Allan Reader comes from a family who for many generations made cricket bats in England. He decides to carry on the tradition in Australia by establishing a small workshop in Melbourne. He loves cricket, watches games when he is not working and listens on the radio to all the matches. One day he notices a young player from Queensland playing in an interstate under 19 game. Allan is so impressed with this player and his potential as a cricketer that he decides to craft a bat specifically for him.
Todd Harrow receives his new bat at the same time that he has been selected to take the next step in his cricket career. The bat perfectly suits his style of play and becomes his prize possession as we follow his rapid rise to eventually playing cricket for Australia. However Todd is not the only cricketer in his family as his sister, Liv, also plays the game and proves to be an exceptional player without, of course, the recognition received by her male counterparts.
In Willowman, Inga Simpson provides a story of people attempting to succeed in a challenging and changing world and having to learn to accept apparent failure as well as success. As well as succeeding on a chosen career path it is also a story of sometimes needing to adapt to discover what is really important in life.
Anyone reading this book will certainly learn a great deal about the game of cricket and also about the crafting of cricket bats. However the strength of the novel is the parallel stories of Allan and Todd as they try to determine how to deal with unexpected challenges in their lives.
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