''Shallows'' (1984) is a novel by Australian author Tim Winton. It won the 1984

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

, and was the 1985 joint winner of Western Australian Premier's Book Award - Fiction. Carolyn See called it "a dark masterpiece that ranks with '' Moby-Dick''".

Story outline

The novel is set in 1978 in the fictional town of Angelus, Western Australia. The town is the last remaining remnant of Australia's whaling industry and the novel details the conflicts that arise as a group of outsiders, intent on closing down the whaling industry, come to town.

Critical reception

Marian Eldridge in '' The Canberra Times'' was impressed with the work: "It is a book resonant with meanings. On the surface it looks at a contemporary situation, a year-old relationship under strain as one partner becomes an active conservationist and the other an uncommitted, embarrassed observer. Whatever one decides the novel is saying, ''Shallows'' is a satisfying book."

Awards

1984

. 1985 Joint Winner Western Australian Premier's Book Award - Fiction.

References

1984 Australian novels 20th-century Australian novels Books about whaling Environmental fiction books Miles Franklin Award-winning works Novels by Tim Winton {{1980s-novel-stub