Blueback

Blueback is a Young Adult novel by Tim Winton, published in 1997. Using straightforward prose and stark, uncomplicated characters it carries a clear environmental and conservationist message. Subtitled A fable for all ages, its intent is clearly to deliver this message and make younger readers think critically about how the environment is being treated and what they can do to take action. Although the novel is an extended allegory, Winton takes care to keep the story from being a piece of agitprop, infusing it with enough poetry and emotional stakes to make it enjoyable as a story.

The story opens in Longboat Beach, where Able Jackson and his mother, Dora, live by the ocean. Their home has no electricity and the only fresh water is rainwater; isolated from the city, they make their living off the land and by fishing for Abalone. Able’s father was a pearl diver but has passed away, leaving just him and his mother living in a changing world. Their lives are not easy, but they have enough, and Able spends his days exploring the ocean, which he finds exhilarating and intimidating. Dora tells Able that Jacksons have lived there for a very long time, and the two clearly have an idyllic existence. Able understands that they must fish for food, but he dislikes people who treat it as a sport or who disrespect the fish or the land.

They take the fishing boat out and Able dives into the water, where he meets a large old grouper he names Blueback. Able befriends the fish but then returns home with his mother, where he is occupied by household chores. His mind remains on Blueback, however, even when he goes off to school.

At school, Able gets into trouble because he is daydreaming about Blueback. Back at home, he notices that the fisherman known as Mad Macka has been underwater for some time; when he swims out to his boat he finds that the man’s air compressor has run out of fuel. Dora dives down and pulls Mad Macka to the surface, but the man has died of an apparent heart attack.

A new boat appears in the bay, owned by a man named Costello. Able is horrified to discover that Costello is stripping the reef of all resources and over-fishing, which is not only abhorrent to Able but against the law. He tells his mother that he intends to do anything he can to stop Costello from destroying the natural beauty of his home. He swims out to Costello’s boat and discovers the man has broken all the laws regarding the size and quantity of fish he can take, and then Costello attempts to spear Blueback. Dora dives down and drives Blueback away in order to protect the old fish while Able throws as many Abalone back into the ocean as he can in hopes of saving some, but the boat’s deck is covered in blood. Able is angered by the waste; when he and his mother fish, they take just what they need and leave the rest so that the Abalone can thrive. Costello is faced with legal problems because of Able’s intervention.

The outside world continues to intrude, however; a group of wealthy businessmen arrives with plans to turn Longboat Beach into a resort and tourist attraction. Able is disgusted by these people because they clearly do not value nature at all. Mysterious fish deaths continue, and Dora declares that something has changed, and the sea is sick. Able resolves to go off to university to become a Marine Biologist in order to have the skills necessary to save his home.

Able leaves his mother and Blueback behind and becomes a world-famous marine biologist, gets married, and travels the world. He does not like living in the city, however, which he finds crowded and “hemmed in.”

Able and his wife, Stella, return to Longboat Beach to visit Dora, who has become infirm in her old age. On the plane, Able feels guilty about not seeing his mother more often and has a disturbing dream where she and Blueback recede from him into the depths of the ocean. An oil spill threatens the beach and the fish, reminding Able that when his mother is gone there will be no Jacksons there to defend it as he did in his youth, and so Able decides to stay at Longboat Beach for good, to protect the place that he loves and to care for his aging mother.

Blueback is a simple story about respecting the world that supports you and balancing your needs with the needs of the life and land around you. It is also a book that expressly acknowledges the changing times; where some allegorical stories seem to exist in a timeless place, Blueback mentions climate change and other threats and follows Able and Dora through their lives as they age and change. This adds to its environmental message, reminded the reader that change is the only constant, and so we must take an active role in protecting what we have.