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Wake in Fright
Wake in Fright | Kenneth Cook
3 posts | 3 read | 1 reading | 7 to read
Wake in Fright tells of a young teacher, John Grant, who arrives in a rough outback mining town planning to stay overnight before catching the plane to Sydney. But, on this one hot night in Bundanyabba, Grant decides to go into a smoky, crowded pub... In the company of shadowy strangers, one night stretches to five, in which he discovers gambling, ruins himself financially and plunges headlong toward his own destruction in many other ways. Thus, when the alcohol-induced mist lifts, the educated John Grant is no more. Instead there is a self-loathing man in a desolate park, dirty, red-eyed, sitting against a tree and looking at a rifle with one bullet left... There is no Australian novel quite likeWake in Fright, reissued here with an introduction by Peter Temple and afterword by David Stratton. Although it's forty-eight years since the novel first appeared, it remains fresh, compelling and utterly gripping. Now in a stunning film tie-in edition, this Australian classic will be firmly back on the Australian cultural map.
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cant_i'm_booked
Wake In Fright: Text Classics | Peter Temple, Kenneth Cook
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Pickpick

Saw the 1971 film first, before immediately rifling through my bookstore‘s paperback section to find the 1961 novel. A young schoolteacher, in Australia‘s bleak western deserts, stops through the mining town of Bundanyabba for a night, on his way to Sydney. Little does he know that he will soon lose his train ticket out, as well as all of his money, dignity and sanity as he descends into a weekend of dark depravity. “Welcome to the ‘Yabba, mate!”

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MandaChittles
Wake in Fright | Kenneth Cook
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Well this is pretty grim so far....
The dark side of remote Australia. A solid reflection of harsh people living on harsh land.. #aussiesrule2018

CarolynM I had to read this at school - it's a classic, apparently. I HATED it!! 7y
JennyM I only just saw the tv series at Christmas. 7y
KimHM If this doesn‘t work for you but you‘re still interested in dark Australia, may I suggest Janette Turner Hospital‘s Oyster. It‘s profound but also exciting and beautifully written. One of my favorite novels ever. 7y
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MandaChittles @KimHM - thanks for the recommendation! 7y
MandaChittles @JennyM - was it good? 7y
JennyM @MandaChittles it was ok. Was on channel 10. Hope you‘re enjoying it. 7y
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Marchpane
Wake in Fright | Kenneth Cook
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Beer and blood drenched nightmare in the outback.

Brilliantly plays up the culture clash, fear and mistrust between city and country Australia. 'Nother beer mate?

#192019challenge, published in 1961.

Kosugi Great movie also. 8y
Marchpane @Kosugi It is! Very trippy and disturbing. I was not expecting to see real footage for the roo hunt, that was brutal. 8y
MandaChittles Local Brisbane book group is reading this for April! 7y
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