Past the Shallows

If you read only one book this year, make sure its this (The Sunday Times, London): An award-winning debut novel from a rising star in Australiaa hauntingly beautiful story about the bond of brotherhood and the fragility of youth.Joe, Miles, and Harry are growing up on the remote southern coast of Tasmaniaa stark, untamed landscape swathed by crystal blue waters. The rhythm of their days is dictated by the natural world, and by their fathers moods. Like the ocean he battles daily to make a living as a fisherman, he is wild and volatilea hard drinker warped by a devastating secret. Unlike Joe, Harry and Miles are too young to move out, and so they attempt to stay as invisible as possible whenever their father is home. Miles tries his best to watch out for Harry, but he cant be there all the time. Often alone, Harry finds joy in the small treasures he discovers by the edge of the seashark eggs, cuttlefish bones, and the friendship of a mysterious neighbor. But sometimes small treasures, or a brothers love, simply are not enough