As the 1960s arrive later in the novel, news of the Cuban Missile Crisis also rattles the denizens of Cloudstreet. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a group that has been honored annually since their engagement in World War I. Following the war’s end in the novel, Oriel starts working at the local Anzac club to help her maintain a sense of patriotic pride.

dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The war ended in 1945 following the Allied invasion of Germany in Europe and, several months later, Japan’s surrender in the days after the U.S. The war was the first time in Australia’s post-colonial history that it came under direct attack by a foreign power, mostly by the Kingdom of Japan. Australia joined and fought with the Allied powers at this time Australian soldiers fought mostly in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. World War II officially began in September of 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland and, days later, the UK and France declared war on Germany. The first stretch of the novel takes place in the 1940s, towards the end of World War II. To this day, Winton is considered one of Australia’s best known and most beloved authors, and his upbringing in Perth makes him uniquely qualified to write about the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of life in that region of the country. His passion for protecting the environment manifests itself in his writing, which often features detailed and realistic depictions of Australian landscapes and wildlife. Winton is also a strong advocate for environmental conservation, supporting organizations such as the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Environment Defender’s Office. His fiction has earned several literary awards, including the Miles Franklin Award and the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. His early books saw some success, but his career as an author didn’t truly take off until the publication of Cloudstreet in 1991. Winton wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer, while he was studying at university.

Denise, his wife, was a student nurse who helped him recover from a car accident when he was 18. Tim Winton was born in the suburbs of Perth, the Australian city where Cloudstreet takes place.

Cloud street novel