In Robert Drewe’s latest collection of short stories, The Rip, lives are pulled off course. Whether just for a moment or indefinitely, these restless characters, living by seas as changeful and wonderfully terrible as life itself, find themselves in crisis.

We see disgraced businessmen, kooky farmers, tormented children, protective inmates and patched-up families face unwelcome wildlife, marriage breakups, film shoots, crimes of passion and writing classes. We watch their relationships begin, end and undulate in vivid costal surrounds. With a strong Australian flavour that doesn’t stoop to stereotypes, these stories weave together to create a hot, salty, restless inertia set against an ever-present sense of predator versus prey. The masterful use of tension provides a strong current through this collection.

Drewe strikes a wonderful balance between making us laugh with the constant jostle between costal conservatives and alternatives, and making us cringe with small but devastating turning points, such as displays of that acute cruelty we somehow reserve for those we love most. Particular highlights are ‘The Lap Pool’, ‘The Water Person and the Sea Person’, ‘The Whale Watchers’ and ‘The Rip’. These stories are subtle, full of pathos and make up a deliciously unsettling collection.