{"product_id":"2026100011136-secondhand-my-brother-jack-a-novel","title":"My Brother Jack: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Fair\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket - some marks on spine and corners\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Previous owner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy Brother Jack is a landmark of Australian literature — a raw, unflinching portrait of two brothers forged in the aftermath of World War I, set against the sprawling backdrop of a changing Melbourne. George Johnston chronicles the lives of David Meredith and his brother Jack: David, the sensitive, ambitious young man who escapes his working-class origins through journalism and art, and Jack, the quintessential Australian hero — brave, loyal, and ultimately betrayed by the world that shaped him. The novel captures the social and cultural upheaval of Australia across the 1920s through to World War II, painting a vivid and deeply human picture of a nation searching for its identity.\n\nJohnston writes with autobiographical intensity, drawing heavily from his own life to craft a narrative that is simultaneously intimate and epic in scope. The tension between authenticity and ambition, loyalty and self-preservation, runs through every chapter like a live wire, making this far more than a coming-of-age story — it is a profound meditation on guilt, success, and the cost of reinventing oneself. Winner of Australia's prestigious Miles Franklin Award in 1964, the novel remains a cornerstone of the Australian literary canon, and its closing pages leave the reader haunted by the question of what we sacrifice on the altar of our own becoming.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50573085311195,"sku":"2026100011136-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/ae310979-fdc8-4049-8e3b-f53cd38984ba.png?v=1791167731","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100011136-secondhand-my-brother-jack-a-novel","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}