“Father like son” is a saying that we’ve all heard of about a billion times before, and we all generally know what its meaning is. Everyone knows that fathers and sons are notorious for having similar interests and hobbies, and that they both reflect each other. So, if the phrase “book like author” is introduced, then it should mean that the book is just like the author. Lockie Leonard, the main character from Lockie Leonard Human Torpedo, and Tim Winton are a perfect example of a “book like author” relationship. Tim Winton, the author, and Lockie share many passions, passions that range from the love of the sea, to the enjoyment of living in small rural seaside towns. In more ways than others, Lockie Leonard is the fictional equivalent of Tim Winton.
Firstly, Tim Winton and Lockie Leonard are both obsessed with the vast open ocean. Tim grew up near the beach, and all that he saw 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, were people surfing. Similarly, Lockie Leonard was brought up in similar circumstances, and he too was exposed to surfing from a very young age. Tim Winton loved surfing as a youth because “you get to experience the sheer momentum, the experience of hurtling towards the beach at terrifying speeds’ (Tim Baker, 2008, Words by Tim Baker, p. 1). Similarly, Lockie loves surfing because of the adrenaline rush and the sense of serenity that both occur at the same time, side by side. Correspondingly, Tim loved to push the limits with water sports. He loved to surf only the largest and hardest of waves, and would often crave for extreme water sports such as jet skiing and white water rafting. Not surprisingly, Lockie is much the same. He too is addicted to catching only the largest of waves, and loves to go water skiing as well.
Secondly, Tim Winton had a very similar family arrangement as Lockie does in the book. Just like Lockie, Tim’s father was a police officer, a police officer who was always stone-sober and who was a churchgoer. Likewise, Winton’s...