Limberlost is yet another beautiful novel from Robbie Arnott. There’s less of the magical realism in this, yet there’s still the beauty and magic of the natural world.

Limberlost is a place. It’s the orchard belonging to Ned West’s family; but all Ned can think about is sailing in a boat of his own, far from life in Limberlost.

The story moves back and forth between Ned’s childhood and his adulthood. Ned’s older brothers go away to fight in WW2, and he lives with his father and older sister. Their lives revolve around worry for the brothers and the apple crop. Ned is struggling as the brother left behind, so he decides to trap rabbits and sell their fur in order to buy his own boat. When he accidentally traps a quoll, only he and Callie (who lives on the next farm and is his best friend Jackbirds sister) know. He decides to nurse it back to health.

Ned’s childhood is seen through three significant moments: the capture of the quoll, the rebuilding of a Huon pine boat, and years before when his father borrowed a boat and took his children out to look at the whales.

Many years later, Ned still remembers these moments.

It was interesting (and sobering) to read about mans, and Neds, impact on the land: how his crop spraying may have been the cause of his wife’s cancer, and how colonisation was the reason why the orchard was his and not the native people’s anymore.

This is such a gentle, gorgeously written novel, and utterly devastating in parts. Even the description of Ned sanding his boat was told with such tenderness - the reader is there, inhaling the scent of pine.

This is yet another utterly entrancing novel from Robbie Arnott. I’m most definitely a fan.

there were things to like about this book, but it didn’t leave a very big impression on me. It’s about a teenage boy living in rural Tasmania, helping his father with the family orchard while his older brothers are away fighting in World War II. The prose, again, was very accomplished; the nature writing in particular was lovely and really put you in the protagonist’s world. As I moved deeper into the novel and it began to jump around in time, I felt it lost a bit of its narrative tension and in turn my interest was waning. In the end I concluded it was one of those novels that is more like a collection of vignettes, lyrically sketched for the reader, but I would have liked to see it more complete. It tied up nicely in the end, bringing together some of the various plot points in a way that made narrative sense. I would definitely read more Arnott as I liked his style and I don’t read enough Australian fiction, but I won’t be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

This is a quietly beautiful book covering the life of a man who who we first meet in his adolescent years.

Arnott is a wonderful writer. He moves us through past and future time frames scattering, painting and allowing the reader to flesh out and piece together Ned's life.

We get to visit events in Ned's life whilst other major personal and historical events play out off stage.

Not since Stoner have a read a novel where one man's perhaps unassuming life was so deftly handled.

A beautiful and often brutal coming-of-age story about the cost of dreams, war and human violence on the natural world.
A fabulous, really enjoyable read.
I would highly recommend to family and friends.

Utterly immersive. I was unable to finish this before the book was archived, sadly, but what I did read I really enjoyed. A pleasure.

This book was a real surprise - evocative, atmospheric and eye-opening about a part of the world I didn’t know very much about. You go on a real journey with the characters and I felt I knew them intimately by the end.

I have been a fan of this author for a while, having previously enjoyed his work, however this book felt as though it lacked all magic. No more was the landscape written of in a beauteous fashion. It was somewhat generic, predictable and left me feeling meh about the entire ordeal.

A boy and his boat. A story of family, friendships, relationships and loss. Told with intensity and passion. A family is separated by war. Those that are left at home move around each other, each with their own concerns: the father struggling to make his orchard pay and still grieving the loss of his wife; the sister concerned for her horse and its injury; and Ned, hoping to make enough money to buy a boat, struggling with his feelings for girls and desperate to do what is right.
There is plenty of homespun philosophy and detail about rural life in Tasmania, with reference to ecology, damaging farming practices and history.
The only downside is the now inevitable jumping around between different times in the story - more so than necessary - which can be rather confusing; but the finale is beautifully written.

Easy to read and follow the chapters.
The characters were believable, interesting as you followed them on their journey through life.
A enjoyable read

I really loved this sensitive and poignant coming-of-age story about Ned West, a young boy growing up on the family orchard in Tasmania. We follow him throughout his life but the focus is mainly on one summer when as a 15-year-old he sets his heart on buying a boat. A quiet and gentle boy he is reserved and reticent, just like his brothers and father. Constantly trying to find his place amongst these three more competent men, and always desperate to gain his father’s approval, Ned tries to live up to expectations but finds it hard to express himself. It’s a thoughtful and insightful book, an exploration of fathers and sons, and what it means to become a man at a time of war, to which both his brothers go. The landscape is vividly described, the trees of the orchard, the animals, the local families. I found it a truly compelling read.

I was really looking forward to picking up Arnott's latest novel after loving Flames and The Rain Heron, but in my view this massively paled in comparison to those two books: I found the plot of Limberlost to be pedestrian and the writing wasn't enough to hold my waning interest. I appreciate this view is highly subjective and perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a book like this when I picked it up. Not for me!

A stunning achievement from Robbie Arnott, whose previous two novels The Rain Heron and Flames have been fantastic. In this third novel. he eschews magic realism for a straightforward coming of age story which is engrossing and unforgettable.

Started advance, continued with proper book. A great read in so many ways. Limberlost is the childhood home of Ned, the main thread follows his story at a particular time whilst moving back and forward through life. A book of many facets - throughout there is the link between Ned (and others) with nature and the land, with rich evocative descriptions of the landscape and place. There are the relations between Ned and close relations and friends. And there is the 'dream' of a boat throughout the book and how that butts up against reality, alongside a growing future relationship.

This tale of masculinity and fragility spans Ned's life, with excellent descriptive and emotive writing getting to the heart of an excellent portrayal of what is on the surface a simple life, of changing and shifting awareness, priorities for Ned and those close to him. Highly recommend.

Thank you for the chance to read and review this book via NetGalley:

I loved the simplicity of this book, the characters, and the location of Tasmania, it was very atmospheric.
I did not know many of the flora and fauna mentioned, so enjoyed researching them alongside the book.
The characters had depth, were believable, and interesting and I enjoyed being with them on their journey through life.
I read the book quite quickly on Kindle, the chapter lengths and time changes worked well to keep me interested.
I am keen to read more by this author and would recommend this book.