Favel Parrett's 2011 novel Past the Shallows is about two brothers, Harry and Miles, who in the wake of their mother's and uncle's deaths must live with their abusive father while repressing memories that threaten to reveal the truth of how their mother and uncle died.
Living on the coast of Tasmania, Australia, Miles has a passion for surfing, but he spends his summer holiday forced to pilot the fishing boat while his father dives for abalone, often gathered illegally from protected waters. Over the course of the novel, Miles remembers fragments of the night his mother's car crashed while he and Harry were in the back seat. His memories reveal that his mother had tried to elope with Uncle Nick, her sister's husband and Harry's biological father, when Miles's father ran her vehicle off the road into a tree; Miles's father then murdered Uncle Nick and disposed of the body in the bay. At the novel's climax, Miles's father pushes Harry, whom he has always resented, off the fishing boat during a swell. Miles tries to swim to safety with Harry, but loses consciousness as hypothermia sets in and Harry dies. Miles wakes up in the hospital.
Parrett's first novel, Past the Shallows received positive reviews from readers and critics for its unflinching depiction of resilience in the face of abuse, economic desperation, family dysfunction, and grief. Parrett won the 2012 Newcomer of the Year Award at the Australian Book Industry Awards. The book won the Dobbie Award, and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
After its initial publication in Australia, the novel was also published in America, the UK, Germany, and Italy.
