Floodtide

By: Judy Nunn

Narrated by: Richard Aspel

Floodtide is a character-driven, merciless rush of blood from the pen of Judy Nunn, one of Australia's master storytellers. It is a brilliant observation of turbulent times in the mighty 'Iron Ore State' - Western Australia. The novel traces the fortunes of four men and four families over four memorable decades: The prosperous post-war 1950s, when childhood is idyllic and carefree in the small, peaceful city of Perth; the turbulent '60s, when youth is caught up in the conflict of the Vietnam War and free love reigns; the avaricious '70s, when Western Australia's mineral boom sees the rise of a new young breed of aggressive entrepreneurs; and the corrupt '80s, and the birth of "WA Inc", when the alliance of greedy politicians and powerful businessmen brings the state to its knees, even threatening the downfall of the federal government.

Each of the four who travel this journey has a story to tell. An environmentalist fights to save the primitive and beautiful Pilbara coast from the careless ravaging of mining conglomerates; a Vietnam War veteran rises above crippling injuries to discover a talent that gains him an international reputation; and an ambitious geologist joins forces with a hard-core businessman to lead the way in the growth of Perth from a sleepy town to a glittering citadel. But, as the 90s ushers in a new age when innocence is lost, all four are caught up in the irreversible tides of change, and actions must be answered for.

©2008 Judy Nunn (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing

An absolutely wonderful story

This story was brilliant. I couldn't put it down. All the characters were engaging and evoked all sorts of emotions. The end was unexpected and sad.

Just OK

This book was so good until the end. I just hate sad endings. I don't see the point in reading and feeling sad at the end of it. On the good side the narrator did an excellent job.

Historical Fiiction

What did you love best about Floodtide?

Giving it 5 stars for historical fiction. In any other genre I would have rated it a 3 as I would consider it more a series of related short stories or novellas than a novel. These stories were somewhat tied up at the end and as I enjoyed hearing the history I stayed interested. As a book, if I had been reading, I would have preferred a faster moving, more interwoven plot. The history was accurate to the times. Great.

What did you like best about this story?

Hearing of the 1960s WA and having my memories of the time and place rekindled.

What about Richard Aspel’s performance did you like?

Good. His vice for several females obviously was not idea, however no one reader can be everything.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hmmm—it would need editing tighter before it was fit to be a film. A film audience would want to focus on one main story and not a series of stories.

Any additional comments?

I think it needed content editing to appeal to more readers.