Wake In Fright – more Australian Classics
November 21st 2007 19:49
Scratching around in the archives of Australian fiction is still unearthing some great books for me. A work colleague who I often talk books with (g’day Paul), told me about a book he read years ago, Wake In Fright by Kenneth Cook. He was unable to tell me much, as it had been a long time ago, but it was enough to stir my curiosity and after laying my hands on it, I devoured the book in two nights.
John Grant is a young school master doing time in the outback before securing the prized position of city teacher. His first year is now up and it is a short hop from Tiboonda to Bundanyabba before boarding the plane to Sydney for six glorious weeks. But through a series of adverse encounters with the locals, Grant’s escape from the one night stop-over is destroyed and he tumbles head on into the very scary world of the 1960’s rural outback, where surviving means pubs, booze, gambling, shooting, isolation and finally, denigration.
How can all this happen in a few days? Much of the blame lies directly at Grant’s feet. The classic human weaknesses are beautifully honed in his character and as a reader you find yourself growling through gritted teeth …”You idiot! What are you doing?” But Cook has taken the very human ability of rationalizing anything to clear the way for idiocy to new heights, and you are left to watch as Grant heads downhill faster than the preverbeal roller-coaster.
But Cook has also given life to the location, particularly that of Bundanyabba (don’t you love that name!). Its isolation, characters and heat laden atmosphere go along way to capturing Grant and entombing him in a backward hell. The country, the landscape itself, seems to pull its victims in until they disappear into the dry river beds like the first rains of the season.
This way of portraying Australia’s outback (an evil, yawning land of menace) seems to have been in style during the 60’s and 70’s. Maybe even as far back as the 50’s. I’ve read hints of it in Kennelly, Malouf and even Winton gives the earth a dark heart at times.
Is this how Australia’s new people viewed their country for many years? Was there, is there still, a fear of her wild, sunburnt heart? Or does it just make good writing material … after all, isolation is a fearful thing for most of us. What better way of feeding the fear than the sheer desolation of outback Australia. Enter … Wolf Creek.
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