The Sundowners
by Jon Cleary
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Description
The epic tale of the outback Australian family, the Carmodys.The Carmodys live in the outback, travelling around, shearing, droving, making ends meet and looking for that one special place they can settle down in. Along the way, Paddy, his wife Ida, and their son, Sean, meet some of the most memorable characters in fiction. The Sundowners is a book filled with kindness and happiness, as well as toughness and danger and is set against the magnificent backdrop of the wild, harsh and beautiful show more Australian landscape. It is superbly written, deeply moving, and showcases one of Australia's most talented authors at the height of his powers. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
BonnieJune54 Both novels have boys coming of age in a vividly described rural setting of another era. In both cases Mom, Dad and son are somewhat isolated from others. While life is harsh, joy , love and laughter are present.
Member Reviews
On the back fly leaf of this book the author said that he was tired of the griping in so many recent books and he wanted to write;
"a novel in which the people weren't troubled by neuroses and didn't blame the world for their own shortcomings."
And in this Jon Cleary succeeded very well. This is a feel good book from beginning to end. when you finish the book you'll sigh and say "wish I was there"
"a novel in which the people weren't troubled by neuroses and didn't blame the world for their own shortcomings."
And in this Jon Cleary succeeded very well. This is a feel good book from beginning to end. when you finish the book you'll sigh and say "wish I was there"
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Author Information
62+ Works 1,748 Members
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Fontana (278)
Work Relationships
Has the adaptation
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1952
- Related movies
- The Sundowners (1960 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- To Joy
- First words
- They arrived in Bulinga late on the Friday afternoon. Sitting side by side on the stiff hard seat of the wagonette, they drove down the long dusty road that wound into the valley. Trailing them, the kelpie trotted thin-eyed t... (show all)hrough the dust disturbed by the plodding hoofs of the tired grey gelding and the creaking wheels of the ancient wagonette. In the back of the cart, home-wrapped in hessian and covered by canvas, was everything the Carmodys owned.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Ahead of him now lay nothing but the battles, the joys, the griefs of a grown-up. He stood up behind his mother and father and put an arm about each of them. The wagonette went down the turning road, with always a bend ahead of them, and behind the valley was lost in the flood of its' own shadows. Long Island, Sept 1950 - Aug 1951.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 87
- Popularity
- 368,973
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.75)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 4
