka self-recrimination. One morning, in the boozy pre-dawn gloom, she sees a shadow drifting up the beach below - a loner called Luther Fox, with danger in his wake.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous, compelling
- By mrs c m richards on 13-07-22
-
Scission
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Samuel Johnson
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
Tim Winton's first collection of stories deals with men, women and children whose lives are coming apart and whose hearts are breaking. These spare, jagged stories, in which people struggle with change and disintegration, are vintage Winton.
-
Minimum of Two
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Stig Wemyss
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
Tim Winton's characters are ordinary people who battle to maintain loyalty against all odds; women, children, men whose relationships strain under pressure and leave them bewildered, hoping, sometimes fleeing, but often finding strength in forgotten parts of themselves.
-
The Shepherd's Hut
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Kate Mulvany
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
For years, Jaxie Clackton has dreaded going home. His beloved mum is dead, and he wishes his dad was too, until one terrible moment leaves his life stripped to nothing. No-one ever told Jaxie Clackton to be careful what he wishes for. And so Jaxie runs. There's just one person in the world who understands him, but to reach her he'll have to cross the vast saltlands of Western Australia. It is a place that harbours criminals and threatens to kill those who haven't reckoned with its hot, waterless vastness.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Why, why the female voice?
- By Catherine on 07-03-21
-
The Turning
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower, Caroline Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Here 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 have made for themselves. Beautifully crafted, and as tender as they are confronting, these elegiac stories examine the darkness and frailty of ordinary people and celebrate the moments when the light shines through.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
#TheTurning
- By Del. on 05-02-19
-
Breath
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Troy Planet
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
When paramedic Bruce Pike is called out to deal with another teenage adventure gone wrong, he knows better than anyone what happened and how. Thirty years before, that dead boy could have been him. Bruce remembers what it was like to be a risk-taking kid, to feel that thrill and that fear.... Breath by Tim Winton is the story of Bruce and his best friend, Loonie, and the obsession that changed both of their lives. It is about the exhilaration of the sea and the waves, the treacherous addiction to risk, and the intoxicating power of forbidden love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superbly crafted and emotionally compelling
- By Gsy Girl on 06-06-21
-
Dirt Music
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Suzi Dougherty
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Georgie Jutland is a mess. At 40, with her career in ruins, she finds herself stranded in White Point with a fisherman she doesn't love and two kids whose dead mother she can never replace. Leached of all confidence, she spends her days in isolated tedium and her nights in a blur of vodka self-recrimination. One morning, in the boozy pre-dawn gloom, she sees a shadow drifting up the beach below - a loner called Luther Fox, with danger in his wake.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous, compelling
- By mrs c m richards on 13-07-22
-
Scission
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Samuel Johnson
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
Tim Winton's first collection of stories deals with men, women and children whose lives are coming apart and whose hearts are breaking. These spare, jagged stories, in which people struggle with change and disintegration, are vintage Winton.
-
Minimum of Two
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Stig Wemyss
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
Tim Winton's characters are ordinary people who battle to maintain loyalty against all odds; women, children, men whose relationships strain under pressure and leave them bewildered, hoping, sometimes fleeing, but often finding strength in forgotten parts of themselves.
-
The Shepherd's Hut
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Kate Mulvany
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
For years, Jaxie Clackton has dreaded going home. His beloved mum is dead, and he wishes his dad was too, until one terrible moment leaves his life stripped to nothing. No-one ever told Jaxie Clackton to be careful what he wishes for. And so Jaxie runs. There's just one person in the world who understands him, but to reach her he'll have to cross the vast saltlands of Western Australia. It is a place that harbours criminals and threatens to kill those who haven't reckoned with its hot, waterless vastness.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Why, why the female voice?
- By Catherine on 07-03-21
-
The Turning
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower, Caroline Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Here 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 have made for themselves. Beautifully crafted, and as tender as they are confronting, these elegiac stories examine the darkness and frailty of ordinary people and celebrate the moments when the light shines through.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
#TheTurning
- By Del. on 05-02-19
-
Breath
- By: Tim Winton
- Narrated by: Troy Planet
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
When paramedic Bruce Pike is called out to deal with another teenage adventure gone wrong, he knows better than anyone what happened and how. Thirty years before, that dead boy could have been him. Bruce remembers what it was like to be a risk-taking kid, to feel that thrill and that fear.... Breath by Tim Winton is the story of Bruce and his best friend, Loonie, and the obsession that changed both of their lives. It is about the exhilaration of the sea and the waves, the treacherous addiction to risk, and the intoxicating power of forbidden love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superbly crafted and emotionally compelling
- By Gsy Girl on 06-06-21
-
After the Storm
- By: Margaret Graham
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 19 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2
Born into hardship in a Northumbrian mining village, Annie Manon needs all her strength to survive the bleak years following the First World War. As her family fractures around her, she longs to make something of her life. Through hard work and determination Annie eventually leaves the poverty and despair of her childhood behind her. But then war breaks out once more, taking her further away from her dreams and those she loves most. And it is all Annie can do to keep hope alive....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another Margaret Graham masterpiece.
- By Amazon Customer on 07-05-22
-
Trespasses
- By: Louise Kennedy
- Narrated by: Brid Brennan
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
One by one, she undid each event, each decision, each choice. If Davy had remembered to put on a coat. If Seamie McGeown had not found himself alone on a dark street. If Michael Agnew had not walked through the door of the pub on a quiet night in February in his white shirt. There is nothing special about the day Cushla meets Michael, a married man from Belfast, in the pub owned by her family. But here, love is never far from violence, and this encounter will change both of their lives forever.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Emotionally charged.. Outstanding!
- By Shar on 30-04-22
-
French Braid
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 246
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 211
When the kids are grown and Mercy Garrett gradually moves herself out of the family home, everyone determines not to notice. Over at her studio, she wants space and silence. She won't allow any family clutter. Not even their cat, Desmond. Yet it is a clutter of untidy moments that forms the Garretts' family life over the decades, from giving a child a ride to a painstaking Easter lunch, a fateful train journey to an unexpected homecoming. And it all begins in 1959, with a family holiday to a cabin by a lake.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful!
- By Nina S Bailey on 27-03-22
-
Force of Nature
- By: Jane Harper
- Narrated by: Stephen Shanahan
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 635
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 582
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 578
Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which of the four had asked after Alice's welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had been them. Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
More a Gentle Push of Nature
- By Simon on 03-02-18
-
The Other Side of the Bridge
- By: Mary Lawson
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 127
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 126
Arthur and Jake are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is solid and dutiful, set to inherit the farm and his father's character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Characters in Canada you have to care about ...
- By Anushka on 28-09-09
-
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
- By: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton, Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 29 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 77
The great scholar W. E. B. Du Bois once wrote about the problem of race in America, and what he called ‘Double Consciousness', a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois' words all too well.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An extraordinary read
- By Cassie H on 29-12-21
-
Young Mungo
- By: Douglas Stuart
- Narrated by: Chris Reilly
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 935
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 866
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 862
Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in a hyper-masculine world. They are caught between two of Glasgow’s housing estates where young working-class men divide themselves along sectarian lines, and fight territorial battles for the sake of reputation. They should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all, and yet they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the doocot that James has built for his prize racing pigeons. As they begin to fall in love, they dream of escaping the grey city.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Eve on 18-04-22
-
The World According to Garp
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
A worldwide best seller since its publication, Irving's classic is filled with stories inside stories about the life and times of T. S. Garp, struggling writer and illegitimate son of Jenny Fields - an unlikely feminist heroine ahead of her time. Beautifully written, The World According to Garp is a powerfully compelling and compassionate coming-of-age novel that established John Irving as one of the most imaginative writers of his generation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Audible version cuts 2 chapters
- By Anonymous User on 19-04-20
-
The Human Stain
- By: Philip Roth
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
It is 1998, the year in which America is whipped into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town, an aging classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist. The charge is a lie, but the real truth about Silk would have astonished even his most virulent accuser.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic introduction to Roth
- By Arty1 on 13-05-20
-
The Lincoln Highway
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland, Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 484
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 440
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 437
Emmett returns home to pick up his little brother Billy, tie up his late father's estate and get out of town for good. Since leaving the Kansas youth facility where he served time, Emmett has wanted one thing: to give them both a fresh start - and that means heading out to the sparkling west. Young, precocious Billy has plans of his own - to get to San Francisco, where he believes their long-estranged mother is waiting for them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant!
- By Diana on 24-02-22
-
The Tightrope Walkers
- By: David Almond
- Narrated by: Tom Machell
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
"I was born in a hovel on the banks of the Tyne...” Dominic Hall grows up in the sixties on a brand-new estate, along with the other families who escaped the river. But the Tyne is still an overwhelming presence, and most of the fathers work in the shipyards. Dom is torn between his new mates: Holly Stroud, his enchanting neighbour, and Vincent McAlinden, who's something else altogether - a wild, dangerous boy with murderous instincts.
-
What Was Promised
- By: Tobias Hill
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3
Clarence and Bernadette Malcolm have come five thousand miles in search of prosperity, but find the Mother Country not at all as has been promised them; Solly and Dora Lazarus, too, are strangers in a strange land, struggling to belong even as they try to make sense of their past; and Michael and Mary Lockhart take with both hands all that the world owes them, wherever it leads them, whatever the cost.
Summary
Critic reviews
"One of those rare novels that warm the heart, as well as spark the imagination." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Peter Hosking's performance is true to Winton's unsentimental exploration into humankind's ability to love and survive amid adversity....His characterizations, including an aboriginal ghost and a talking pig, are earthy, real, and frequently hilarious." ( AudioFile)
More from the same
What listeners say about Cloudstreet
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- William
- 06-10-13
Home Sick
If you could sum up Cloudstreet in three words, what would they be?
An Aussie beauty!
Who was your favorite character and why?
All of them because each character is like someone we already know
Which character – as performed by Peter Hosking – was your favourite?
Quick,
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
This book made me laugh out loud many times and chuckle at the colloquial expressions so many times yet all of this was set against the Aussie battler making good where he could and taking it on the chin when he/she faced a set back.
Any additional comments?
Just great narration of this wildly amusing but poignant story.
As an Aussie living abroad for many years, I have missed the wonderful expressions which offer a rye smile or a real laugh.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Venetia
- 03-02-13
A beautiful book
A fabulous, fantastic book. Beautifully read. Wholesome, disfunctional characters living a quirky life. Bitter sweet, tender, funny and sad. An absolute "must read". If you love literature you will love this. I envy everyone who hasn't read this book yet.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- sarahmoose2000
- 12-10-14
A bit confusing
Two families share one house over a period of 20 years. Various ailments are experienced, adultery, brain damage, anorexia, depression....but I just didn't understand the hallucinations or esp type mirages that kept happening with various members of the clans.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Joanna
- 24-05-12
Magical
A life-affirming, rollicking book, wonderfully narrated. Very highly recommended. Will be looking out for more by this author
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carolyn
- 04-03-14
A great novel, beautifully read
Would you listen to Cloudstreet again? Why?
Cloudstreet is probably the best audio book I've heard in the last 5 years of listening.
What other book might you compare Cloudstreet to, and why?
One Hundred Years of Solitude. Both books are family tales filled with the mystery and ordinariness of life, described in prose of the highest quality.
What about Peter Hosking’s performance did you like?
He manages to capture the uniqueness of each character's voice without strain or stress, to bring to life the world of 1950's Perth.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Both.
Any additional comments?
Tim Winton might have felt, when he finished this book, that it is the book he was meant to write. It has a completeness and maturity about it that all great books achieve. Images from the tale come to mind long afterwards. The characters feel real and one comes to love them.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Steven
- 10-04-13
A look back at what made Australia 'australian'
The only reasons I don't give this book five stars are (i) some annoying chapter and 'event' headers (when read out they come across like subtitles) and (ii) to English ears the narration is occasionally challenging. But the story and characters are both excellent. The story follows two working class families across 30 years of domestic life, set in Western Australia rather than perhaps better known places like Melbourne or Sydney. There are times when the modern reader wonders how the characters kept going - life was clearly pretty tough back then. But somehow the lust for life of the Austrlain personality enlivens every crisis and set-back. There are themes below the surface about fate, fortune/luck and whether you can 'cheat your destiny'. I read it on a flight to and while driving through New South Wales, which made it come to life even more. This is also regularly voted the most popular Australian contemporary novel.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- neil
- 12-07-21
Beautiful
This guy’s imagination should be heard by all . All the simplicity’s and hardships of individuals in two family’s 🍀
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gsy Girl
- 24-03-21
A wonderful tale of the circle of life and the value of hope
Wonderful . Just read this and drink in the stories of each individual character - their individual strengths , fears and frailties . An incredible , memorable read .
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 05-11-20
Enthralling
What a great read and so beautifully spoken by Peter Hosking
My listening companion for two weeks
Felt like knowing the two central families so well through the ‘stuff of daily life’ who’s stories fill it’s pages
Reading as our book of the month in our Quaker book group
Hope next month’s is as gripping
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maya W.
- 14-07-20
Magical realism at it's best
One of the best narrators I've ever heard. A beautiful story too, Tim Winton is a class act
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matilda
- 18-01-12
Magic for my city
I've lived in Perth most of my life and am almost ashamed it took me so long to read Cloudstreet. The story is astounding. I turned it over in my mind for days after finishing it. My only (very slight!) issue was that Peter Hosking is obviously an east coast man, his pronunciation was a little off at times and it would have been lovely to make use of more West Australian talent.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lisa
- 27-07-13
An Aussie classic
Would you listen to Cloudstreet again? Why?
YES! it took a while to gel with the characters but once I felt them, it was hard to let them go at the end of the book.
What about Peter Hosking’s performance did you like?
The performance of the reader was good. He was easy to listen to and his voices were suitable and funny.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- nerida
- 04-03-13
Lovely !
Would you listen to Cloudstreet again? Why?
As soon as I finished I had to go back and listen to the very first scene again...with tears running down my cheeks. Yes, I will listen to the whole thing again one day because I think it is one of those books where it's not just the story that is wonderful to listen to, it's revisiting "old friends" that will be fun.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I didn't really have a favourite character because the whole book is full of interesting and wonderful characters. This is definitely the book for those who love books about people. I was sad when the book finished because I felt that I had gotten to know the characters so well that I knew them and will miss them terribly.
What does Peter Hosking bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He brings life to the story and characters. He did a terrific job.
If you could take any character from Cloudstreet out to dinner, who would it be and why?
I wouldn't want to take anyone out for dinner from Cloudstreet- I would invite myself over for dinner. I would be content to be a fly on the wall !
Any additional comments?
I listened to this book while I was renovating my house so now the characters and stories are embedded in my house too. I feel very sentimental about this book - so much so the first thing I did after I finished listening was purchase another Tim Winton book in the hope of finding another book just like it.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Jim
- 27-06-10
Winton at his best
This is the best book I have read. It is a clasic moving and interesting from beginning to end. I felt like I knew these people they were so ordinary and yet so rich.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Merlin
- 11-03-17
Brilliantly written epic-superbly narrated
This is a wonderful novel: vivid, entertaining, funny, poignant, and imaginative. Sometimes the wrier's literary gifts lead him to overwrite--he has such a limitless fund of metaphor at his disposal that he occasionally overeggs the pudding. But you can't blame him. I loved everything about the novel--from the overarching conception to the highly entertaining dialogs. The narration couldn't be improved upon--it's superb.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- P Stowers
- 17-04-10
Cloudstreet
A marvellous read. Beautifully written, wonderful characterisation, both funny and moving.
4.6 stars.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Chrissie
- 13-05-13
Dysfunctional Families Australian Style
Dysfunctional Families Australian Style
Those words are the best I can come up with to depict this book. There are two families living in one house on Cloudstreet near Perth, Australia. This house and these families become the center attraction of the entire neighborhood. Both families are of the working class; in fact they are lucky if they even have a job. The time period is 1944-1964, so the end of the war and the hard times that followed determine the setting. Life is hard; it is a struggle. Booze, gambling, promiscuity, adultery, child abuse, anorexia and children with mental retardation - all play a central role in this novel. It sounds pretty depressing, doesn’t it? Sometimes, too, the language is downright crude. Nevertheless, by the end of the novel you care for the characters. Maybe they are total losers, but some of them are trying their best. Even the losers have some good qualities. There is moreover another theme to the book – the strength of families. So the book isn’t depressing, and there is humor, albeit sad humor.
I am glad I read this book. For me a three star book is one I liked; it is one I am glad I read! This book is considered an Australian classic. It is definitely a total immersion course in Australian life, at least those of the working class after WW2. It is so, so, so Australian - full of colloquialisms and expressions foreign to me. For this reason I must wholeheartedly recommend the audiobook narrated by Peter Hosking. Through his clever intonations you can more easily guess the meaning of expressions and words foreign to those of us who are not Australian. I LOVED how Oriel Lamb spoke. Yeah, she was also kind of my hero all through the story. There are lots of dialogs, and the characters are reinforced by the narrator’s ability to distinguish between each.
The conflict between the Aboriginal people and other Australians is portrayed to a lesser extent, but it is hinted at. The inherent wisdom of Aboriginal beliefs comes to the fore through spooky premonitions. I found this kind of corny, but I guess it had to be drawn into a book about Australian life. It sort of belongs.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- laila
- 25-09-12
Dickens meets Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Winton's characters celebrate and suffer and Peter Hosking gives them voices that stay with you. This story is sad and hopeful full of details that puts you inside the head of each character. There are ghosts, talking pigs and a voice from beyond but it all seems real. It is a beautiful story of two complicated families. Listening to Peter's Australian accent and his singing of folk songs added a whole extra layer of joy. I loved this book and the reading.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wormwood's ghost
- 30-09-21
Just as enjoyable as the screen version
I don't know what it is about Peter Hosking's narration but I listen to this over and over. The story combined with the narration always provide a good escape and I listen as I fall asleep on the lowest volume and again when I'm on the road. I find the audio version just as enjoyable as the TV version and never get tired of it. I have tried other titles Peter has narrated and it's just not the same. This is another keeper for me.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Stevo
- 25-07-09
Simply brilliant
Simply brilliant. Some of the Aussie slang may pass over the heads of some international readers though. It is now my favourite Audible book to date!
3 people found this helpful
