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Synopsis
1997 kicks off with a startling and original literary debut...a haunting, powerful story of passion, betrayal, obsession and loss. A body is found in the sandhills on the southern coast of New South Wales. David is an archaeologist, leading a team of students digging up the sandhills, searching for evidence of a Portuguese ship he believes was wrecked there in the fifteenth century. Hideously disfigured by injuries he received in New Guinea during the Second World War, Kurt now lies dying in a small shack near the sandhills. All his life he, like David, has been obsessed by the stories of the ship. When David meets Kurt, he believes the old man has the answers he so desperately wants. Answers he will do everything to discover...The story swings back and forward in time, from the days of the Portuguese sailors and their fiercely protected maritime secrets, to the politics of history in a 1930s university, to the playing out of David's obsession in the present. Erotic, sensuous and erudite, Wrack draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery in a novel that is as unusual as it is beautiful. James Bradley was born in Adelaide in 1967. He studied at the University of Adelaide, where he completed a law degree and took honours in philosophy, and later at the University of South Australia and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He has worked as a law clerk, judge's associate, solicitor, research assistant and editor and more recently has achieved some modicum of fame as a video shop attendant. As well as writing and reviewing for newspapers and magazines, he has written a book of poetry, "Paper Nautilus", which was shortlisted for the 1995 National Book Council Banjo Awards, and edited "Blur", and anthology of work by young Australian writers, also published by Vintage. He lives in Sydney. Forget grunge, here's a young Australian writer who's breaking the mould of those confused-young-men first novels with an assured work of great imagination and powe
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Review
Shipwrecks and lost loves, the Mercator projection and sand dunes, 20th-century passions and the age of exploration: this ambitious first novel by James Bradley crosses continents and centuries to explore the notion that Australia may have been discovered by the Portuguese. David is an Australian archaeologist combing sand dunes that he thinks may be hiding an ancient Portuguese ship. What he finds instead is a human body from the 1940s. An old hermit named Kurt Seligmann advances mysteriously to the fore of the narrative, voicing memories that may or may not touch on the history of this corpse. More crucially to the obsessed David, Kurt seems to possess some knowledge of the fabled sand-sunk ship. As the old man slips away into illness, David's former lover, Dr. Claire Sen, joins him at his bedside vigil. David and Claire find their own doomed story subtly twinned in Kurt's tale of obsession and love in wartime Australia.
Genuinely gripping, ingeniously plotted, and always convincingly researched, Bradley's novel has plenty of propulsive intelligence to keep the reader hooked. Bradley's first book was a volume of award-winning poetry, and he brings a poet's aptitude for language and repeated images to Wrack. Sometimes, however, this preoccupation hamstrings an otherwise compelling adventure tale. Imagery of shards crops up incessantly, which is perhaps a bit literal-minded for a novel with an archaeologist protagonist. "A memory, or perhaps less than a memory, a shard, a fragment" is a typical (fragmented) sentence--not very helpful prose and not even very nice poetry. If a book is going to invoke Michael Ondaatje as heavily as this one does, it needs to deliver more compelling writing. Still, fans of The English Patient--and Dava Sobel's Longitude, for that matter--should find much to admire in Bradley's cleverly looped and configured tale of ships at sea and lovers in sand.
About the Author
James Bradley, lauded as one of Australia's most talented new writers, lives in Sydney. Wrack won the 1998 Fellowship of Australian Writers Literature Award and was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize. Holt will publish Bradley's new novel, The Deep Field in May 2000.
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- PublisherVintage
- Publication date1997
- ISBN 10 0091834945
- ISBN 13 9780091834944
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages341
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Wrack
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Trafalgar Square Publishing, 1997
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Wrack (Paperback)
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Random House Australia, Milsons Point, 1997
ISBN 10: 0091834945
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 1997 kicks off with a startling and original literary debut . a haunting, powerful story of passion, betrayal, obsession and loss. A body is found in the sandhills on the southern coast of New South Wales. David is an archaeologist, leading a team of students digging up the sandhills, searching for evidence of a Portuguese ship he believes was wrecked there in the fifteenth century. Hideously disfigured by injuries he received in New Guinea during the Second World War, Kurt now lies dying in a small shack near the sandhills. All his life he, like David, has been obsessed by the stories of the ship. When David meets Kurt, he believes the old man has the answers he so desperately wants. Answers he will do everything to discover . The story swings back and forward in time, from the days of the Portuguese sailors and their fiercely protected maritime secrets, to the politics of history in a 1930s university, to the playing out of David's obsession in the present. Erotic, sensuous and erudite, Wrack draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery in a novel that is as unusual as it is beautiful. THE AUTHOR: James Bradley was born in Adelaide in 1967. He studied at the University of Adelaide, where he completed a law degree and took honours in philosophy, and later at the University of South Australia and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He has worked as a law clerk, judge's associate, solicitor, research assistant and editor and more recently has achieved some modicum of fame as a video shop attendant. As well as writing and reviewing for newspapers and magazines, he has written a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, which was shortlisted for the 1995 National Book Council Banjo Awards, and edited Blur, and anthology of work by young Australian writers, also published by Vintage. He lives in Sydney. SELLING POINTS: *** Forget grunge, here's a young Australian writer who's breaking the mould of those confused-young-men first novels with an assured work of great imagination and power, reaching into our history and coming up with a story of dangerous passion, obsession and suspense. *** The mystery of the Mahogany Ship in Warnambool (upon which the fictional wreck in Wrack is based) has intrigued generations of Australians. It is a genuine 'unsolved mystery' and every so often teams have gone down to Warnambool to try to uncover it. *** Wrack is a detective story (where is the ship? will they find it?) and contains not one but two love stories AAA both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. *** It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. *** The novel is unusual in that it will feature colour plates of the beautiful sixteenth-century maps of Australia that led many to believe that Portuguese sailors did reach the east coast of the continent before Captain Cook. *** A fascinating blend of history and fiction that presents a new perspective on our past in a gripping read. Draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery. This is a detective story, and contains two love stories - both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780091834944
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Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. First Edition. Size: Octavo (standard book size). 341 pages. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. Edges foxed and browned. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilogram. Category: Fiction; ISBN: 0091834945. ISBN/EAN: 9780091834944. Dewey Code: 823 21. All our pictures shown here are of the actual item, not stock photos. Inventory No: RB15458. For further info on this title, click on the "Contact Seller" button within this listing. We will try to reply within 24 hours. Otherwise you can order right now (inclusive of shipping options) from the "Add to Basket" button to the right. Seller Inventory # RB15458
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Paperback. Condition: Good. David Norfolk, an archeologist searching for a Portuguese ship, long rumored to be buried beneath the sand dunes of Southern Australia, unearths instead the body of a man murdered 50 years ago. 341 pages. Seller Inventory # 1471042
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Paperback. Condition: In good condition. 1997 kicks off with a startling and original literary debut.a haunting, powerful story of passion, betrayal, obsession and loss. A body is found in the sandhills on the southern coast of New South Wales. David is an archaeologist, leading a team of students digging up the sandhills, searching for evidence of a Portuguese ship he believes was wrecked there in the fifteenth century. Hideously disfigured by injuries he received in New Guinea during the Second World War, Kurt now lies dying in a small shack near the sandhills. All his life he, like David, has been obsessed by the stories of the ship. When David meets Kurt, he believes the old man has the answers he so desperately wants. Answers he will do everything to discover.The story swings back and forward in time, from the days of the Portuguese sailors and their fiercely protected maritime secrets, to the politics of history in a 1930s university, to the playing out of David's obsession in the present. Erotic, sensuous and erudite, Wrack draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery in a novel that is as unusual as it is beautiful. James Bradley was born in Adelaide in 1967. He studied at the University of Adelaide, where he completed a law degree and took honours in philosophy, and later at the University of South Australia and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He has worked as a law clerk, judge's associate, solicitor, research assistant and editor and more recently has achieved some modicum of fame as a video shop attendant. As well as writing and reviewing for newspapers and magazines, he has written a book of poetry, "Paper Nautilus", which was shortlisted for the 1995 National Book Council Banjo Awards, and edited "Blur", and anthology of work by young Australian writers, also published by Vintage. He lives in Sydney. Forget grunge, here's a young Australian writer who's breaking the mould of those confused-young-men first novels with an assured work of great imagination and power, reaching into our history and coming up with a story of dangerous passion, obsession and suspense. The mystery of the Mahogany Ship in Warnambool (upon which the fictional wreck in Wrack is based) has intrigued generations of Australians. It is a genuine 'unsolved mystery' and every so often teams have gone down to Warnambool to try to uncover it. "Wrack" is a detective story (where is the ship? will they find it?) and contains not one but two love stories - both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. The novel is unusual in that it will feature colour plates of the beautiful sixteenth-century maps of Australia that led many to believe that Portuguese sailors did reach the east coast of the continent before Captain Cook. This work presents a fascinating blend of history and fiction that presents a new perspective on our past in a gripping read. Seller Inventory # 24147093
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Wrack (Paperback)
Published by
Random House Australia, Milsons Point, 1997
ISBN 10: 0091834945
ISBN 13: 9780091834944
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Seller: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, Australia
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 1997 kicks off with a startling and original literary debut . a haunting, powerful story of passion, betrayal, obsession and loss. A body is found in the sandhills on the southern coast of New South Wales. David is an archaeologist, leading a team of students digging up the sandhills, searching for evidence of a Portuguese ship he believes was wrecked there in the fifteenth century. Hideously disfigured by injuries he received in New Guinea during the Second World War, Kurt now lies dying in a small shack near the sandhills. All his life he, like David, has been obsessed by the stories of the ship. When David meets Kurt, he believes the old man has the answers he so desperately wants. Answers he will do everything to discover . The story swings back and forward in time, from the days of the Portuguese sailors and their fiercely protected maritime secrets, to the politics of history in a 1930s university, to the playing out of David's obsession in the present. Erotic, sensuous and erudite, Wrack draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery in a novel that is as unusual as it is beautiful. THE AUTHOR: James Bradley was born in Adelaide in 1967. He studied at the University of Adelaide, where he completed a law degree and took honours in philosophy, and later at the University of South Australia and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He has worked as a law clerk, judge's associate, solicitor, research assistant and editor and more recently has achieved some modicum of fame as a video shop attendant. As well as writing and reviewing for newspapers and magazines, he has written a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, which was shortlisted for the 1995 National Book Council Banjo Awards, and edited Blur, and anthology of work by young Australian writers, also published by Vintage. He lives in Sydney. SELLING POINTS: *** Forget grunge, here's a young Australian writer who's breaking the mould of those confused-young-men first novels with an assured work of great imagination and power, reaching into our history and coming up with a story of dangerous passion, obsession and suspense. *** The mystery of the Mahogany Ship in Warnambool (upon which the fictional wreck in Wrack is based) has intrigued generations of Australians. It is a genuine 'unsolved mystery' and every so often teams have gone down to Warnambool to try to uncover it. *** Wrack is a detective story (where is the ship? will they find it?) and contains not one but two love stories AAA both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. *** It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. *** The novel is unusual in that it will feature colour plates of the beautiful sixteenth-century maps of Australia that led many to believe that Portuguese sailors did reach the east coast of the continent before Captain Cook. *** A fascinating blend of history and fiction that presents a new perspective on our past in a gripping read. Draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery. This is a detective story, and contains two love stories - both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780091834944
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WRACK
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0091834945
ISBN 13: 9780091834944
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Soft cover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Covers are rubbed, worn and stained around edges. Sticker on back cover. Edges and some pages foxed and stained. Else book is in good condition. Signed by author on title page. *We always describe the faults of our books meticulously, they usually present better than they sound. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # FIC0440
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Wrack (Paperback)
Published by
Random House Australia, Milsons Point, 1997
ISBN 10: 0091834945
ISBN 13: 9780091834944
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 1997 kicks off with a startling and original literary debut . a haunting, powerful story of passion, betrayal, obsession and loss. A body is found in the sandhills on the southern coast of New South Wales. David is an archaeologist, leading a team of students digging up the sandhills, searching for evidence of a Portuguese ship he believes was wrecked there in the fifteenth century. Hideously disfigured by injuries he received in New Guinea during the Second World War, Kurt now lies dying in a small shack near the sandhills. All his life he, like David, has been obsessed by the stories of the ship. When David meets Kurt, he believes the old man has the answers he so desperately wants. Answers he will do everything to discover . The story swings back and forward in time, from the days of the Portuguese sailors and their fiercely protected maritime secrets, to the politics of history in a 1930s university, to the playing out of David's obsession in the present. Erotic, sensuous and erudite, Wrack draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery in a novel that is as unusual as it is beautiful. THE AUTHOR: James Bradley was born in Adelaide in 1967. He studied at the University of Adelaide, where he completed a law degree and took honours in philosophy, and later at the University of South Australia and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He has worked as a law clerk, judge's associate, solicitor, research assistant and editor and more recently has achieved some modicum of fame as a video shop attendant. As well as writing and reviewing for newspapers and magazines, he has written a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, which was shortlisted for the 1995 National Book Council Banjo Awards, and edited Blur, and anthology of work by young Australian writers, also published by Vintage. He lives in Sydney. SELLING POINTS: *** Forget grunge, here's a young Australian writer who's breaking the mould of those confused-young-men first novels with an assured work of great imagination and power, reaching into our history and coming up with a story of dangerous passion, obsession and suspense. *** The mystery of the Mahogany Ship in Warnambool (upon which the fictional wreck in Wrack is based) has intrigued generations of Australians. It is a genuine 'unsolved mystery' and every so often teams have gone down to Warnambool to try to uncover it. *** Wrack is a detective story (where is the ship? will they find it?) and contains not one but two love stories AAA both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. *** It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. *** The novel is unusual in that it will feature colour plates of the beautiful sixteenth-century maps of Australia that led many to believe that Portuguese sailors did reach the east coast of the continent before Captain Cook. *** A fascinating blend of history and fiction that presents a new perspective on our past in a gripping read. Draws the reader into a web of lies, sex and mystery. This is a detective story, and contains two love stories - both love stories strained and twisted by the protagonists' obsession with finding the ship. It is a meditation on the nature of history and how we rewrite it to suit our own prejudices. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780091834944
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