{"title":"Luke Kennard","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the imaginative worlds of Luke Kennard, a notable voice in contemporary British literature. Known for his sharp wit and inventive storytelling, Kennard seamlessly blends elements of \u003cem\u003eGeneral Fiction\u003c\/em\u003e with \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e. His works are richly layered, offering a unique perspective on modern life through a lens of humour and empathy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cstrong\u003eThe Book of Jonah\u003c\/strong\u003e, Kennard reimagines the classic biblical tale within a contemporary setting, delivering a narrative that is both profound and hilariously disarming. Delve into the complexities of personal redemption and the absurdities of the human condition in this well-crafted modern parable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnother intriguing read is \u003cstrong\u003eBlack Bag\u003c\/strong\u003e, a novel that showcases Kennard's trademark style of blending the mundane with the surreal. It's a thought-provoking journey, blurring the lines between reality and imagination, encouraging readers to question their perceptions of daily life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you're a fan of innovative fiction or enjoy narratives that challenge conventions, Luke Kennard's work is a delightful addition to your reading collection, offering stories filled with insight, satire, and engaging prose.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-book-of-jonah-by-luke-kennard-9781035069262","title":"The Book of Jonah","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eKennard's distinctive voice - surreal, funny, anxious, always overthinking, and cringingly self-deprecating - has made him one of the most widely liked and imitated British poets under forty\u003c\/em\u003e - Tristram Fane Saunders, TLS\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNone of the Old Testament prophets was especially happy or confident in their calling, but Jonah was the only one who rejected it outright, disobeying direct instruction from God and literally running away. In \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Jonah\u003c\/em\u003e, Luke Kennard transforms the unique and awkward position Jonah's story occupies in scripture - part dream, part joke, part provocation - into a madcap picaresque which marries the sacred and the absurd.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThough Jonah's encounter with the whale is most commonly interpreted as the story of a reluctant prophet being punished by his maker, Kennard's Jonah is more wily business traveller than seer. Taking his instruction instead from non-governmental organizations, arts development agencies, and public-relations gurus, this Jonah keeps relentlessly busy, accepting any assignment that will take him further away from Nineveh and drown out the word of God in his ears. On his travels, he meets errant writers, fixers, artists and consultants, but nobody who can give him a sense of what his work might be beyond a five-star capitalist purgatory in a series of exotic locations. What would it mean to be a prophet - or even a false prophet - in this milieu?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTaking on the decimation of funding for the arts, the emptiness of the hero's journey, and a literary culture regarded by wider society with cynicism, ignorance, and apathy, \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Jonah\u003c\/em\u003e is a blistering new collection from the Forward Prize-winning author of \u003cem\u003eNotes on the Sonnets\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46837369536748,"sku":"9781035069262","price":49.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/14213383482556.jpg?v=1758607529"},{"product_id":"black-bag-by-luke-kennard-9781399826129","title":"Black Bag","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Luke Kennard's audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr Blend's students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of autumn term lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her own, in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag? Meanwhile, the actor's childhood friend and flatmate forms a vision for monetising this new situation...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, \u003ci\u003eBlack Bag\u003c\/i\u003e is a firework of a novel: blazingly funny and profoundly humane.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47073905967340,"sku":"9781399826129","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781399826129.jpg?v=1765159035"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/luke-kennard.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}