Breath [With Earphones] Book

Breath is a story of adolescent rebellion--of learning one's limits by challenging death. On the wild, lonely coast of Western Australia two thrill-seeking boys fall under the spell of Sando, a veteran big-wave surfer. Sando initiates them into a regimen of risk and challenge, and they test themselves and each other on storm swells and over shark-haunted reefs. The boys give no thought to what they could lose, or to the demons that drive their mentor on into ever-greater danger. Venturing beyond all caution--in sports, relationships, and sex--they reach a point at which oblivion is the only possible outcome.

The Washington Post - Carolyn See

[Winton's] produced 11 volumes of novels and short stories, but he lives in western Australia, one of the remotest parts of the world. People don't know about him. They don't know what they're missing…Most coming-of-age novels end on a note of triumph. But Breath is about moving out of your depth, getting in over your head, having your soul damaged beyond repair…But against all this pointless sorrow, there remains the evanescent beauty of the world, and Winton matches that with limitlessly beautiful prose.