Miles ultimately decides to leave Harry with his schoolmate Stuart Phillips, where he knows his little brother will be safe. After this horrific incident, the boys run away from home and end up at George Fuller’s house. In the midst of a two-day alcohol bender, Dad and Jeff lash out violently at Harry and Miles, as they force Harry to drink whiskey and Jeff slams Miles’s head into a coffee table.
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Dad’s drinking also becomes worse, as he often abandons Miles and Harry to spend his nights at the local pub. After Martin is injured and has to take a leave from fishing, Jeff convinces Dad to begin poaching abalone in protected waters in order to yield a more fruitful harvest, a decision that catches the attention of the Fisheries authorities and places Dad’s livelihood in jeopardy. In Joe’s absence, Dad’s behavior quickly spirals out of control. Once Granddad’s house is packed, Joe’s dream becomes a reality as he bittersweetly leaves his two younger brothers to live on his boat and travel the world. The mysterious tooth haunts Miles as he tries to place its origin, wondering who could have left it in Mum’s car. Miles discovers that their grandfather kept the wreckage of Mum’s car from the night of the accident and finds a shark tooth necklace between the car seats. After the boys’ Aunty Jean contests Granddad’s will and reclaims the house that he left for Joe, the boys reluctantly clear out Granddad’s belongings. Joe, who works as a carpenter, is unable to handle the pressure of being a surrogate father figure for his two younger brothers, despite his love for them, and spends years building a boat in hopes of sailing away from Bruny Island. He inadvertently befriends the local hermit George Fuller and his dog Jake, finding the love and understanding in his relationship with George he lacks from his own abusive father. Harry, on the other hand, is petrified of the ocean and escapes into the woods when he is left alone during the long stretches that Dad and Miles spend on the fishing boat. Miles has a complicated relationship with the water, as he is afraid of diving for abalone but finds solace in surfing with his older brother, Joe. Miles is forced to take on the responsibility of working on the fishing boat with Dad and his fishermen Martin and Jeff, as well as taking care of Harry. Harry, Miles, and Joe each find escape in one another’s company and in nature. Joe has previously escaped the abusive household to live with Granddad, but his younger brothers Harry and Miles are left to bear the brunt of Dad’s addiction-fueled cruelty.Īs the Curren boys struggle to grow up without loving parents, their brotherhood becomes their support system.
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After the deaths of their loved ones, the boys are left in the neglectful care of their Dad, an abalone fisherman who has become a violent alcoholic after the loss of his wife and brother-in-law.
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Additionally, the boys’ beloved Granddad becomes ill and passes away.
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#The story of the human body lieberman chapter summary full#
The brothers have had a painful upbringing full of hardships, as their Uncle Nick drowned on the same night that Harry and Miles were involved in a car accident that killed their Mum. Past the Shallows is the story of three brothers, Harry, Miles, and Joe Curren, growing up in a small fishing town on Bruny Island off the southeastern coast of Tasmania, Australia.