oliviaframme's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
mitrusheva's review against another edition
3.0
Чете се лесно и бързо, увлича, но в крайна сметка, когато я завършиш, си задаваш въпроса - имаше ли смисъл? Сякаш ядеш царевични пръчици - уж ти е вкусно, а накрая хем си гладен, хем ти е тежко...
rosseroo's review
4.0
I think I picked this book up something like 20 years ago based on my enjoyment of the author's travel writing -- it's sat on my shelves unread until two days ago. Although now an established and successful novelist, this was his debut -- and it's a crisply effective fast-paced story that, had it been written in a different era, might have been classified as pulp fiction.
Forty-something hack journalist Neil has a mid-life crisis while en route to a new job, and impulsively decides to flee America and fly to Australia. After getting his bearings in Darwin, he decides to buy an old VW van and drive across the Outback. Without spoiling things, I'll just say that he meets a young Aussie woman, and although they end up in the Outback, it's not quite the adventure he was looking for... What follows is a fair amount of page-turning fun, as he plots his escape from an over-the-top predicament.
While I enjoyed the book, it's very heavily influenced by another debut novel. Australian writer Kenneth Cook's 1961 novel Wake In Fright, also features an educated outsider who gets stuck in the Outback with men who get offended that he doesn't want to share their idea of camaraderie. Both books also feature somewhat twisted sexual situations, as well as prominent use of kangaroos. Cook's book was made into an terrifying film in 1971 (as well as a forthcoming miniseries), and Kennedy's was also made into a more slapstick one in 1997. Kennedy provided the Foreword to a recently discovered manuscript of Cook's, published as Fear is the Driver, so I'm certain he drew inspiration from him.
Forty-something hack journalist Neil has a mid-life crisis while en route to a new job, and impulsively decides to flee America and fly to Australia. After getting his bearings in Darwin, he decides to buy an old VW van and drive across the Outback. Without spoiling things, I'll just say that he meets a young Aussie woman, and although they end up in the Outback, it's not quite the adventure he was looking for... What follows is a fair amount of page-turning fun, as he plots his escape from an over-the-top predicament.
While I enjoyed the book, it's very heavily influenced by another debut novel. Australian writer Kenneth Cook's 1961 novel Wake In Fright, also features an educated outsider who gets stuck in the Outback with men who get offended that he doesn't want to share their idea of camaraderie. Both books also feature somewhat twisted sexual situations, as well as prominent use of kangaroos. Cook's book was made into an terrifying film in 1971 (as well as a forthcoming miniseries), and Kennedy's was also made into a more slapstick one in 1997. Kennedy provided the Foreword to a recently discovered manuscript of Cook's, published as Fear is the Driver, so I'm certain he drew inspiration from him.
alanfederman's review
3.0
Still reading Aussie-themed books and this was recommended to me by Ed (brother and Sydneysider). I love dark humor and this was quite dark. At times frightening and at times hilarious, this seemed a uniquely Australian book.
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