Wake In Fright by
Kenneth Cook
pbk out September 02
(Prion Books)
at £6.99
This is a re-issue of a notable book first published in 1961, which established the author
as a writer of distinction. His previous novel was withdrawn on threat of legal action,
and although he went on to write over twenty further books, this is the one for which he
is remembered, even finding its way to being a prescribed school text. It was made into
a film called 'Outback' with Donald Pleasance and has been translated into several
languages.
It is a relatively simple story in terms of plot, but the power of its writing and the
evocation of the barren, soulless centre of Australia is its strength. This edition has a
long foreword by Peter Temple, one of Oz's premier crime-writers and offers both an
insight into Ken Cook's background and an explanation of the territory about which he
writes.
The story describes a few days in the life of John Grant, a school teacher posted to a
God-forsaken settlement in the outback. He has saved enough for a six-week return to
civilisation in his native Sydney during the summer vacation and sets off by train to
Bundanyabba, the nearest town with an airport. An overnight stay there turns into in
increasing disastrous nightmare, where he falls in with bad company and rapidly
degenerates into a hung-over, penniless sadist. His efforts to extricate himself are
riddled with misfortune – as the Foreword suggests, the film version probably set back
Australian tourism by twenty years!
Worth reading, just to appreciate what some gifted people can do with a pen or
typewriter.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
