Wake In Fright
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: The DJ shows some fading over the spine and light shadowing over flap, otherwise it is in very good condition.There is some foxing and staining on the underside of the DJ. This is not visible on the cover. The binding is sound and vibrant with gold lettering. There is some foxing on the page edges and over the end pages - otherwise pages crisp and clean internally.
A landmark of Australian literature, Wake in Fright is a visceral and deeply unsettling psychological thriller that chronicles the harrowing ordeal of John Grant, a schoolteacher stranded in the brutal outback town of Bundanyabba after losing his money in a two-up game. Cook presents the Yabba — as the locals call it — as a place of suffocating heat, relentless drinking, and a peculiar, aggressive hospitality that slowly strips Grant of his identity, his dignity, and his will to escape. The novel's tone is claustrophobic and merciless, illustrating how civilization's thin veneer can dissolve under the weight of isolation and despair. With lean, unflinching prose, Cook argues that the true horror of the outback is not its landscape but its capacity to reflect the darkest corners of the human soul. First published in 1961, this iconic work remains one of the most powerful and disturbing novels ever written about the Australian experience.
Author: Kenneth Cook
Format: Hardback
Published: 1981, Angus & Robertson Publishers
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: The DJ shows some fading over the spine and light shadowing over flap, otherwise it is in very good condition.There is some foxing and staining on the underside of the DJ. This is not visible on the cover. The binding is sound and vibrant with gold lettering. There is some foxing on the page edges and over the end pages - otherwise pages crisp and clean internally.
A landmark of Australian literature, Wake in Fright is a visceral and deeply unsettling psychological thriller that chronicles the harrowing ordeal of John Grant, a schoolteacher stranded in the brutal outback town of Bundanyabba after losing his money in a two-up game. Cook presents the Yabba — as the locals call it — as a place of suffocating heat, relentless drinking, and a peculiar, aggressive hospitality that slowly strips Grant of his identity, his dignity, and his will to escape. The novel's tone is claustrophobic and merciless, illustrating how civilization's thin veneer can dissolve under the weight of isolation and despair. With lean, unflinching prose, Cook argues that the true horror of the outback is not its landscape but its capacity to reflect the darkest corners of the human soul. First published in 1961, this iconic work remains one of the most powerful and disturbing novels ever written about the Australian experience.