Brett Evans

I love the writing.

I mean, we were talking before about Peter Temple and his command of the Australian vernacular.

I just wrote down several things, but one of them I loved was he talked about the moon.

He talks about how the whole of it came up quick round and toasted like a Jats cracker.

And I thought that's just beautiful, just a fantastic description of the moon.

And the book is littered with these...

statements and phrases derived from how Australians speak.

And it's a sort of heightened poetic language, which doesn't get too far above its source.

So you never lose connection with it.

But at the same time, it's very poetic.

Yeah.

Did you?

Well, that little bit at the beginning, it races along and you go, what the hell is all that about?

And then by the end, you know exactly where he is and what he's doing and what he's thinking and you start to understand what he's actually saying.

Yeah, well, he's, Tim Winton's obviously a very educated man in a vast range of things.

He obviously knows his Bible and his literature, but he also knows how to shoot a kangaroo.

He knows how to skin a goat.

He explains how you do these things and you're absolutely engrossed by it.

And as Jacksy goes on this journey, you realise he does have some skills.

He does have some maturity coming upon him, which is partly what the book's about as well, I think.