{"product_id":"9781760295295-secondhand-bright-and-distant-shores","title":"Bright and Distant Shores","description":"Shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year and The Vance Palmer Prize They were showing the savages on the rooftop--that was the word at the kerbstone. Set amid the skyscrapers of 1890s Chicago and the far-flung islands of the South Pacific,  Bright and Distant Shores  is both a sweeping epic and a triumph of lyrical storytelling. Chicago First Equitable has won the race to construct the world's tallest building and its president, Hale Gray, hits upon a surefire way to make it an enduring landmark: to establish on the roof an exhibition of real-life 'savages'. He sponsors a South Seas voyage to collect not only weaponry and artefacts, but also 'several natives related by blood' for the company's rooftop spectacle. Caught up in this scheme are two orphans: Owen Graves, the voyage's head trader from Chicago's South Side, and Argus Niu, a mission houseboy in Melanesia--two young men haunted by their pasts. With echoes of Melville, Doctorow and Carey,  Bright and Distant Shores  is at once a remarkable love story and a breathtaking adventure that chronicles the clash of the tribal and the civilised at a pivotal moment in history. An extraordinary feat of imagination and storytelling, it will wholly seduce you. 'Hugely entertaining . . . One of the most striking new Australian novels I've read in some time, a work suffused by a generous and often joyous humanity, and unafraid to take narrative risks.' James Bradley,  The Australian 'An atmospheric, meticulously observed period drama from a footsure and stylish writer with a fine sense of narrative pace.'  The Age 'Vivid characterization and a breathless narrative pace create a riveting tale of fragile indigenous communities in pristine places vanishing before the febrile raptor-breath of capitalism . . . evocations of Chicago surprise and delight.'  Australian Financial Review","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47350498033883,"sku":"9781760295295-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/c51c11af-72d5-4d0f-bfb1-4303b7a98fec.jpg?v=1753753435","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/9781760295295-secondhand-bright-and-distant-shores","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}