Book Review: "The Riders" by Tim Winton

Tim Winton's books continue to fascinate me with the simplicity of their storylines and the expanse they can go to. There is always something about the story that twists and turns the characters and, mainly to do with their development, it serves as a reminder that even the smallest changes in someone's life can send them down an entirely new track for life. So far, I have read Dirt Music and the phenomenal Cloudstreet. And from these books I started to investigate more of his writing. So here's my review of The Riders. Yet another hit from this writer.

Scully, an Australian man, has moved to rural Ireland with his wife Jennifer and their young daughter Billie. He purchased an old, crumbling cottage, which he lovingly and painstakingly renovates in anticipation of their new life together. The project becomes a symbol of his devotion to Jennifer and their future, even as the physical labour takes a toll on him. Scully’s optimism about the move and the renovation is grounded in his unwavering faith in Jennifer’s vision for their family. At the time though, his wife and child are not actually with him and he anticipates their arrival in flashes of their time together so far.

After completing much of the renovation, Scully eagerly awaits Jennifer and Billie at Shannon Airport. However, only Billie arrives, clutching her passport, while Jennifer is conspicuously absent. The shock of Jennifer’s unexplained disappearance leaves Scully devastated and bewildered. He is given no explanation, no note, and no indication as to why she would abandon them. This part of the book is perhaps my favourite because it feels like for some moments, that time simply stops. I have no idea how Tim Winton was able to do that in his writing, but the pace comes to this abrupt halt and it was like the world stopped spinning. It was fantastic to experience the same emotions that Scully must have been experiencing.

Billie, traumatised by the experience, refuses to speak about what happened. Scully’s efforts to communicate with her are met with silence or fragmented gestures, which only deepens his frustration and confusion. Her mute response becomes a painful reminder of his growing isolation as he begins to question his assumptions about Jennifer and their marriage. This makes me wonder about whether the memories in the flashback scenes Scully was having were real or idealised. I wonder about whether his flashbacks were simply his brain giving him the best moments and if there were things about Jennifer that were glossed over because the image of her in his memory is completely different to the one we get of her in reality when we actually learn about her rather than a memory of her.

Determined to find answers, Scully sets off across Europe with Billie in tow, retracing the path of their recent travels. From Greece to Paris and Amsterdam, Scully revisits places where the family had once been happy, hoping for clues about Jennifer’s disappearance. Each destination brings encounters with acquaintances and memories that feel increasingly disconnected from his current reality. Here it is. Scully's reality is actually different to what he remembers and so, we have to picture that Scully's flashbacks were perhaps not lies, but really were not the entire truth of what was happening in his life.

During his travels, Scully meets people who claim to have seen or spoken to Jennifer. Each account is contradictory, leaving him more confused. Some describe her as unhappy or restless, while others suggest she had been acting strangely. The fragmented clues force Scully to confront the possibility that Jennifer left deliberately, shattering his perception of her as a loving and devoted wife. As we move through the book, we see him coming to this point, abandoning it and then coming back to it again like a circle. This leaves the reader with the impression that maybe he will never find out what actually happened to Jennifer but also that he has been lying to himself about his marriage for long before she left.

It is such a powerful book and the character of Scully is so strong that you really do feel like you know the man and you want give him advice. However, it is also strong in its approach of shattering perceptions conceived through idealised memories. I love that about this novel and I think that if you want to start reading Tim Winton, then you should probably start here. It is his best example of character writing.