The Boy Behind The Curtain

Eclectic and impassioned, a collection that affirms the power of the written word.' – Observer The Boy Behind the Curtain is a portrait of a life, a place and a man. In this deeply personal collection of true stories and essays Tim Winton shows how moments from his childhood and life growing up have shaped his views on class, faith, fundamentalism, the environment, and – most pressingly – how all his experiences have made him a writer. From unexpected links between car crashes and faith, surfing and writing, to the story of his upbringing in the changing Australian landscape, The Boy Behind the Curtain is an impassioned, funny, joyous, astonishing collection of memories, and Winton's most personal book to date.

In Tim Winton's fiction, chaos waits in the wings and ordinary people are ambushed by events and emotions beyond their control. Winton's own life has also been shaped by havoc. The extraordinarily powerful true stories that make up The Boy Behind the Curtain take us behind the scenes, revealing the accidents, both serendipitous and traumatic, that have influenced his view of life and fuelled his distinctive artistic vision. They show the unexpected links between car crashes and religious faith, between surfing and writing, and how going to the wrong movie at the age of eight opened him up to a life of the imagination. And in writing about class, fundamentalism, asylum seekers, guns and the natural world, he presents not only the concerns that have made him the much-loved writer he is, but some of what unites the life and the work. By turns impassioned, funny, joyous, astonishing, this is Winton's most personal book to date, an insight into the man who's held us enthralled for three decades and helped us reshape our view of ourselves. Behind it all, from risk-taking youth to surprise-averse middle age, has been the crazy punt of staking everything on becoming a writer. 'Both brutally honest and entertaining, The Boy Behind the Curtain is a powerful excavation of those charged moments that make up a life - joyous, traumatic and transformational. All the markers of Winton's fiction are here: the dark realism, the unflinching eye, the humour and the connection with place . . . An inspirational read.' readings.com.au 'A dazzling book, full of wisdom and wonder . . . with a staggering, effortless sense of drama wherever you pick it up . . . No one is better than Tim Winton at giving dramatic substance to the interface between art and life . . . This is a rich and brilliant book.' Peter Craven, Australian Book Review 'The Boy Behind the Curtain roots you to the spot, forces you to ask questions - about yourself, about the way we live. Sinewy and lyrical by turns, Winton's is an authentic Australian voice to trumpet to a world audience.' Morag Fraser, Australian Book Review 'He makes complex art seem simple . . . A body of nonfiction work that is (unsurprisingly) beautiful and brilliant and provocative, and (surprisingly) revealing . . . It is this sight of the sacred in the ordinary that probably accounts for some part of why Winton's writing recedes from his imitators' reach.' Malcolm Knox, Sydney Morning Herald 'That Winton's nonfiction is as lyrical as his fiction goes without saying.' The Guardian (Australia) 'A contemplative book . . . You also reach its end with a particular sense of how this particular man experiences life - metaphorically, philosophically. How he carries things; how he feels them . . . He acknowledges wonder. He acknowledges unknowns. He pays attention . . . A rich book.' Weekend Australian 'Tim Winton's 28th book proves the much-loved Australian writer just gets better with age.' Woman's Day

"My all-time favorite. Astonishing." (Stephen King) Down the Rabbit Hole is the first book in the Echo Falls mystery series by bestselling crime novelist Peter Abrahams. Perfect for middle school readers looking for a good mystery. Welcome to Echo Falls, home of a thousand secrets. In Down the Rabbit Hole, eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town's production of Alice in Wonderland, Ingrid is swamped. But as things in Echo Falls keep getting curiouser and curiouser, Ingrid realizes she must solve the murder on her own—before it's too late. "Deft use of literary allusions and ironic humor add further touches of class to a topnotch mystery," said School Library Journal. "Intriguing twists." Publishers Weekly agreed: "The fresh dialogue and believable small-town setting will tempt fans to visit Echo Falls again." The next book in this Edgar Award-nominated series in Behind the Curtain, followed by Into the Dark.

The author of Dirt Music and The Riders captures the urgency of memory and the way an entire life can be shaped by one event from the past in this capsule of connected stories set on the coast of Western Australia. Tim Winton's stunning collection of connected stories is about turnings of all kinds—changes of heart, slow awakenings, nasty surprises and accidents, sudden detours, resolves made or broken. Brothers cease speaking to each other, husbands abandon wives and children, grown men are haunted by childhood fears. People struggle against the weight of their own history and try to reconcile themselves to their place in the world. With extraordinary insight and tenderness, Winton explores the demons and frailties of ordinary people whose lives are not what they had hoped.

What is the boy crisis? It's a crisis of education. Worldwide, boys are 50 percent less likely than girls to meet basic proficiency in reading, math, and science. It's a crisis of mental health. ADHD is on the rise. And as boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women. It's a crisis of fathering. Boys are growing up with less-involved fathers and are more likely to drop out of school, drink, do drugs, become delinquent, and end up in prison. It's a crisis of purpose. Boys' old sense of purpose—being a warrior, a leader, or a sole breadwinner—are fading. Many bright boys are experiencing a "purpose void," feeling alienated, withdrawn, and addicted to immediate gratification. So, what is The Boy Crisis? A comprehensive blueprint for what parents, teachers, and policymakers can do to help our sons become happier, healthier men, and fathers and leaders worthy of our respect.

Colin Jackus doesn't want to be in the school play and is angry because he's been forced into it. But gradually he starts to realize that it's not just a play - the sinster story they are acting has its roots deep in cruel reality and despair. Strange things are happening among the cast of the play and misery is seeping through them. So when the leading actor starts to take on the evil personality of the character he's supposed to be playing, Jackus decides to delve deeper and try and stop the disaster that threatens.

Shelley has to pick up the socks she’s left all over her room. But when she opens her sock drawer, a tiny troublemaking boy appears. She has to make her bed, but there he is again, underneath the sheets watering a tomato plant. Soon enough this tiny terror is making a mess all over the house and Shelley’s efforts to get rid of him only make him grow bigger. The solution, to everyone’s surprise, is banishment by hugs and kisses! A newly designed Classic Munsch picture book introduces this charming tale of a tiny, yet persistent interloper to a new generation of young readers.