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Barracuda (2013)

by Christos Tsiolkas(Favorite Author)

3.66 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

174331731X (ISBN13: 9781743317310)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Allen & Unwin

review 1: This is an interesting but bracing story about a high school swimmer attending a posh prep-school on an athletic scholarship. He is ill-equipped to handle the cruel taunts and careless snobbery of his classmates. His solace is the lap lane. Driven by a fierce competitive spirit and fueled by rage, he sets out to become an Olympian. The story line is non-linear, switching easily from his swim days to the present, as an adult living with the near crippling shame of what he did when the rage overcame him. This is an incredibly complex character, being both abrasive and offensive, but fragile and sensitive at the core. Yet, I never fully understood his rage. The language is often crude but effective; is there a more hateful word than the c-word? That word explodes out of Danny... more's mouth; it is a snap shot of his rage. My one complaint was the sex was too descriptive for my taste. The brutality of it made me queasy.
review 2: Amazing prose from a master of capturing the agony of coming of age. I found this a fascinating study of what it takes to be a winner and the consequences of failing at something that has been a sole focus for as long as memory. Someone I know well was a very successful sportsperson so I think I recognised the strange dichotomy of arrogance and insecurity, and the struggle to carve out a life and a purpose when that all consuming life is over. The sex scenes and the language are confronting. less

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