{"product_id":"2026200013355-secondhand-conference-ville","title":"Conference-Ville","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrank Moorhouse, one of Australia's most shrewdly observational writers, turns his satirical lens on the absurdity of institutional life in Conference-Ville, a wickedly funny and incisive work that chronicles the pretensions, power plays, and shifting alliances that flourish behind the closed doors of professional gatherings. With characteristic wit, Moorhouse presents a cast of delegates, bureaucrats, and idealists whose grand ambitions and petty rivalries are laid bare against the sterile backdrop of the conference world, illustrating with uncomfortable precision just how little gets resolved when people are most convinced they are changing everything.\n\nMoorhouse's prose is a masterclass in ironic detachment, laced with a warmth and humanity that prevents his satire from curdling into cynicism — a balance that defines his celebrated contribution to Australian literature. Drawing on his distinctive discontinuous narrative style, he stitches together episodes and vignettes that build into a rich, composite portrait of modern social performance. A writer who always knew exactly where the bodies were buried beneath the agenda items, Moorhouse leaves the reader wondering: in Conference-Ville, is anyone actually in charge?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203360071899,"sku":"2026200013355-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/1a1697da-9460-45f0-bfd0-077c5a0f92ae.png?v=1788147969","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200013355-secondhand-conference-ville","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}