Aggressive. Bully. Foul-mouthed. These words could describe Jaxie, the teenage protagonist of Tim Winton's latest. However, told from the character's perspective, it is to the writer's great credit that Jaxie is so sympathetic and compelling.

Raised by an abusive single father in an Australian one-horse town, all Jaxie has is his romance with cousin Lee. Yet, when family discover the affair, Lee is whisked across the country. All seems lost, until a shocking event allows the teenager to make the punishing if stunning Aussie odyssey to find his love.

On the road, Jaxie grows. The emptiness of the outback enables him to reflect on life, spirituality, and his past. He finds his own unique, lyrical voice and meets a strange outsider, who becomes the mentor he never had. While this might sound predictable, Winton deftly combines sensitivity with rawness, crafting a gorgeously realised portrait of aching masculinity.