First edition. Octavo. Fine in very good or better dustwrapper with a moderate chip on the rear panel. Inscribed by the author on the title page to poet Mark Strand: "for Mark, this piece of the Matter of Australia, with warm regards and thanks from Les. N.Y.C. 24.4.80.". Seller Inventory # 311037

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Bibliographic Details

Title: The Boys Who Stole The Funeral. A Novel ...

Publisher: Angus & Robertson Publishers, (Sydney)

Publication Date: 1980

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

A sequence of sonnets recounts the story of two young men who steal their friend's body from a city undertaker so that he can be buried at his home in rural Australia

From Publishers Weekly:

In Australian poet Murray's rough-and-tumble verse novel, two unemployed youths steal the mortal remains of an old soldier friend from a funeral parlor at midnight and bury him in his rural homeland, where he had asked to be lain to rest. This impetuous act sets off a series of personal clashes, including a confrontation between one of the duo and his father's lover, and the murder of his fellow bodysnatcher by a policeman. In the closing scene, aboriginal healers offer the surviving youth spiritual guidance as he soars aloft, surveys the continent's bloody history and binds his soul's wounds. Murray's mostly unrhymed 140-sonnet sequence combines the craggy beauty of Thomas Hardy with the ironic ambivalence of Philip Larkin. American readers will savor the exotic Aussie twang and the continually surprising language even without grasping all of the cultural allusions.

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Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA
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All books are first editions unless otherwise noted. New Jersey residents will be asked for sales tax. All items guaranteed, all items subject to prior sale. Members ABAA, ILAB.
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The Boys Who Stole The Funeral. A Novel Sequence

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