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    Barracuda: A Novel
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    Barracuda: A Novel
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    Barracuda: A Novel
    Audiobook14 hours

    Barracuda: A Novel

    Written by Christos Tsiolkas

    Narrated by Grant Cartwright

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Man Booker Prize-longlisted author of The Slap returns in an "immensely moving" (Sunday Times) story of a young athlete's coming of age

    Fourteen-year-old Daniel Kelly is special. Despite his upbringing in working-class Melbourne, he knows that his astonishing ability in the swimming pool has the potential to transform his life, silence the rich boys at the private school to which he has won a sports scholarship, and take him far beyond his neighborhood, possibly to international stardom and an Olympic medal. Everything Danny has ever done, every sacrifice his family has ever made, has been in pursuit of this dream. But what happens when the talent that makes you special fails you? When the goal that you've been pursuing for as long as you can remember ends in humiliation and loss?

    Twenty years later, Dan is in Scotland, terrified to tell his partner about his past, afraid that revealing what he has done will make him unlovable. When he is called upon to return home to his family, the moment of violence in the wake of his defeat that changed his life forever comes back to him in terrifying detail, and he struggles to believe that he'll be able to make amends. Haunted by shame, Dan relives the intervening years he spent in prison, where the optimism of his childhood was completely foreign.

    Tender, savage, and blazingly brilliant, Barracuda is a novel about dreams and disillusionment, friendship and family, class, identity, and the cost of success. As Daniel loses everything, he learns what it means to be a good person-and what it takes to become one.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 9, 2014
    ISBN9780553399691
    Unavailable
    Barracuda: A Novel
    Author

    Christos Tsiolkas

    CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS is the author of four previous novels: Loaded, which was made into the feature film Head On; The Jesus Man; Dead Europe, which won the Age Fiction Award and the Melbourne Prize for Literature Best Writing Award; and The Slap, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book (South East Asia and South Pacific), the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, and the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year. The Slap was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Tsiolkas is also a playwright, essayist and screenwriter. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

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    Reviews for Barracuda

    3.5/5

    117 ratings29 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It might sound strange, but it's incredibly refreshing to read a book that's about rage, which seems to be Danny Kelly's primary emotion. Danny is an Australian swimmer who dreams of making it to the Olympics; thankfully, there's no swelling inspirational music in this tightly-plotted, intricately structured novel. Danny is almost totally unlikeable, but so utterly fascinating that it doesn't matter. Rage isn't a primary emotion; it's a symptom of the mess of feelings roiling beneath the surface. Mr. Tsiolkas brings those feelings to brilliant life. Also, I'm not Australian, and the look into Australian culture in this novel was a real eye-opener.
    • 3/5
      An interesting story plot, but I found it difficult to either empathize or sympathize with the main character, Danny. This lack detracted from a tight, well-planned plot. I really enjoy Tsiolkas' writing style, but I thought that his character development was shallow and left much to be desired..
    • 4/5
      This book reminds me a little of The Goldfinch. It is equally well written and similarly about a teenage boy and his troubles. Danny expects to be an Olympic swimming champion from Australia but things don't turn out as expected. How he deals with disappointment changes his life for ever. Some of the scenes are too graphic for my taste but the storyline is compelling. It is the favorite book that I have received on librarything to date but beware of language and sex scenes if you prefer to keep them out of your reading materials!
    • 1/5
      Did not finish. I had to DNF this book, because I just could not settle into the story. The characters were too unlikeable and the language was crass for shock value. Disappointed.
    • 3/5
      Danny Kelly is a high school swimmer who wants to be the strongest, the fastest, the best (he mentions this many times throughout the book). Swimming takes up much of his life until he loses a swimming competition. Utterly defeated, Danny (who now goes by Dan) walks away from the sport and lives in shame. His loss hangs over his head and only after a stint in jail and years contemplating the question 'what do I do now?' does he find any solace. It took me longer than I thought it would take me to finish this book, and I want to say that that's because I've been busy and I began reading it after starting a new job and moving to a new town, but I think that would be giving this book too much credit.
    • 2/5
      This is the first Tsiolkas book I have read.

      Agree with other reviewers this was an uncomfortable read.

      I felt the book jumped around unnecessarily and I felt that some of the scenes weren't necessary to the story.

      In saying that I felt once finishing the book I still had unanswered questions, these questions were what kept me reading to the end in the first place.
    • 1/5
      At 14-years old, Danny Kelly wants nothing more to swim, to be a champion, and to fit in. While he excels at swimming, the other two goals remain slightly out of reach, which is the conflict of Tsioklas’s novel.He’s won a scholarship to a prestigious private school, but Danny is from a lower, working-class household. His father is abusive---physically, emotionally, and mentally---while his mother, younger sister, and younger brother think that Danny is the cat’s meow.Danny knows he has the talent to take him all the way to the Olympics; that’s why he practices four hours a day and puts up with a coach who is almost as warm-hearted as his father. Danny hates his life, and all he wants to do is swim. When he loses an important meet, Danny’s self-loathing reaches a new low. He hates the world and everyone in it. He lashes out on more than one occasion, ending with a prison sentence.Fast-forward 20 years, Danny, now called Dan, is trying to make a new life for himself and his partner, Clyde. Clyde wants to move back to his native Scotland. Dan goes, but soon returns to Australia. Scotland doesn’t feel right. Although he is still angry all the time, Dan does his best to keep the violence inside.I almost gave up on this novel after the first 107 pages. Danny whines and carries on like a five-year-old girl. He constantly feel sorry for himself and refuses to let go of any of the negativity which surrounds him. Then I read reviews on Amazon, and decided to give the rest of the book a chance. Oh, yes, I read all 431 pages and through it all I want to tell Danny/Dan to get over it, quit wallowing in something that happened decades earlier. While other have called Barracuda tender, savage, and blazingly brilliant, I call it whining, full of self-pity, and dull. I give Barracuda 1 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Christos Tsiolkas is a well-known gay author of Greek heritage that lives in Australia and “Barracuda” is his fifth novel. It tells the story of Danny Kelly, starting from his school days and spanning into adulthood. This is a story of a young man who dreams of being an Olympic swimmer and it’s brash and not always easy to read. It is a unique perspective that could only be articulated by Tsiolkas. It shows a view of living in Australia that includes class strife and politics, the role of sports and educational background in society, and discovering sexual identity. This is a very contemporary novel that switches between first and third person frequently, is very non-chronological, and migrates between Scotland and Australia. However, the story is constructed in a way that builds tension and generates strong emotional reactions. It speaks in strong language in a brutal way for very specific reasons and Tsiolkas is successful in bringing his characters to life.
    • 4/5
      I'm glad Christos Tsiolkas exists - he's a writer who sets out to tackle big themes: class, race, competition and sexuality. The Slap was very successful at wrestling with these big topics while drawing a set of fascinating (if largely horrible) characters. Barracuda tries the same thing with a slightly narrower focus, centering on Danny Kelly a young, working class swimmer whose talent transports him into a privileged world (fancy high school, elite sports squads) and whose failures (both sporting and social) tear him apart. It's a bold effort, with moments of real brilliance, but the key moment where Danny's fate turns is unconvincing and his spiral downwards from there very hard to believe. You can see the point Tsiolkas is trying to make about the dangers of obsessive ambition and the impact of class and race on self-belief and resilience, but it all seems a bit over the top and unlikely, undermining much of what follows.

      Still, there's lots to enjoy here - it's immensely readable (I knocked it off all 500 pages in a day, which is some indication) and it's refreshing to feel as though big questions about life in Australia are being addressed. Definitely worth a look.
    • 2/5
      The tale of Danny Kelly, aka Barracuda, would benefit from a strong editor - a reduction of around a third would be good. The story, such as it is, revolves around Danny Kelly, a working class Greek-Scottish Australian who wins a swimming scholarship to an elite private school. This is the beginning of his travails and the travails of the reader. The main problem is that Tsiolkas narrates the story through Danny- there is no relief from page after page of swearing, cursing & the violent fantasies of this adolescent male - of course fantasy eventually turns to reality and Danny ends up in prison. It's very hard to believe that all this results from his failure to win one swimming race. As Danny has no redeeming features it's hard to develop any sympathy with him and by the end I wished someone would put Danny out of his misery.
    • 3/5
      This coming-of-age story about Danny, an Australian boy of Scottish and Greek parents was an interesting read. The writing style was very different and sometimes difficult to follow. I enjoyed some parts much more than others and sometimes felt that the story tried to cover more topics than necessary. Definitely not one of my favorites.
    • 4/5
      Danny Kelly is a swimmer. He is obsessed with swimming and with his dream of winning Olympic gold for Australia. Well, he doesn't care all that much about the Australia part but: winning. He cares about that a lot. The oldest of three children in a working class family, he is granted a scholarship to attend an expensive prep school where he will receive the best coaching. As hard as it is to leave his friends, especially soulmate Demet, he grabs this opportunity and blocks out everything except the goal. Initially an outcast at the new school, things shift perceptively for the better for him. He wins competitions and he wins the respect of the wealthy "golden boys" who are his class- and teammates. However, after he experiences his first major loss he has a meltdown which sends him into a spiral of devastating actions and consequences. As the narration shifts between then and now, first person and third person, we follow Danny's trajectory, learning the details of his life in bits and pieces. Earnestly written and weirdly engaging, this is a novel about ambition, humiliation, and shame. It's almost a novel about forgiveness and redemption but Tsiolkas falls just short of convincingly pulling this off. Given the character he has created, pulling it off would be quite an accomplishment. Being in Danny's head is unpleasant. And at just over 400 pages, the novel spends a lot of time there. In the end, despite Tsiolkas' courageous and skillful storytelling, I wasn't certain that it had been worth it. I might read something else by him, but not for a while.
    • 4/5
      Tsiolkas' new book," Barracuda", deals with a young boy whose whole life revolves around swimming. He starts to find amazing success under the coaching of Frank Torma as he attends ritzy "Cunts College" on scholarship and begins to turn away from his working class background even though he feels that most of the people in his new surroundings view him as a loser. When Danny Kelly does not live up to his dream of success he also now views himself as a failure. He refuses to think he has any hope of escaping his unhappiness since he did not excel at swimming. The remainder of the book shows Danny going through one trial after another as he views the world only through his narrow window of shame. He cannot imagine anyone can see beyond his failure and he turns against many who try to help him. Danny is so completely self absorbed for much of the book that it is hard to sympathize with his character. It feels like the author gives Danny a few too many hurdles to overcome but Tsoilkas is successful towards the end of the book as he skillfully shows Danny gradually pulling himself out of his own misery so he can start to relate to the rest of the world.
    • 5/5
      In this book, Tsiolkas explores what happens when our view of ourselves depends entirely on how we think others view us. He has created a harrowing story of how shame breeds anger and violence as well as a story of redemption. The main character, Daniel Kelly, desperately wants to create a certain image of himself in everyone else's mind. By making up stories about others and what they think of him, without trying to find out if there is any truth in his assumptions, and by basing his actions on these stories, Danny inflicts a great deal of pain on himself and others. It is heart-breaking to watch. Tsiolkas is a fine writer. He writes particularly well about the power of reading and books, and about class.
    • 5/5
      Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas is not a mainstream book, and is difficult to review. I would love to see this book do well in the United States when it is released here in September. It is sort of a coming of age story about an Australian teenager who excels at swimming. In fact his entire existence and self worth as far as he is concerned is tied to his excellence in the sport, and what happens when his best isn't good enough to make it to the next level.This is a raw, gritty, take no prisoners account, of what can happen when it all goes wrong. It touches on many themes that can make people uncomfortable; race, elitism, class warfare, and homosexuality. The protagonist Danny/Dan is not the most likable person, and while you know something bad is going to happen you don't know what it is or when it will happen. Danny excels at swimming so much so that he is given a scholarship to an elite (what would be called a private) school in Melbourne. He does not fit in and does not belong. It is only through is performance as a swimmer that he is tolerated.What makes this story different than other books with a similar theme is the way it is told. It is Raw. Danny's meltdown, his self loathing and pure hate for those around him is understandable because the author doesn't candy coat how Danny feels, or what Danny thinks, ever. What also makes the book different is the path, the journey that Danny must take to ultimately forgive himself and those around him. It is a long painful process. The book is over 500 pages but I couldn't put it down, and finished in a day and a half.Things to keep in mind before reading this book. If you have trouble with any of the following this may not be a book you will like1. Very strong language. Every FOUR letter word is used, in some passages multiple times.2. A protagonist who is not likable for most of the book.3. Explicit sex, in this case homosexual.4. Books that are told both in the past and present. Unlike other books lately that have done this, Barracuda does not do it as clearly, it is not alternating chapters.5. A book that is very Australian. The slang used, the descriptions, the people. You may need the internet a couple of times.If none of these are a problem the reader will be rewarding with a fantastic book, that works on so many levels. I think this book was even better than his previous book The Slap, which was also a very rewarding book to read.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully written. Very real characters with the grittiness of real life.
    • 5/5
      This features the author’s familiar blueprint of gay Greek-Australians in Melbourne, married up to a compelling plot involving a promising swimmer who loses his way after he loses a crucial race. It skips backwards and forwards in time, and keeps just enough secrets to keep you reading on.I found “The Slap” a bit hit-and-miss, and hadn’t necessarily planned on reading any more of this author’s books, but this one was altogether more focussed, easier to follow, without compromising on entertainment or the breadth of its themes. As well as considering the national attitude to sport and the importance of winning, it takes a long hard look at social class in modern day Australia. An oddly self-doubting side to the national psyche came out of this novel – particularly when it came to the Sydney Olympics. How could a nation I had always thought of a supremely self-confident to the point of cockiness particularly where sports was concerned be so worried the Games would turn out to be a failure? But I expect that sort of nervousness comes to all host nations. But perhaps the quote I most remember is Wilco’s line, when considering the importance of sport in Australia: “Come on...you know sports is the only area where Australia punches above its weight. If we didn’t fund sports we’d be shit at everything”. I really will have to try to remember that next time they whitewash us in The Ashes.
    • 5/5
      I don't give five stars to many fictional books because they have to move me emotionally in some way.I enjoyed The Slap, as well as the TV adaptation, but I enjoyed this even more. This is a fascinating look into a certain kind of toxic masculinity, and into a part of Australian culture which I find hard to criticise because I find it hard to put into words.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book - the story of Danny Kelly, would-be Olympic swimming champion until it all goes horribly wrong. Danny is not always the most likeable character and his lack of insight is at times truly astounding but by the end of the book I was firmly on his side and hoping for the best for him. The book also has a lot to say about second generation Australians and about Australian culture and attitudes in general. The language can be quite confronting and I did get tired of reading "strongest, fastest, best" but overall this is a great book and one I couldn't put down.
    • 4/5
      An emotional, challenging read about an aspiring Olympic teenage swimming star and what happens when things don't go to plan. Danny Kelly moves school to the 'posh' scholarship, elitist school that can push him to be an Australian sporting star but although he quickly moves up the ranks an unfortunate loss challenges him to consider whether he is the 'fastest, strongest, best'.The successful writer of The Slap creates an intriguing lead character that slowly gets under your skin even though you struggle at first to like him. The story is told in a slightly confused manner as we hear about Danny's future and his future self's story moves backwards to meet and then cross the chronological story of Danny the swimmer. At times you can be slightly confused and I do admit when part 2 started I wondered if we were getting a parallel story on top of everything else!! Despite the confusion the story comes together in a satisfying and intriguing manner with depth, humour and some uncomfortable moments.The story has some brutality and sexual content that some people may be unsettled by, it definitely has a strong masculine focus, but it also has extra layers that explore politics, nationalism, sporting adulation and parental influences that add to the depth and complexity of the read.I will certainly look to read more by Tsiolkas because it made me think and feel, he writes in a way that paints pictures and creates well rounded lead characters.
    • 4/5
      This novel is brimming with testosterone! It deals with ambition, dedication, anger, shame and regret. It is well written and quite interesting, especially the moments when the protagonist is totally immersed (if you'll pardon the pun) in the act of swimming.The book is quite long and somewhat repetitive in places, although I don't know how I would begin to pare it down. It is, in my opinion, quite an angry book with a lot to say about class, race and sexuality. There aren't many really likeable characters in the story, but I am unsure how much of this feeling is actually being projected by the protagonist onto the other players rather than being the nature of the characters themselves.I get the distinct feeling that this novel has a degree of semi-autobiographical content within it as there seems to be an awful lot more insight into various aspects of the story than you might expect. Certain passages positively reek of personal experience.Overall I really enjoyed this book (once I had come to terms with some of the language used) and I would be happy to recommend it.
    • 3/5
      Daniel Kelly, potential Olympic swimmer, is in keeping with major characters in his other books: bitter, gay, with that indefinable something which suggests underneath all the angst is a more likeable portrait almost ready to emerge. The text is lovingly crafted. In some, descriptions of the unique scent of eucalyptus and heat almost leap off the page to assault the senses. This is a quintessentially Australian story, down to the Irish heritage of the hero.Surprisingly, Kelly proves capable of redemption, despite his flaws. He is the dark knight to the other wealthy, golden children of his team. Is this an allegory of post-millenium Australia, unsure of our place in the world but sure that we have one? Not an easy book to read, it is however well worth the effort. Rush into your electronic store and acquire a copy for Christmas!
    • 5/5
      This book I enjoyed more than Tsiolkas' first book "The slap' and I think that is because I felt for Danny the main character and although at times his behaviour angered me I could understand why he was behaaving in that way and I wanted him to succeed and get himnself together, and work out who he was. But having said all that I think that it is book that people will either really like or hate and for some the language at times may put them off it completely.It is a story of before and after. Danny is of mixed descent with Greek and Scottish parents. His parents are from the working class, his father a truck driver, and his mother a hairdresser. Danny gets a scholarship to an exclusive private school on the strength of his swimming ability and is on the path, as he sees it, to the Sydney olympics until at the Pan Pacs he loses it and fails. As a result he feels his identity has been taken from him. If he had succeeded as a swimmer he would have earned the respect of his private school mates but without that he is nothing and as he says he would rather they feared him than pitied him hence some of his following behaviour.. The second part is the aftermath when his life goes off the rails a little, It tells his journey from then on. Can he get things together? Who is he and what does he want to do now?There were some beautiful descriptive passages in the book. I loved the part where Danny goes to his friend Martin's family to celebrate Martin's grandmothers birthday. There he is in the home of an upper class family much different from his own struggling to cope.The book looks at lots of different areas - identity, the sporting world, the place of sport in our society and the effort needed to succeed, family relationships, the importance of our family and our friends, class distinctions and the prejudice in our society.I thought it was a great read a vivid picture of life in Australia. Lots to talk about and discuss in this book.
    • 4/5
      This book relates the story of nine men who were members of the University of Washington crew team. It tells of the hard work in making the team and their goal to reach the 1936 Olympics and come home with the gold medal.The story is well researched and centers on one of the crew members, Joe Rantz. He was a hard working man who came from a difficult upbringing. His mother died and when his father remarried, his step-mother didn't demonstrate any love for Joe, instead, she put all of her emotions and love with the three children she gave birth to. Joe's family was poor and he had to work from a young age, to help out. At the same time, he continued his schooling.Joe was invited to enroll at University of Washington and try out for the crew team. The economy was stalled and there were no athletic scholarships but making the team would mean that part time jobs became available for the student's expenses.As Joe and his fellow freshmen were molded into a championship team, across the country, the depression continued. Jobs were hard to come by and the dust bowl was a term for the fierce winds that blew the topsoil off of many farms causing them to go bankrupt.In Germany, Hitler is rising to power and Dr. Joseph Goebbels was made the German minister of propaganda. Both men hated Jews and the persecution of Jews became intense.This is a story of sports, determination and hope that some people had during the dark days of the depression.The men travel to Germany and begin seeing the anti-Jewish tone of the country. There is also a pro-Nazi sentiment that made the men more determined to beat the German crew team in the Olympics.The book was an enjoyable and informative read. There are parts that will stay in my memory for a long time.
    • 5/5
      It was easy to get stuck into the book, although it took me a while to read, but that isn’t anything to do with the book itself. At first I thought the words used, or how he acts was just for shock, at least I wondered if it was just for that, but I was so wrong. As I kept reading it I realised the way it was written, the things Danny was thinking, and doing wasn’t just for shock, or to sound cool, and it’s not a ‘this is how a working class person talks’ either, thankfully. I thought this is a really good engrossing book, but my heart wasn’t really being tugged at/played - that wasn't to say I wasn't enjoying book, I found the story very interesting and intriguing - but as I got closer and closer to the end I really felt a lot closer to the story. Well it was unexpected, and embarrassing to mention, that I cried a few times. This book is beautiful, in so many ways, and that’s what surprised me the most about it. Just a warning there are many prejudiced words in the book, whether or not they should be used in media depends on the context perhaps, the message/point of the story, etc. There is also a lot of swearing which I didn't mind at all.The characters in the book are, for the most part, likeable. There is more to them, they aren’t written in a shallow way, there isn’t just ‘bad’, or ‘good’ labelled on to them because people really aren’t like that in life. The people aren’t as stereotyped as I initially thought, as the author goes into more detail, if they had stuck with no real progression, or not gone in depth then I would have said the opposite. Also, I really didn’t think I’d care for Danny as much as I did. This is a very real book, and this made the characters come alive, I felt what they felt, and I wanted to know more. I want to know what Dan Kelly is doing now, how he’s coping, or getting on with others. That’s how much this book reached out to me.Some thoughts, opinions, and actions can be difficult to stomach. Danny has a difficult time expressing himself, or dealing with his emotions, most of the time he just thinks these things, but we are privy to these thoughts. He was unlikeable sometimes, but that was the point, he was going on a journey. I think it also shows how much help people really need, the stuff we never think about because we are so caught up in everything, and how sometimes the only help we can get can come to us when we least expect it. It comes with age, sometimes it comes with struggle, but other times we are so hard on our self, and we can be taught that we aren’t deserving of anything good. However, a couple times there was this: we were young, or it’s what boys do. I refuse the ‘boys will be boys’ excuse, but the book wasn’t saying this, these were just mentioned a couple times, and this isn’t the realisation at all – it’s quite the opposite.I really can’t put into words how much is put into this book. It isn’t just one thing. I love so much of it. I was surprised at how much I could relate to it, to many characters. There were many situations when Danny would say how he had trouble with words and that he couldn’t put into words what he really thought or felt, most of the time people would misunderstand him, causing him to be more silent. In a way that frustration, loneliness, and anger of not being understood, the hurt that isn’t acknowledged or seen as a weakness ends up being spent in the wrong ways. I also like that point that it mentions of how his sister was neglected because she seemed okay, that the other siblings needed/got more attention and that was a mistake. The way the author went back and forth through time, the way it ended (can’t say as that would be spoiling it, obviously) was so beautifully done. I can’t go into every detail, I’d be retelling the entire book, let’s just say I was left wanting more.This book is a keeper for me, I don’t tend to reread, or re-watch anything, but it’s a book I would definitely want to read again, and I want to know more – see how his life is. And Christos Tsiolkas is an author I will keep in mind and read other novels of. This book will grip you and never let you go – that isn’t a threat, it’s a good thing. ;)
    • 3/5
      Having heard many good reports about Christos Tsiolkas previous novel, “The Slap” I was looking forward to reading his newest work, “Barracuda”, which is the story of a talented swimmer who is so totally focused on success that he doesn't even comprehend the possibility of failure, so that when it happens he is unable to cope. This is a good story, struggling to be an excellent one, but it is not an easy read – primarily because the main character is such a self-centred and unlike-able person, but I also found that I was becoming irritated by the structure of the novel itself, along with the artifices employed in the story telling. It felt at times as if the author had taken the chapters and randomly shuffled them, which did make it hard to get a sense of where the story was going, or had been. The author also had the main character using different versions of his name at different stages of the story, as if he was trying to provide signposts. I was also uncomfortable that the author had chosen to give his protagonist quite so many hurdles to overcome – it seemed at times that he had been given the chance to make a trolley dash around the oppressed minority storeroom and giving him as many obstacles as he could find and then throwing them all at him at once. Overall, though, it is a good but disturbing story of a fractured life, and dealing with the many issues that the main character faces in a very realistic way, showing that there are no easy answers to some peoples problems, and that some issues cannot be resolved. The ending, although initially feeling unsatisfactory because of the lack of resolution, could be seen as being absolutely right, in that it is asking a question that no one can truly answer for themselves. Overall, this is an earnest and thought provoking book, but the pity is that, like the main character, it could have been so much more.
    • 5/5
      Barracuda – Christos TsiolkasI confess I have had a copy of The Slap sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read for a while now. I do believe that wait is over.And the motivation is from just finishing my Real Readers copy of Barracuda, Mr. Tsiolkas (does anyone know how to pronounce the name?) new novel.Reviewers have not always been kind to this writer so I started the book with no real expectations. But I finished it with total admiration.I thought it was an excellent novel. You could be forgiven for believing it to be a tale of an adolescent kid throwing a strop because he didn’t win a race. But it is so much more than that.This is a tour de force of adolescent angst, anger and aggression and the painful journey to being a whole person again.I suspect the book also has much to say about the situation of sports in Australia but I am British and I can’t usefully comment on that. There is little of the sports scholarship thing in this country and I’m not even sure how it works. But that is only part of the story and in the bigger picture just a small part. Danny the boy is not very appealing; Dan the man breaks our hearts. To have a dream well within your grasp and to lose that dream forever is not something to get over easily. To deal with it with criminal activity is reprehensible to say the least. But to understand why you’ve gone wrong and where you’ve gone wrong is one thing and to turn it around to enrich the lives of those you care about and may have hurt in the past is something else. I suppose you could see this as a coming of age story, a painful coming but a satisfactory and hopeful ending made this a meaningful read for me.I loved it. So, slap me.
    • 3/5
      Barracuda is the story of Danny Kelly, a working class boy who attends a private school in Australia on a swimming scholarship. Danny is not popular and feels an outsider. The only way he can climb the “class ladder” and overcome the bullying is by succeeding in the pool and being the best. Danny truly believes in himself and wants to pursue his dream to get an Olympic gold medal in order to show the bullies who he really is. His family make many sacrifices for him but at the Australian Swimming Championship he misses out on a place for the Australian Olympic team and his life goes downhill from there. Danny has to deal with violence, time in prison and the shame he feels he has brought to his coach and family. Slowly he tries to move on with the help of friends and family to find a new meaning to his life and become the person he has been looking for. Barracuda is told from Danny’s perspective and I struggled in the beginning as Danny is not a likeable character as a self-obsessed teenager. Danny eventually grows up and his life journey makes him a more humble and mature human being. He redeems himself and becomes more likeable. Although I have never been to Australia the struggle between classes, bullying, rivalry, violence and shame occur in all societies and countries so I found it easy to relate to the story and what its characters go through. The story poses questions like why we idolise sporting heroes while they perform well and win and we then dismiss them when they don’t win anymore and what happens to those heroes when they hit rock bottom. This is the first Christos Tsiolkas novel I have read so I cannot draw any comparisons to The Slap or any of his previous work. Barracuda uses strong language, sex and violence to make the story realistic but which some readers may find unsettling and uncomfortable to read. The story is not told in chronological order and it jumps around along with Danny’s thoughts and feelings. It moves from the first to third person as the protagonist ages.This is a raw and challenging read which will not leave you indifferent.
    • 5/5
      “I’m the strongest, I’m the fastest, I’m the best”Swimming is not only what Danny Kelly does, it defines who he is and who he will be. His talent wins him a scholarship at an exclusive private boy’s school where, amongst his privileged rivals, he earns the nickname of ‘The Barracuda’. Danny is a winner, on track to be an Olympic champion, until the day he loses and it all falls apart.Shifting between Danny’s past and the present using a first person and third person narrative, Tsiolkas drives the story towards the event that divides ‘before’ and ‘after’. Before, Danny was a young boy, confident, aggressive and ambitious, with the talent and the drive to be a champion. After, Danny was a young man, ashamed, bitter and directionless, alienated from his family, his friends and himself.Barracuda is a story about character, the way in which it is formed, influenced and changed by family, by friends, and enemies, by experience and knowledge, and for Danny especially, by life’s triumphs and failures. It is also a story about identity and when what Danny believes about himself is proved false, he struggles to deal with the consequences. Tsiolkas exposes Danny’s dreams and hopes, his vulnerabilities and his faults with unflinching honesty and keen insight into the thoughts and emotions of both the boy, and the man.Wider themes of the novel include those of identity, class and status in modern day Australia. The Kelly’s working class background, dad is a truck driver and mum a hairdresser, contrasts with the privileged lives of his wealthy classmates. Similarly Danny is half ‘wog’ (Greek) and half Scottish while the majority of students at C***s College are white with “their perfect smiles and perfect skin”. Danny acutely feels the divide and he is both scornful and envious.Barracuda also raises the issue of sport and it’s contribution to Australia’s national identity. Sport is one arena where wealth and class become irrelevant, with innate talent leveling the playing field. It is Danny’s ability to out swim his peers that allows him to hold his own, and when he loses that, he also sees his opportunity to one day be of ‘them’ slip through his fingers.Tsiolkas’s casual use of crude language has the potential to offend but I thought the distinctly Australian dialogue to be natural and appropriate. What surprised me were the moments of poetry in Tsiolkas’s writing, lyrical phrasing and evocative description contrasting sharply with the blunter passages. I do feel Barracuda was a little overlong, though I admit only rarely did I find my attention wandering.Barracuda is a powerful novel, less sensational than The Slap, but similarly provocative and thought provoking. I enjoyed it, but I think it is a book you will either love or hate.