Cloudstreet Themes

Cloudstreet follows two families, the Lambs and the Pickleses, as they move into number one, Cloudstreet and live the next 20 years there. Throughout the novel, there's a constant tension between what happens by chance and what happens as a result of a conscious choice. Both of these forces affect the characters’ lives, and it’s difficult to say which is stronger. But more importantly, the tension between luck and choice highlights the characters’ differing beliefs…

As the Lamb and Pickles children come of age, many of them try to strike out on their own and leave their families behind them, though with limited success. For instance, while Hattie ends up living happily with Geoffrey Birch away from Cloudstreet, she’s the only exception to the repeating pattern of an independent life coming to a swift end—Ted Pickles dies suddenly a few years after leaving his family. And while Quick and…

Whether it’s fate, a higher power, or something unexplainable, both families in Cloudstreet can sense that their lives are touched by something greater than themselves. But far from being a foreign or alien influence, the supernatural elements in the novel only add more depth and color to the everyday, human experiences the characters encounter. The Lamb family’s religious faith is shaken and all but destroyed by the disappointing “miracle” of Fish’s resurrection, which leaves…

Countless arguments and disagreements divide the residents of number one, Cloudstreet over the years, and the members of each family constantly struggle to relate to one other. But gradually, they come to accept the common humanity that they share, even across families that initially seemed wildly different in terms of their morals and priorities. Cloudstreet doesn’t deny the existence of good and evil, or absolve any character of their responsibilities just because being human is…