It's no surprise that, at a time when domestic violence is becoming a prominent social and political issue here, a novel set in a Melbourne household dominated by an abusive father wins the Miles Franklin Award. The Eye of the Sheep has a lot more going for it than mere topicality; it's a profoundly original and affecting book.

The story unfolds as observed by Jimmy Flick, a tearaway 11 year old who suffers from an unspecified disorder (seemeingly ADHD or something similar). He cannot control his behaviour and is not in touch with his emotions.

Jimmy narrates his family life in the inner suburb of Altona, living with his older brother Robby, their obese mother, and his father, who works at the nearby refinery. From the outset, it is clear that Jimmy's behavioural disorder exasperates his father, and only his mother is able to deal with him - barely. Jimmy's artless narration recounts how bottles of Cutty Sark disappear and the consequences, especially on a Friday night. When Jimmy's father is retrenched, things get worse and the tensions within the family erupt.

Laguna's narrative voice captures perfectly the sense of a child struggling to make sense of almost everything, but especially what is going on right in front of him. Situations that Robby sees clearly are incomprehensible to Jimmy, more so as things become ever worse.

I probably won't be the first to liken this book to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time but I think the similarities are limited. This book is more serious in intent than Haddon's, and Laguna carries it off. There are some points where she gives way to her instincts as a children's author, with things threatening to get a bit Tom Sawyerish towards the end, but she does not go in that direction, fortunately.

The Eye of the Sheep paints a very affecting picture of domestic violence, without being polemical. Laguna is sympathetic towards the abusive Gavin, and shows how he is also a victim. As the story unfolds we also see glimmers of how this behaviour persists through the generations.

I would give this book 5 stars, except that I though Laguna overdid it a little by giving her supposedly backward narrator a vocabulary and a degree of insight that I thought was pretty unrealistic at times, for an 11 year old boy with learning difficulties. That occasionally jarred, but otherwise this is a very fine novel. ( )

Rather silly. Uninteresting story. Grossly over-rated. Narrator is an annoying autistic child - who also has has minimal understanding of some things but amazing language skills and perceptions. Wouldn't have continued except as an audiobook it kept me distracted on long nocturnal walk. Don't bother with this author. Highly unlikely plot with happily-ever-after ending. Boring. ( )

Amazing. Highly recommend this to everyone anywhere. Loved it from page one all the way to the end. ( )

Amazing. Highly recommend this to everyone anywhere. Loved it from page one all the way to the end. ( )

A hugable book for me. Sad and tear producing but somehow honestly so. ( )