AustLit

Eagle Island, a racy thriller and Allan Baillie's most Australian novel, is set on an island in the Great Barrier Reef. Lew, the hero, is deaf. Col, his most hated enemy, picks on him at school because of his odd way of speaking. Lew's one pleasure in life is his catamaran, which his parents had been against at first.

"'How can he sail something like that?" she said, or he thought she said. […] "He'll drown." How can he not sail it? Here's something he can do as well as other kids.'

Lew was going to forget about Col for two weeks as he set sail for the distant Whitsundays; he could almost forget about being deaf. The trip is vividly described and the word pictures of the wealth of wildlife make fascinating reading. (I defy anyone to read of Lew cooking a coral trout without their mouth watering!) This idyllic life is rudely interrupted by the appearance of Col, and their encounter turns into a deadly game of hide and seek. Eagle Island should he lapped up by older readers.