Summary of The Shark Net by Robert Drewe
Part One (pp.5-18)Committal
Set in the later past, Drewe describes the courtroom and committal hearing of a nameless murderer. He is a journalist reporting on the case and we learn that he knows the man on trial. We also learn Robert knew one of the man’s victims. During the proceedings, Robert and the murderer wink at each other and Robert is mortified that he may have been seen doing so. Drewe narrates further back in time and tells of the time he was an onlooker after the man’s arrest. After the committal hearing Robert drives towards his girlfriend, Ruth’s, house. On the way, he stops outside a block of flats where the murderer’s first victim was killed. After leaving the block of flats, his purpose is ambiguous and we (the readers) become confused. Pg 18 is confusing.
Part Two (pp.23-204)
1: Blackboys
Drewe describes his family’s move to Perth from Melbourne when he was six years old. We learn more about his mother and father. We become aware of some of his childish fears. / List your first impressions of Robert, his father and mother. Describe their relationships, personalities and interests.
1: People of the Dunes
Drewe describes Perth, its people and the natural environment from his 6yo perspective. / Draw a Y-chart describing Perth – looks like, sounds like, metaphor. Continue filling this in as you read.
2: Saturday Night Boy (I)
This is the first of three passages narrated in the third person about ‘Birdmouth’. / How do you respond to Birdmouth? Why? Use quotes to justify your opinions.
3: Yellow Sand
Drewe again describes the physical environment around his home. He also describes Sunset Old Men’s Home and some of its characters. As a young boy, Robert is introduced to the world of sexual scandal. Anecdotes about his family continue. The lions that frighten him are introduced. He considers his parents as having two identities each. / Why would Drewe include the section about the Home?
3: Bumpers
Drewe describes the ‘Bumpers’ shoe ritual, Dunlop and the sporting heroes that visited his home. / Describe the tone of this chapter.
3: Strangers
Drewe describes the various visitors, vagrants, lurkers and strangers common to the suburban home in the 1950s. Amongst these are Eric Cooke and Robert Blackwood. / What is Drewe’s purpose in including this chapter?
3: Prowler
A prowler’s eye ‘smirks’ at Robert’s mother one night when his father is away.
3: Burning ‘The Mirror’
Robert’s father is uneasy and edgy about something, pacing the backyard until the newspaper is delivered. He reads it quickly then burns it in the incinerator in the backyard. / Why do you think his father burns the newspaper?
3: The Moral Agent
Robert spends a week on Rottnest Island with another family. He meets Roberta and tries to impress her. / What does Rottnest Island represent and why?
3: The eyes of Billy Graham
He describes the religious mix of his family and the Billy Graham ‘show’ he and his mother attend. Within this description he mentions growing sexual knowledge.
3: The Bridge
His father gets stuck on a new bridge in his car and is escorted home by a pair of detectives, one of whom becomes a close friend. They discuss the Berkman murder. Drewe goes on to write about his friend, Simon’s, connection to the Brewer murder. / What do we learn about gender relationships in this chapter?
3: On the Beach
Robert goes to a film with his father, a very rare event. / Describe your response to this chapter.
3: Windows
Robert returns to Rottnest Island on a camping trip and meets Ruth Parnham, a Catholic. He describes their courting. He and another friend of his John Sturkey try to find their way to a party. His mother disturbs a very daring and sinister prowler that night, again when her husband is away on a business trip. / Describe the tone of this chapter.
Part Three (pp.209-274)
1: The Real World
Robert gets his journalism cadetship at the West Australian. He learns about the murder that took place in his street 30 years earlier. His relationship with Ruth intensifies.
2: Saturday Night Boy (II)
This is the second of three passages narrated in the third person about Eric Cooke. He reflects on his crimes.
3: The Full Moon Cliché
Robert reads about the killing spree. The murders change “the spirit of the place.” Ruth announces her pregnancy and the two of them inform Robert’s mother who reacts badly. Ruth and Robert get married. After their weekend honeymoon, they move to their own apartment in north Perth. The baby is born while Robert’s mother is away in Melbourne. After her return she dies from cerebral haemorrhage. Another girl is murdered.
4: Saturday Night Boy (III)
This is the last passage narrated in the third person about Eric Cooke.
Part Four (pp.279-358)
1: Phenobarbitone
Eric Cooke is caught and arrested. Robert speaks with Dr Synott about the cause of his mother’s death.
1: News Shark
Robert fantasises about reporting a shark attack. He reflects on an execution that happened when he was a boy. A friend of his drowns one afternoon after they’d both been bodysurfing.
1: Cheering Up
Robert ponders the hypocrisy of adults. His Dad gets a company promotion and moves to Sydney.
2: Trial
Eric’s trial in the Criminal Court. He is sentenced to death.
3: The Boy the Colour of Sand
This section describes the relationship between Eric and his eldest son, Michael, who is mentally retarded.
4: The Murderer’s Widow Recalls the Execution
Drewe meets Mrs Cooke and she discusses her marriage to and relationship with Eric.
5: The View from the Esplanade Hotel.
Robert is recruited by The Age newspaper in Melbourne. His father remarries in Sydney. Robert, Ruth and their child move to Melbourne.
Characters / Robert, Roy, Dot, Roberta, Ruth, Eric Cooke, detective, victims, landscape
Narrative structure / Memoir: Drew & Mrs Cooke, beginning at end.
Narration / First person except for ‘Saturday Night Boy’ sections
Setting: time & place / Perth in the 1950s.
Style – literary devices. / Metaphor: landscape, weather, environment, doorways, murders; Drewe’s shifting tone;
Genre, form. / Memoir, thriller,
Does this narrative move in chronological order through the past?
What are the key moments in each section?
Is Drewe ever trying to allude to the idea that his father could be the murderer? If so, is it to make us question our idea of knowledge of others?
The religious climate of Australia at the time.
How does Drewe tell the story? What narrative devices does he use?
Go to http://del.icio.us/mstreasure and click on ‘sharknet’ down the right-hand side of the page. Read the articles and interviews listed.
Read the reviews on pp.ii-iii. List the adjectives used to describe Drewe and The Shark Net.
Read the quotes by Brecht and Ionesco on the preface. Describe the tone of each quote then explain each of them in your own words.
Go to Wikipedia and research Brecht and Ionesco. What kind of characters were they? What were they famous for? In what kind of theatre were they interested?
Why might Drewe quote these two people, and playwrights, in particular?
Read the italicised page before Part One. List everything you learn about Robert and his father, including their relationship and emotional states.
Why did Drewe italicise for this passage?
As you read ensure you keep track of the changing time frame of the narrative.
How would you sentence Cooke?
Why did Drewe go back and write this memoir? What purpose does it serve?
Why do people publish their memoirs?
How would you mimic Drewe’s writing? What would you need to do?