In my mind this new book from Tim Winton sits alongside Breath, his 2008 novel, of which the film version is about to be released. Both books are short and powerful. Both focus on a teenage boy, and are told in the first person. And both books deal in risk. Their settings however are quite different. Where Breath situated itself on and in the waters of the south west coast, The Shepherd’s Hut dwells inland.
Jaxie Clackton flees his home and heads north, hoping to hide out for a while and then go searching for the girl he loves. By the time he comes across Fintan MacGillis, an old man living on his own in an isolated cabin, Jaxie is not in great shape, and resigns himself to staying a while. Life has mostly taught Jaxie not to trust men, and he is instinctively suspicious of Fintan. But sometimes grace is to be found in the most unexpected of places.
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