The Big Smoke
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.
Edition: 1st ed.,
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
Set against the gritty, vibrant backdrop of mid-twentieth-century Sydney, this Australian novel chronicles the struggles and ambitions of working-class characters navigating the harsh realities of city life. Darcy Niland, celebrated for his unflinching yet compassionate portrayal of ordinary Australians, presents a world where survival, dignity, and human connection are constantly tested by poverty and circumstance. With the same raw authenticity that distinguished his acclaimed The Shiralee, Niland illustrates the resilience of the human spirit through richly drawn characters whose lives intersect in the sprawling urban landscape known colloquially as The Big Smoke. The tone is both gritty and warmly humane, balancing social realism with moments of genuine tenderness and dark humor. A landmark of Australian fiction, the novel stands as a vivid document of a nation's working-class identity and the enduring hope that pulses beneath even the most difficult of lives.
Author: D'Arcy Niland
Format: Hardback
Published: 1959, Angus and Robertson
Genre: Modern fiction
Edition: 1st ed.,
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
Set against the gritty, vibrant backdrop of mid-twentieth-century Sydney, this Australian novel chronicles the struggles and ambitions of working-class characters navigating the harsh realities of city life. Darcy Niland, celebrated for his unflinching yet compassionate portrayal of ordinary Australians, presents a world where survival, dignity, and human connection are constantly tested by poverty and circumstance. With the same raw authenticity that distinguished his acclaimed The Shiralee, Niland illustrates the resilience of the human spirit through richly drawn characters whose lives intersect in the sprawling urban landscape known colloquially as The Big Smoke. The tone is both gritty and warmly humane, balancing social realism with moments of genuine tenderness and dark humor. A landmark of Australian fiction, the novel stands as a vivid document of a nation's working-class identity and the enduring hope that pulses beneath even the most difficult of lives.