The Eye of The Sheep

The silver lining after any surgery is the time when you are forced to sit around and do nothing more than read books, watch movies and be waited upon. It's actually hard to do nothing when you are used to doing everything in your house.

But get yourself a good book and it is much much easier.

I started off with The Eye of The Sheep.

It's just won a Miles Franklin Award, which is the award for "presented each year to a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases" 

So, it's an Australian book of the year.

It's based in the industrial part of Melbourne during the 80s, think car plants and smelters and factory workers, and told through the eyes of Jimmy. A child who sees the world through eyes that are just different. The book doesn't give him a label of any specific type.

Jimmy's family is his world, but his Dad is a wife beater and drinker and not all that understanding of Jimmy's uniqueness.

The story rolls through domestic violence, family dynamics, school systems that can't accommodate all kids and emergency service organisations that often just have no decent alternative for kids who fall into their care.

At first, I wasn't sure I felt like reading a book with such depressing subjects. But with the story told in the voice of Jimmy, who is six when we first meet, it isn't so harsh.

It's a good read, it's not a happy one, but the story captures you as you see the pieces of the family laying about. Side characters, Jimmy's uncle and his brother are welcome stories in the book, I always wanted more of them than we got, but I think that's the whole point. Jimmy did too, but you can't have all your family members some times.

If you asked me the question about whether you will like this book or not, I am not sure of the answer. If you asked if I think you should read it, the answer would be yes.

Have you read it? What did you think? 

Have I turned you away from reading it? 

P.S. My blog eats comments very regularly and I miss too many of them. I have now turned them off. Join me over on your favourite social site of choice Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to chat more. Thanks for reading.

xx