Cloudstreet, written by Tim Winton, has won many awards; it won the Miles Franklin award, tied for the Banjo award and the Australian Society of Authors voted it their favourite Australian novel. The reason that Cloudstreet is still winning awards today is because the themes and ideas that the novel raises are still relevant today. They include reconciliation, sense of community, belonging and diversity. .
Reconciliation is one of the major ideas posed in the book. Britain established its colony at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788; many Aboriginal people were dispossessed and displaced from their lands. This is similar to what happened to both the Lamb and Pickles families. The Lambs leave Margaret River after everything blew up in their face; they claimed that Fish had been brought back from death only to find that he was a "Slowbo", "you can't stay in a town when everything blows up in your face - especially the only miracle that ever happened to you", they"re forced to leave town after they lose their rapport with their religion based community. .
When Uncle Joel dies the Pickles are left with nowhere to live; they were living in a room in Joel's pub. Joel leaves them $2000 and number One Cloud Street, without Joel they have no place to stay and they are forced to move to Cloud Street.
Fish, who is split into two halves, his spiritual side and his physical side, personify the theme of reconciliation. His spiritual side serves as the omnificent narrator, he is all seeing, he can describes everyone's feelings and thoughts. The physical Fish appears retarded, a "Slowbo". He, at points in the novel, acts as a voice for the spiritual Fish, When asks Quick if he is happy, he is prompting Quick to think about his life. The two halves of Fish reconcile when he drowns the second time at the end of the book. .
Another example of reconciliation is between Rose and Dolly. All of her life Rose had hated Dolly, her drunkenness, her promiscuity, her looks; she despised everything about her, "Hating you is the best part of bein alive".
