Book Review: Breath by Tim Winton - Page 2

Eva, the abrasive American wife of the older surfer Sando, stands as a walking, or rather limping, warning of what happens when courting danger becomes an end it itself. Eva was once a freestyle skier, famous more for her death-defying acrobatics than for skill or finesse. Then she suffered a career-ending injury that has left her barely able to walk. Yet Eva herself has hardly learned from her mishap, and eventually demonstrates that her propensity for deadly behavior outstrips even the exploits of those who ride the waves.

Long ago, Freud introduced the concept of thanatos, the so-called death instinct. Many have dismissed or even ridiculed this notion, so un-Darwinian in its nature. How can we have a death instinct, when all instinctual drives seem based on preserving and extending life? Yet Winton shows even more persuasively in story form what Freud tried to outline in theory. Winton’s characters reveal a barely hidden passion for non-existence, and death lingers at the fringes of almost every scene in this penetrating novel.

Not everything works in this book. The narrative at the end comes across as hurried, and we move so quickly through Pikelet’s later life that the drama and build of the first 80% of the book is dissipated. Yet the core of this novel is gripping, and Winton’s ability to bring out the beauty of the elements, while also illuminating the dark psyches of his protagonists, is impressive. “Writing a book is a bit like surfing,” Winton mentioned in a recent interview. Certainly he shows his mastery of the ebbs and flows in this striking book. But even better is the skill with which Winton probes the depths.

Article Author: Ted Gioia

Ted Gioia is a writer and musician. He is the author of Delta Blues, The History of Jazz and, most recently, The Birth (and Death) of the Cool. You can follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tedgioia.

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