Blueback

Blueback

By Tim Winton

1 rating 3 reviews 1 follower
A story about a young child and his mother's love for the sea, in particular for an old fish they name Blueback. The fish links the mother and child and embodies the attachment that they feel towards their home and the water that surrounds them.
Publisher: Picador
ISBN-13: 9780330369794
ISBN-10: 0330369792
Published on 10/9/1998
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 160

Book Reviews (5)

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jesse jesse

it good

E E

Blueback The Australian author Tim Winton has written many books but his narrative ‘Blueback’ is particularly great. It is set in Longboat Bay, Robbers Head. This place is beautiful. It has crystal clear water. It follows the story of five characters who are Abel, the main character, who was very intelligent. He loved the sea. Dora, the mother of Abel was very strong; Stella, the wife to Abel and mother of little Dora was also passionate about the sea; and the father of Abel was a pearl diver. Unfortunately, he was attacked by a tiger shark and did not survive. The major complication starts when the ocean becomes sick; all the fish were dying. A man named Costello came and started stripping the reef, but he was fined and never allowed to fish again. Meanwhile, a big tanker exploded, which started an oil slick. Some time passed and developers came to make a hotel on Robber's head. So it became Abel’s and his mother’s mission to save Robber’s head and the ocean. The narrative has a strong message to it. It is to take care of the ocean and not to pollute it, otherwise the death of one species of fish can affect the food chain. I would recommend the text to students in years 5-8 because younger kids wouldn’t understand the difficult vocabulary. Students in years 5-8 would like this text because they can understand the text they also like things that Abel likes. Such as fishing snorkeling and abalone diving.

Sal Sal

Blueback Tim Winton’s narrative,’Blueback’ is set in Robber’s Head and inland of the city. It follows the story of seven characters: Abel a boy who lives a simple life because he was happy once he was outside at the beach; Dora a brave hearted women who raised Abel alone and Stella, Abel’s wife. Sadly, Abel’s dad passed away after a shark attack when he was the age of three. Blueback a groper is also an important character in the narrative because he is Abel’s friend. Firstly, Abel and his mother went out abalone diving. They relied on the ocean for food. Abel then met Blueback, the groper who gave him a cut and fright. Abel thought it was a shark, then he realised it was just a fish and he then formed a friendship with him. The major complication started when a reef striper named Costello came. They started to get afraid because they saw him holding a spear-gun. They were worried that he would capture Blueback. So, Dora went down underwater to see what was happening. She saw him and his men going for Blueback but the fish wouldn't move, so then Dora gave him a straight punch across his face to move him away. Then Abel called the sea patrol about what was happening. So then they took away Costello’s license for fishing for fish under size. The narrative has a strong message to it: to not pollute and look after the sea; also to think smart about how we fish and treat the ocean. I would recommend this text to teenagers because this book provides a good role model to them. Also to the year 4 to year 11 because ‘going back to how i feel about this book as a year 5 i understood the vocabulary and got to understand the book. The resolution got solved when abel mother convinced the government and the developer about this unhealthy marine life.

r3year5 r3year5

Blueback, The Magic Fish Beneath the Waves! Tim Winton’s narrative ‘Blueback’ is set in Longboat Bay, Robber’s Head. Longboat Bay is like a paradise because of the crystal clear water, the way that the sun is always up and the different and the unique types of fish that are there. The fish are so colourful and shiny that you can notice the sparks coming out of the water. It follows the story of Abel Jackson, a little intelligent boy who happens to be so passionate about the sea, he grows up to be a marine biologist. His brave and strong mother Dora Jackson, also loves the sea. She raised Abel all by herself near the sea. This made him love the sea. Dora’s husband, a pearl diver also loved the sea but sadly, he died; he got attacked by a tiger shark and did not survive. However, he wasn’t forgotten, Dora planted an orchard in the backyard and every single day of her life, she would go out there and weep. Abel did that too. Sometime later, Abel met Stella who is also a marine biologist. They soon married and had a baby girl who they named, Dora Jackson (Little Dora). Abel and Stella named her after her grandmother. In the book, you go back in time to when Abel was just a boy, where he met a big blue groper, who he named ‘Blueback.’ Firstly, Abel and his mother Dora went to get abalone until Abel saw a “great, big” lurking shadow, however, he found out that the “great, big” lurking shadow was Blueback, the big old groper. Abel didn’t know him at the time, he was only a young boy. He and Blueback developed some connection. The major complication starts when Abel was growing up; he and Dora started to worry about the ocean after an oil slick began spreading around Robber’s Head. Luckily, it never reached the shore. Then Costello and his men started spearfishing until he found out he was collecting fish over the legal limit and all the fish started to die. Abel and Dora were trying to figure out who would look after the sea. The narrative has a strong message to it. The message is telling us to take care of the ocean and not to pollute because if we do, we will kill all the fish and if we kill all the fish, the ocean will get sick. I would recommend this text to years 4-12 because they will find this book interesting. The vocabulary is easy for them to understand and it is a part of their life experience. By A year 5 Student

The Secret Life of Blueback Tim Winton’s narrative ‘Blueback’ is set in Longboat Bay, Robbers Head. Here in the bay it is clean and healthy and it has a lot of unique fish life. Longboat Bay is always sunny and it is a place where people can fish and swim. In this story the protagonist Abel, is a passionate boy who loves the ocean. His brave mother Dora raised him by herself. Other characters that appear are: Abel’s father who was a pearl diver who died from a tiger shark; Blueback the big, old groper; Stella, Abel’s wife and marine biologist, and Dora the 3 year old girl of Abel and Stella. At the beginning, Abel and Dora are catching abalone.They live a simple life near the ocean. They grow their own plants and animals, and rely on the ocean for food. Abel was in the water catching abalone, when a lurking shadow grabbed him by the arm. Firstly he thought it was a shark but he went back into the water to discover that it was a blue groper. Abel and the supposed shark started to develop a strong connection with each other. Soon after, a reef stripper named Costello entered Robbers Head and decided to spear fish but he collected fish over the legal limit. The ocean then became sick from something toxic, and so Abel and Dora tried to save the ocean. The strong message from this narrative is to never pollute in the ocean because it causes the fish to die. We should also treat fish fairly as humans. Therefore we should protect the ocean. I recommend this book to students in grades 5-8 because the emotive vocabulary makes you feel like you are in the book. They might also have a connection with the book because they might have experienced some of the activities, such as fishing, swimming and swimming with fish.