Fred Scully waits at the arrival gate of an international airport, anxious to see his wife and seven-year-old daughter. After two years in Europe they are finally settling down. He sees a new life before them, a stable outlook, a cottage in the Irish countryside that he's renovated by hand. He's waited, sweated on this reunion. He does not like to be alone - he's that kind of man. The flight lands, the glass doors hiss open, and Scully's life begins to go down in flames.
Download and start listening now!
"Scully is about to meet his wife and daughter at the airport, but his daughter arrives alone and unable to speak of what happened to her mum. Scully then sets off, dragging his daughter along, on a desperate search through much of Europe, to find her. I was hoping for a happy ending but loved this book because Winton is such a talented writer. He writes so as to totally immerse the reader in the story. A great read!" — Nova (5 out of 5 stars)
"Scully is about to meet his wife and daughter at the airport, but his daughter arrives alone and unable to speak of what happened to her mum. Scully then sets off, dragging his daughter along, on a desperate search through much of Europe, to find her. I was hoping for a happy ending but loved this book because Winton is such a talented writer. He writes so as to totally immerse the reader in the story. A great read!"
" tim winton is another one of my favorite authors. his books are set on the coast of western australia and the landscape is a big character in all his writing. "
" A lovely book about family and loss and other stuff. With The Riders, Winton became one of my favorite writers. "
" This is my first book by Tim Winton. Fabulous prose writer and great character development. Loved the first section set in Ireland. The trip across Europe is often painful but it is a grand story aboout love in all its forms and how awful and wonderful it can be. "
" My first Winton book. Excellent storytelling "
" First Tim Winton book I read, loved the initial suspense and change in direction. "
" One of my favourite books... you can't put it down once you start. "
" Dident get it. "
" Good premise, but it took about 100 pages to get to the premise. I got bored and lost interest. Even when the interesting premise kicked in. "
" A quietly and stunningly beautiful collections of words nestled between an Australian-cum-Irish brooding man, his rock of a daughter and the grief that this sensitive brute is madly unwilling to succumb to...yet. "
" great writing about a man searching for his missing wife "
" What a let down after the truly excellent "Breathe" by Tim Winton - this one got generally good reviews but it's from the 70's rather than last year and it really that Winton has matured in style and substance over time. Skip this; read Breathe twice instead. "
" Powerful novel. Strong character development and narrative, and intriguing insights. "
" great and heartbreaking "
" I recently found this book in the library. I seemed to have missed this author. The book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1995. It's fierce and passionate and good. "
" I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It kept my interest on every page - right to the end. "
" A good read, but requires concentration! Typical Tim Winton - rich, layered and colourful. A great story, but the conclusion wasn't satisfying. I enjoyed Cloudstreet more. "
" "Half of what you did in trevelling was simply missing things, sensations, people. He'd missed so long and hard these last couple of years he could barely think of it." "
" Taut, spooky read. Great on a stormy night tucked in bed. "
" Started out so good which is the only reason I gave it 2 stars. This book had a ton of potential but dragged on and on into a terrible ending. I started out liking Scully to being completely disgusted with him. "
" A lot of people hate the ending. I loved it! "
" Very fun read.I didn't totally see the need for the Riders metaphor but the story and ending itself were excellent. "
" To me this book was about grief. A man coming to the conclusion that he has lost his wife forever and the resulting breakdown. To those who wanted a potboiler plot about him finding out what happened to her, I say, you missed the point because the real plot was the story of Scully and Billie. "
" This book was such a page turner! I loved it. "
" Stunning. Disturbing. Has a 'feel' to it that makes it a great read. "
" Winton writes delicious prose, and the terrifying breakdown of the main character seemed surreal yet entirely believable. My only complaint: the supernatural "riders" threw me--I don't need such blatant symbolism to get the point. "
" Possibly the best page-turner I have read. This is my favourite Tim Winton book. I rank it higher than Cloudstreet. If you need a book to keep you up all night, this will do the trick. "
" This is my favourite of Winton's novels. A story of loss, confusion, betrayal and a bit of magic realism thrown in. Haunting from the opening page to the last. "
" I can never forget Scully and Billie searching Europe for his wife, her mother. Scully, building a home in Ireland. Scully discovering the riders. Billie regaining her voice. "
" what an ending...i didn't see it coming "
" Fantastic writing. Love the gloomy setting contrasted to the islands. Characters are fascinating and intricate. The abandon/chase plot demands a better resolution. "
" Beautifully written, as is most of Winton's work, but it sort of doesn't go anywhere. I would not recommend it to anyone, based purely on the fact that you will likely be left disappointed by the novel's unspectacular ending. "
Tim Winton is widely considered one of the greatest living Australian writers. He has published numerous books, and his work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian/Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lives in Western Australia.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.