{"product_id":"2026100008932-secondhand-the-chantic-bird","title":"The Chantic Bird","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: 1st ed.,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: price clipped dj.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRaw, anarchic, and deeply unsettling, The Chantic Bird plunges the reader into the fractured consciousness of a nameless teenage delinquent navigating the violent underbelly of Australian suburban life in the 1960s. David Ireland's second novel chronicles the restless inner world of a young man who rejects every social institution available to him — family, school, work, and law — choosing instead a nihilistic freedom that is as seductive as it is self-destructive. The narrative unfolds in sharp, staccato bursts, mirroring the protagonist's erratic mind and presenting a society seen through the eyes of someone entirely unwilling to be shaped by it.\n\nIreland's prose is relentlessly visceral, wielding dark humour and savage irony to illuminate the hollowness at the heart of mid-century Australian conformity. As one of Australia's most uncompromising literary voices, Ireland uses this novel as a scalpel, cutting through post-war optimism to expose the rage and alienation festering beneath. The Chantic Bird stands as a bold, confrontational work that anticipates the countercultural upheavals of its era — leaving the reader to wonder whether the boy's rebellion is madness, or the only honest response to an insane world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49342781423835,"sku":"2026100008932-SECONDHAND","price":60.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/ce3cdad2-fac0-435a-9e96-1e0700a4719f.png?v=1790049478","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100008932-secondhand-the-chantic-bird","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}