Cloudstreet

For the geographical term, see Cloud street.

For the television mini series, see Cloudstreet (TV series).

Cloudstreet
Author(s)	Tim Winton
Country	Australia
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Penguin Books
Publication date	May 1991
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	426 pp
ISBN	0-14-027398-0
OCLC Number	220869584

Cloudstreet is a novel by Australian writer Tim Winton. It chronicles the lives of two working class Australian families who come to live together at One Cloud Street, in a suburb of Perth, over a period of twenty years, 1943 - 1963. It was the recipient of a Miles Franklin Award in 1992.

Plot summary

Precipitated by separate personal tragedies, two families flee their rural livings to share a "great continent of a house", Cloudstreet, in the Perth suburb of West Leederville. The two families are contrasts to each other; the Lambs find meaning in industry and in God’s grace; the Pickles, in luck. The Lambs’ God is a maker of miracles; the Pickles’ God is the ‘Shifty Shadow’ of fate. Though initially resistant to each other, their search and journey for meaning in life concludes with the uniting of the two families with many characters citing this as the most important aspect of their lives. As a novel, Cloudstreet is tightly structured, opening and ending with a shared celebratory family picnic - a joyous occasion which, ironically, is also the scene of Fish’s long sought-after death or return to the water. The novel is narrated effectively by flashback "in the seconds it takes to die" by Fish Lamb, or the 'spiritual' omniscient Fish Lamb, free of his restricting retarded state. As such the novel gives a voice to social minorities, the Australian working class and the disabled.

Major themes

Winton's novel is very much an exploration and celebration of life and what it means. Every character undergoes a personal journey, some longer, harder and more greatly resisted than others. Though a constant feature of all the characters' journeys is the realisation of the importance of family and belonging within it. It illustrates a relationship between family and identity. Spirituality is also important in Cloudstreet, as an exploration of both community and the search for meaning. There are many occurrences within the novel that would be labelled supernatural or irrational and are not completely explained - we, as people, are not going to understand everything that happens in the world around us. The novel is nostalgic for a time where Winton feels there was a greater sense of family and home. All the characters are in search for a place for which they define as somewhere that a loving relationship can exist.

Historical Context

Cloudstreet is framed by many key events in world history, including World War II, the Korean War and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. The novel takes place during the prime ministership of Robert Menzies, where Australia was, for the most part, comfortable and conservative, characterised by backyard barbecues, by wives - who were no longer needed for the war effort - consigned to the home, and by the growth of the Australian dream of owning a new home. World events influence the Lambs and Pickles, but distantly, like an echo that sends ripples across the surface of their lives. The novel focuses on the domestic, and this serves as the filter through which history is measured. The most prominent historical character within Cloudstreet is the Nedlands monster, whose real name is Eric Edgar Cooke, a serial killer whom the book states single-handedly "made Perth into a real city". He represents an alternative aspect of life, his journey used in juxtaposition with Quick Lamb's journey.

Literary significance & criticism

Cloudstreet received critical acclaim both in Australia and overseas.

Cloudstreet is one of the many novels studied in New South Wales' Higher School Certificate Advanced English Course (in Module B: Critical Study of Texts), and is also popular in other state senior secondary English curricula. In Western Australia, it is studied as a Year 11 WACE English Literature text, Year 12 English (Course of Study) 3A/3B text and the play adaptation, as a Year 12 WACE Drama Studies text. It is also a text on the VCE Literature course in Victoria, where it is considered alongside Enright's play adaptation. It is also a book on the IBDP list.

Theatrical and television adaptations

Adapted for the stage by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo, the theatrical adaptation opened in Sydney under the direction of Neil Armfield. Seasons followed in Perth, Melbourne, London, Dublin, New York and Washington DC, with the Company B cast touring the production until 2001 with minimal recasting. A lengthy adaptation at 5 and a half hours, the play attracted rave reviews around the world. The adaptation is published by Currency Press.

The television miniseries Cloudstreet is an adaptation of the book, filmed in 2010 in Perth with Matthew Saville as the director. The first episode of the miniseries premiered at 8:30pm AEST on the 22nd of May 2011 on Showcase.

Cast

• Dolly Pickles - Essie Davis
• Sam Pickles - Stephen Curry
• Rose Pickles - Emma Booth
• Young Rose Pickles - Lara Robinson
• Ted Pickles - Sean Keenan
• Young Ted Pickles - Will Mattock
• Chub Pickles - Shannon Lively
• Young Chub Pickles - Reece Sardelic
• Lester Lamb - Geoff Morrell
• Oriel Lamb - Kerry Fox
• Fish Lamb - Hugo Johnstone-Burt
• Young Fish Lamb - Tom Russell
• Quick Lamb - Todd Lasance
• Young Quick Lamb - Callan McAuliffe
• Young Hat Lamb - Freya Tingley
• Hat Lamb - Siobhan Dow-Hall
• Lon Lamb - Adam Sollis
• Red Lamb - Amanda Woodhams
• Young Elaine Lamb - Annie Smith
• Elaine Lamb - Sarah McKellar

Awards and achievements
Preceded by The Great World	Miles Franklin Award recipient 1992	Succeeded by The Ancestor Game