Me The Old Man
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: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: Tear at back of jacket - still structural. Pages bright, binding tight.
A hauntingly experimental masterwork of Australian fiction, Me the Old Man is a striking exploration of human isolation, societal cruelty, and the fragility of innocence. Based on a chilling real-world incident from 1965, the novel centers on an elderly Belfast immigrant who becomes trapped deep within a Sydney parkland storm drain after a sudden flash flood. Discovered by a group of local children who callously choose to keep him a secret, the old man is left to survive on nothing more than a single biscuit and a trickle of water a day for three grueling weeks. As his body decays in the dark, his mind drifts away from the rats and rising waters, seeking refuge in fragmented memories of his Irish homeland. Authors Bill Reed and Edward Nugent brilliantly construct a fractured narrative voice, intertwining Nugent’s authentic, poignant prose with Reed's unflinching examination of random violence and modern apathy. Bold, psychological, and profoundly moving, this rare vintage piece offers a powerful snapshot of human resilience when pushed to the absolute edge of existence.
Author: Bill Reed With Edward Nugent
Format: Hardback
Published: 1979, Rugby
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: Tear at back of jacket - still structural. Pages bright, binding tight.
A hauntingly experimental masterwork of Australian fiction, Me the Old Man is a striking exploration of human isolation, societal cruelty, and the fragility of innocence. Based on a chilling real-world incident from 1965, the novel centers on an elderly Belfast immigrant who becomes trapped deep within a Sydney parkland storm drain after a sudden flash flood. Discovered by a group of local children who callously choose to keep him a secret, the old man is left to survive on nothing more than a single biscuit and a trickle of water a day for three grueling weeks. As his body decays in the dark, his mind drifts away from the rats and rising waters, seeking refuge in fragmented memories of his Irish homeland. Authors Bill Reed and Edward Nugent brilliantly construct a fractured narrative voice, intertwining Nugent’s authentic, poignant prose with Reed's unflinching examination of random violence and modern apathy. Bold, psychological, and profoundly moving, this rare vintage piece offers a powerful snapshot of human resilience when pushed to the absolute edge of existence.