{"title":"Luke Carman","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the captivating world of Luke Carman, an acclaimed Australian author whose works offer a unique blend of vivacious prose and thought-provoking narratives. Known for his keen observations and distinct storytelling style, Carman's writings invite readers to explore the nuances of everyday life through the lens of his compelling characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEver since his debut, \u003cem\u003eAn Elegant Young Man\u003c\/em\u003e, Carman has been capturing the imaginations of readers with stories that resonate on both personal and universal levels. This debut work, which sits in the realm of General Fiction, showcases the author's ability to weave humour with poignant introspection, creating a mosaic of suburban Sydney life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCarman continues to enchant his audience with \u003cem\u003eAn Ordinary Ecstasy\u003c\/em\u003e. Also falling under General Fiction, this book further exemplifies his skill in navigating the complexities of human emotion and the often chaotic nature of life's journey. His narrative prowess draws readers into a rich tapestry of experiences that stir reflection and understanding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAdding to his literary repertoire, \u003cem\u003eIntimate Antipathies\u003c\/em\u003e delves into the realm of Arts \u0026amp; Culture, offering insights into the intricacies of artistic expression and cultural identity. Here, Carman's exploration of themes is both intimate and expansive, showcasing his deep engagement with the world around him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLuke Carman's collections promise an enlightening reading experience, blending wit, intellect, and emotional depth. Whether you're a long-time admirer or new to his works, each book provides an opportunity to ponder life's myriad wonders and mysteries.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"an-elegant-young-man-by-luke-carman-9781922146458","title":"An Elegant Young Man","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn Elegant Young Man\u003c\/em\u003e was shortlisted for the 2014 ALS Gold Medal. For a long time, Western Sydney has been the political flash-point of the nation, but it has been absent from Australian literature. Luke Carman's first book of fiction changes all that: a collection of monologues and stories which tells it how it is on Australia's cultural frontier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis young, self-conscious but determined hero navigates his way through the complications of his divorced family and an often perilous social world, with its Fobs, Lebbbos, Greeks, Serbs, Grubby Boys, and scumbag Aussies—friends and enemies. He loves Whitman and Kerouac, Leonard Cohen and Henry Rollins, is awkward with girls, and has an invisible friend called Tom. His neighbour Wessam tells him he should write a book called \u003cem\u003eHow to Be Gay\u003c\/em\u003e—and now he has.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCarman's style is packed with thought and energy: it captures the voices of the street and conveys fear and anger, beauty and affection, with restless intensity. \u003cem\u003eAn Elegant Young Man\u003c\/em\u003e is street poetry for contemporary Sydney, and it demonstrates what is most exciting and innovative in Australia's emerging writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e- Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/em\u003e review\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWinner of the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing at the 2015 NSW Premier's Literary Awards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46710501703916,"sku":"9781922146458","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9875703482872.jpg?v=1754151259"},{"product_id":"an-ordinary-ecstasy-by-luke-carman-9781922725240","title":"An Ordinary Ecstasy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA new collection of stories by the award-winning author of \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Elegant Young Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e and \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eIntimate Antipathies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe seven stories that make up \u003ci\u003eAn Ordinary Ecstasy\u003c\/i\u003e explore the lives of people whose days are awash with enigma, wonder, and epiphany: a musician who rides the winding railway up into the mountains at dusk, the lost retiree who walks the streets of his suburb at dawn, the new lovers who take to their balcony to watch surfers make their incisions in the surging waves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere are middle-aged men in need of connection, journalists who dream of wild fancies while smiling and nodding through the drudgery of interviews, young couples whose losses are raw, passing the time in ten-pin bowling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCarman's new collection is founded on a principle observed by the novelist Joseph Conrad: 'There is not a place of splendour or a dark corner of the earth that does not deserve, if only in passing, a glance of wonder.' In stories of desire, grief, and exaltation, the collection reflects, as its title suggests, on life at its most ordinarily ecstatic - life, in other words, such as it is.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for Luke Carman:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Carman's writing is characterised by verbal inventiveness, sitting somewhere between swagger and sincerity...street poetry for contemporary Australia.' \u003c\/strong\u003e- \u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Brings a vast suburban emptiness to brilliant life.' \u003c\/strong\u003e- \u003ci\u003eThe Australian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46710516941036,"sku":"9781922725240","price":34.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/15663523482872.jpg?v=1754153295"},{"product_id":"intimate-antipathies-by-luke-carman-9781925818123","title":"Intimate Antipathies","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIntimate Antipathies\u003c\/i\u003e is the much-anticipated new book by Luke Carman, the award-winning author of the cult classic \u003ci\u003eAn Elegant Young Man\u003c\/i\u003e. The essays in this collection follow the writer in his oscillations through anxiety, outrage, and ecstasy, and in the process explore the connections between writing and dreaming, writing and mental illness, writing and the complications of family life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom his famous jeremiad against arts administrators in 'Getting Square in a Jerking Circle', through the psychotic attack brought on by the collapse of his marriage, to his surreal account of meeting with Gerald Murnane at a golf club in the remote Victorian village of Goroke, Carman explores the particular challenges faced by writers who grow up in the contested borderlands of the suburbs - always returning to his great obsession, the home on a small mountain in Sydney's west, where his antipathies with the real world first began to shape his imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLuke Carman's story collection \u003ci\u003eAn Elegant Young Man\u003c\/i\u003e won the 2015 NSW Premier's New Writing Award and was shortlisted for the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, the Steele Rudd Short Story Prize, and the Readings New Writing Award. He was named a \u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e Best Young Novelist for the book, which is about a narrator, also named Luke, who bears many similarities to the essayist in this collection – an outspoken and self-mocking innocent who is beguiled by romance and yearns for transcendence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Somewhere between swagger and sincerity... street poetry for contemporary Australia.' - \u003ci\u003eMadeleine Watts, Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A bogan flaneur: part connoisseur, part anthropologist of the rich and fractious field of difference through which he moves.' - \u003ci\u003eGeordie Williamson, Australian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47340872532204,"sku":"9781925818123","price":34.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18506563482873.jpg?v=1772173823"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/luke-carman.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}