The Shepherd's Hut
Tim Winton
14 June 2018
9781509863853Synopsis
Fierce and lyrical, The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton is a story of survival, solitude and unlikely friendship. Most of all it is about what it takes to keep hope alive in a parched and brutal world.
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. This is a journey only a dreamer – or a fugitive – would attempt.
The Shepherd’s Hut is wonderful. Brutal, agonizing, tender. Ultimately, it’s a story of redemption and hopeSarah Winman, author of When God Was a Rabbit and Tin Man
A novel that reminds us what fiction can do. Here is a voice that digs into your viscera and changes you from the inside. This is fiction in the raw.Ross Raisin, author of God's Own Country
Winton’s novel of breaking and mending is a searing, ardent and deeply empathetic dive into the turmoil of a mutilated heart. I will never be able to unhear the voice of young Jaxie Clackton, plangent and profane, who is destined to become one of the greatest characters in Australian literature.Geraldine Brooks, author of Year of Wonders
