Six stylishly written stories where the common thread might be the reaching of critical life situations that awaken characters to the patterns and habits that have underpinned them. Often these stories relate the incidents that bring about change or epiphanies.
Patrick White is brilliant, as someone in these reviews below, indicates. Having read the bulk of his fiction, I concur.
What annoys me are those reviewers who claim he's "not Australian enough" or "too English". A writer writes what he knows, and this is something at which White excels.

Patrick White is brilliant. The Cockatoos is a good introduction to his work. ( )