Wake in Fright - Kenneth Cook

"Wake in Fright" by Kenneth Cook is a disturbing and intense novel that explores the descent into madness of John Grant, a young schoolteacher who becomes stranded in the Australian Outback. The novel opens with Grant arriving in the small mining town of Bundanyabba, where he plans to spend his Christmas break before returning to his teaching job in Sydney. However, after a night of heavy drinking and gambling, Grant finds himself unable to leave the town and begins a harrowing journey that tests his sanity and morality.

As Grant becomes more immersed in the town's violent and debauched culture, he experiences a series of increasingly disturbing events, including brutal kangaroo hunting, drunken brawls, and sexual encounters with a promiscuous hotel maid. Cook's vivid and visceral descriptions of the Outback landscape and the characters who inhabit it create a sense of unease and dread that permeates the entire novel.

As Grant struggles to escape the town and return to his former life, he begins to question his own values and beliefs, leading to a shocking and unforgettable conclusion. "Wake in Fright" is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that exposes the darker side of human nature and the psychological toll of isolation and despair.

Minor wear some scribing.