Quotes from book
The Turning

The Turning

In these extraordinary tales about ordinary people from ordinary places, Tim Winton describes turnings of all kinds: second thoughts, changes of heart, nasty surprises, slow awakenings, abrupt transitions. The seventeen stories overlap to paint a convincing and cohesive picture of a world where people struggle against the terrible weight of their past and challenge the lives they have made for themselves. Tim Winton is indisputably one of the finest storytellers working in the English language. Now he gives us seventeen exquisite overlapping tales of second thoughts and mid-life regret – extraordinary stories of ordinary people from ordinary places. Here are turnings of all kinds – changes of heart, nasty surprises, slow awakenings, sudden detours – where people struggle against the terrible weight of the past and challenge the lives they’ve made for themselves.


“The past is in us, and not behind us. Things are never over.”

Short story, 'Aquifer' - p.53
Short stories, The Turning (2004)

“All the big things hurt, the things you remember. If it doesn't hurt it's not important.”

Short story, 'Abbreviation' - p.26
Short stories, The Turning (2004)

“It's a survival thing, making yourself a small target.”

Short story, 'Big World' - p.10 [Page numbers per the 2006 UK paperback.]
Short stories, The Turning (2004)

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