Past the Shallows: The Power of Nature and Loss Anonymous 11th Grade

Past the Shallows by Favel Parrett is a novel that details the experiences of a family as they struggle to survive in the harsh environments of the southern Tasmanian coast. Each chapter is a vignette that provides a snapshot of the family’s life as told through the perspective of Harry or Miles, who are brothers living under the rule of their father, a violent alcoholic. Alternating in perspective gives the author a chance to explore how events affect people in different and personal ways. For example, as the character of Miles is explored, the impact that the losses of his uncle, brother, innocence, and childhood had on him are brought into sharp focus. These losses make him regard the power of nature with a mixture of fear and awe, a potent blend that makes the reader very conscious of how the power of nature shapes the family’s life in the same way it shapes the coastlines that are “worn by the water and by the wind and the rain until they were gone from sight” (10).

Miles’ relationship with the power of nature is complex, and this is shown through juxtaposition in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Miles is portrayed as someone who “knew the water. He could feel it. And he knew not to trust it” (10), but on page 43...