Past the Shallows

The novel begins as Miles and Joe surf while their younger brother, Harry, watches from the beach. The next day Harry goes to a show in Hobart with the boys’ Aunty Jean. He buys showbags for Miles and his friend Stuart.

Meanwhile, Miles is out working on the boat with his Dad and the crewmen, Martin and Jeff. Upon returning home from Hobart, Harry goes to Stuart to give him the showbag, but Stuart is not home. On his return journey home, Harry encounters a dog, which leads him to the dilapidated house of an old man named George. Harry runs away in fright when he hears George calling his name.

Joe, the eldest of the brothers, lives alone on his houseboat, and picks Miles up to go surfing when Miles finishes work. It is revealed that Joe is working on his houseboat to make it seaworthy so that he can leave Tasmania.

When Miles goes to sea again for work, a shark jumps onto the boat, breaking Martin’s leg. Jeff shoots the shark, saving Miles, who was trapped underneath it. Jeff then cuts open the shark and shoots the lone living baby shark in its womb. Miles and his Dad take Martin to the hospital, and Miles recalls being there when his grandfather died.

Harry returns to George’s house to play with the dog, and George invites him in for tea. At the docks, the boat engine fails, and the Dad leaves Miles by himself to push it in manually. A Mr Roberts comes to Miles’ aid, and then gives him a lift home. On the way home, Miles takes notice of a spot of fresh lilies by the side of the road, and it is revealed that that is where the boys’ mother died in a car crash.

The boys go to their grandfather’s house, which has been sold by their Aunt Jean, to clear it out. They come across some of their mother’s possessions, including a tooth necklace, and discover parts of the car that she was driving when she died. On the way to the tip after leaving the house, Harry remembers that there was a man in the car with his mother the night of the crash.

On the beach, Miles fights with Gary Jones, a boy his age, because Gary took the shark tooth Miles got from the incident on the boat. In the course of the fight, Miles breaks a fishing rod belonging to Gary’s dad.

Harry goes fishing with George, and they catch a flathead, which they have for dinner. George takes Harry to his old home and reveals that he knew Harry’s mother when he was younger. Officers from the Department of Fisheries arrive at the home where Harry and Miles live with their Dad. The officers inform Miles that their Dad has many unpaid fines.

The next day, Miles and Joe go fishing, and Joe tells Miles that he plans to leave the next day, because he needs to escape his horrible existence in Tasmania. That night, while drinking at home the boys’ Dad, along with Jeff, forces Harry to drink, which causes him to vomit. Miles defends Harry, and their Dad hits him, causing his head to bleed. Miles and Harry run away to George’s place, where they are taken care of. Miles takes Harry to stay at Stuart’s house, before returning home to clean up the mess. His father is there eating fish and chips, and makes no mention of the previous night.

Wanting to repay George for his kindness, Harry buys him tea, but when he arrives at George’s house, he cannot find him. Miles and his Dad are driving home from fishing as Harry is leaving George’s house, and the car nearly hits Harry, enraging the Dad.

The next morning, the Dad orders Miles and Harry onto the boat, and Miles is terrified. The Dad and Jeff steer the boat into the middle of the water before turning off the engine. Overcome with fear, Miles begins to throw up off the side of the boat. The Dad and Jeff return to the deck of the boat.

The Dad attacks Miles, attempting to force his head into the water so that he will drown. Harry attacks Dad before calling for help on the radio. Dad grabs Harry, and upon noticing the white necklace he is wearing, becomes furious as he realises it belonged to the man who was in the car with his wife the night of the crash – the man his wife was having an affair with. He blames Harry for the whole situation, and when a wave hits the boat, Harry is thrown into the water. The Dad reveals his knowledge of the affair. He tells Miles that he took the man’s body out of the wreck so that no one would know, and that his reputation would be protected.

Miles jumps overboard to save Harry, and after grabbing him in the water he falls unconscious. He awakes to find that he is no longer holding on to his brother.

Miles wakes up in the hospital, and is informed that Harry has died. Miles recalls the night of his mother’s death, and realises that it was his Uncle Nick who was the man in the car. He remembers seeing his father take Nick’s body away and return without him.

At Harry’s funeral, Miles breaks down to Joe. The next day, Miles goes surfing with Justin, Mr Roberts’ son. Later, Miles, Joe and George bury a shark egg on the beach in memory of Harry. George gives the shark necklace to Miles, who realises that George found Harry’s body. Miles and Joe leave.

The boys’ awareness of their vulnerability informs the unconditional love they have for one another. Though Joe is more mature and older than his siblings, he still adopts a protective role where he can, despite being somewhat distracted by his own desire to escape. As such, it is between Miles and Harry where the unconditional love between siblings is most thoroughly displayed. Harry’s youthfulness is used to communicate the intense emotions involved in sibling relationships: Harry fears that if Miles were ever lost, something inside him would go wrong and might never come right again. The graceful simplicity of the power of that emotion is then reflected in the way Harry draws a promise of protection from those around him.