events in world history, including World War II, the Korean War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Australia at this time was, for the most part, comfortable and conservative, characterised by backyard barbecues, by wives – who were no longer needed for the war effort – consigned to the home, and by the growth of the Australian dream. World events influence the Lambs and Pickles, but distantly, like an echo that sends ripples across the surface of their lives. The novel focuses on the domestic, and this serves as the filter through which history is measured. The most prominent historical character within Cloudstreet is the Nedlands monster, whose real name is Eric Edgar Cooke, a serial killer. The Australian Dictionary of Biography writes that Winton's novel Cloudstreet embodied the social impact of Cooke's crimes, which saw a change in personal and household security and a loss of a relaxed style of living. Critical reception The novel has received positive reviews. Australian writer Marion Halligan praised Winton's prose, deeming it "full of energy, vitality, [and] wit". Writer Mem Fox stated "If you have not read Cloudstreet, your life is diminished . . . if you have not met these characters, this generous community, these tragedies, the humour. It is so wonderful." In his introduction to the 2013 Folio Society edition, Australian writer Alex Miller calls it "Australia's most iconic novel" and "one of the greatest acts of the human imagination of the late twentieth century". Awards and recognition Cloudstreet was the recipient of the National Book Council Banjo Award for Fiction, the Western Australian Fiction Award and the Deo Gloria Award in 1991, and a Miles Franklin Award in 1992. In 2003, members of the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) voted Cloudstreet as their favourite Australian novel. The same year, Cloudstreet came out on top in a readers' poll organised by the ASA and ABC Radio National. Cloudstreet was the "overwhelming favourite" in the 2010 "ABR Favourite Australian Novel" poll conducted by the Australian Book Review, and in 2012, viewers of First Tuesday Book Club voted Cloudstreet #1 on a list of "10 Aussie Books You Must Read Before You Die". On 5 November 2019, BBC News listed Cloudstreet on its list of the 100 most influential novels. Adaptations Cloudstreet has been adapted into various forms: Paige Gibbs adapted the book into a radio play in 1996 for ABC Radio