Books like The December Boys

Amazing. Incredible. Stupendous. One of my rare 5 star treasures. I'd heard about the film ages ago but Daniel Radcliffe does not really float my boat [no, get your dirty minds out of the gutter, pervs] so I skipped it. Now I'm itching to watch it immediately.I have a thing for books with detailed descriptions and intricate symbolism, and this book hit the nail on the head. Each and every paragraph was so strikingly beautiful that I'd have to stop, look away and take a couple of breaths before continuing. I think I'll copy a paragraph [one of the countless] here just to give an idea: "A seagull turned slowly on an updraught, almost at a stop, only the tips and back edges of its wings moving. There were watermarks on the sea's surface caused by currents that swirled around the headlands. [...] I was beginning to realise what the sea reminded me of. It was a sort of manifestation of the notion of eternity. It seemed limitless. It might stretch on for ever and ever. My religious upbringing seemed to have instilled a special fear of eternity into me. But perhaps this is only proof that a man's main vanity - his belief in his own immortality - is alive at a very early stage in his life."It goes on like that. Heavenly.The story itself was slow yet gripping, and sad in an implicit way. The scenery of Australia's splendid coastline, the destruction 1930's Depression wrecked upon families, the fighting spirit of the seemingly indestructible and friendly people; the thoughts, anger, betrayal, challenges and undying hope of a group of 12 year old orphans who discover that a neighbouring couple considers adopting one of them, their fascination with seeing the sea for the first time, their adventures and heartbreak, desolation and desperation, determination; and coping with realising for the first time that the world is unjust, unfair and infinitely finite. Each character was a gem. Every single one of them down to the last detail - their appearance, accents, behaviour, their reason for living. The realism shone through until I was convinced I was reading memoirs rather than a work of fiction. You feel the boys' pain, their homelessness, their feeling that for the first time ever they are somewhere where they could start anew except then life mars everything in that bitter way it always does. And their discovery of being loved yet having to turn upon one another to fight for becoming part of a real family is so chillingly bittersweet that it tears you apart. As a final note, it was sad. Don't expect to cry, however, because it's not a sob story. It's a story of growing up and learning to live with yourself and your life no matter how hard it is, choosing your battles and rediscovering a meaning in life even after all seems lost. Despite its sadness, there is humanity, positiveness, kindness and friendship. I believe that it is not a book for everyone - its language may put many off, as well as its plot. It does have that something, though, that creeps into your soul and lodges itself firmly there. Those who do read it, will feel profoundly changed. I hope so at least.