Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

Nineteen-year-old Carly is simply surviving. Having dropped out of uni and working as a thankless cook in a local café, there’s not much to live for. Her brother has his own life and her parents barely acknowledge her existence, but she could care less. As long as she has her day to spend surfing, nothing else matters.   But the day she meets assured, carefree surfing local Ryan she realizes she can’t coast forever. He’s kind to her without expecting reciprocation and his patience for her open awkwardness is remarkable. Add that to the young surfer Danny, who sees something in her, and her bohemian but caring neighbor Hannah, and she may have more than surfing as a legitimate reason to live. But in the face of dealing with her painful past will she decide to sink or swim?

I’ve been serious in my intent to read this Aussie novel for the past few months after it seemed to be unavoidably popping up everywhere, from best of 2010 blogger lists and definitive author recommendations in the likes of Melina Marchetta. Not only was it hyped but it was unavailable internationally. Intrigued, I uncharacteristically bought the pricey ebook, and it was worth every penny.

Raw Blue held me captive from the beginning.  With only the subtlest of hints, it’s clear that Carly is severely hurting, an emotional brokenness that doesn’t come without extraordinary circumstances. Her voice is raw and real; you feel for her, so that when Ryan shows up like a life raft you can’t help but be right on edge with her. Barely breathing or blinking at times, I sat completely still, desperately hoping and waiting for Carly to take the raft she’s offered even if it’s only by the skin of her teeth.  It was quite the absorbing reading experience. A favorite passage from early on when Carly first meets Ryan:

“The air around him is snap frozen. He’s in his mid-twenties, his face so shut off and wary I wonder what’s happened to him. His skin is the sort that burns easily. The ridges of his ears are pink and freckled. They stick out a bit through his hair, which is light brown and lank. It’s scraggy, seventies style; he hasn’t had a cut for a while. He’s wearing old jeans, thongs and a white T-shirt, and he wouldn’t be out of place in a pub or a TAB.

After he’s walked off towards the car park, I take his place on the seat. Finally I have a clear view of the surf and I feel an electric charge. It’s a glitter skin day. The ocean is a vivid emerald colour and the wind ruffles the wave faces so that they shatter the sunlight like glass. Seeing that glittering skin always tightens my throat with joy. It’s stupid, but that’s how I feel: joyous. I forget about the underbelly of things, my secrets, and I feel easy and free. I know that I’m meant to stay on the surface and be happy. Just enjoy being alive.

Glitter skin days are my favourite kind of surf conditions.”

I love how this passage and the opening chapter as a whole capture the essence of Raw Blue, which is part immersion in surf culture and part the charged dynamic of Ryan and Carly’s relationship. To Carly, surfing is like breathing, and Kirsty Eagar‘s given justice to her way of life in the dominance the conditions and descriptions of the ocean plays in the book. While I didn’t understand most of the surfing lingo I was fascinated nonetheless by the paddling, taking a left or right, and falling of the surfing sets as well as being equally dazzled by the palpable descriptions of the ever-changing blue surf. Even though I don’t know what makes something Aussie, it felt Aussie, it felt authentic. It was as if I’d been granted permission into this secret subculture I didn’t even know existed but felt a part of by the end of the novel. With its clear, evocative prose, distinctive characterization, and unforgettable imagery, Raw Blue hooked me from its portentous beginning to it’s chillingly perfect and poignant ending. Highly, highly recommended. Now if I could only buy a hard copy.

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