The Fiction of Tim Winton: Earthed and Sacred

Description

Perhaps more than any other Australian writer, Tim Winton challenges neat distinctions between the "literary" and the "popular". His award-winning books are lauded by critics and widely studied in schools and universities. He is also one of the country's most enduringly popular writers: Cloudstreet was voted "Australia's favourite book" in an ABC poll and his books appear regularly on bestseller lists. In this study of Winton's work and career, Lyn McCredden considers how he has bridged the literary-popular divide. She explores his treatment of class, gender, landscape and belonging, and how his engagement with these themes has deepened and changed over time.

Lyn McCredden is a professor of Australian literature and literary studies at Deakin University, Melbourne.

'Add[s] something new and distinct not only to the study of Tim Winton, but also to that of Australian literature.' -- Tony Hughes-d'Aeth * Australian Book Review * '[McCredden] rightly challenges the sanctimonious ideologists who seem to demand an 'already solved'-and acceptable-vision in a book ... This book will become a standard guide for those seeking an introduction to Winton's work.' -- Paul Sharrad * This Year's Work in English * "The author shows that the word is the world in a first chapter devoted to the use and importance of language and to an Australianness that delves into an ontological questioning ... This new critical book is an excellent contribution to the study of Tim Winton and manages to draw readers and researchers beyond the strict confines of writing." -- Salhia Ben Messahel * Antipodes * 'The Fiction of Tim Winton is an intelligent and exhaustively researched contribution to studies of Winton's writing. This book is also an example of sophisticated and immensely readable literary analysis.' -- Jay Daniel Thompson * The Australian * 'It is hard to think of someone more capable of sympathetically explicating his literary and intellectual project. McCredden's The Fiction of Tim Winton is a sensitive, engaged, learned and very careful, though still accessible, argument for the value of this project.' -- Nathan Hollier * Australian Literary Studies * 'The Fiction of Tim Winton offers readers a broad and insightful view of the writing, career and cultural context of Tim Winton. Even for those familiar with the Australian context, there is much added value to be found here. It is refreshing to read such in-depth analysis of a single author.' -- Tobias McCorkell * Journal of Postcolonial Writing *