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Fredy Neptune - by  Les Murray (Paperback) - 1 of 1

Fredy Neptune - by Les Murray (Paperback)

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About this item

Highlights

  • A riveting, beautiful novel in verse by Australia's greatest contemporary poet, winner of the 1996 T. S. Eliot Prize.
  • About the Author: Les Murray (1938-2019) was a widely acclaimed poet, recognized by the National Trust of Australia as one of the nation's treasures in 2012.
  • 272 Pages
  • Poetry, Australian & Oceanian

Description



Book Synopsis



A riveting, beautiful novel in verse by Australia's greatest contemporary poet, winner of the 1996 T. S. Eliot Prize.

I never learned the old top ropes,
I was always in steam.
Less capstan, less climbing,
more re-stowing cargo.
Which could be hard and slow
as farming- but to say

Why this is Valparaiso!

Or: I'm in Singapore and know my way about
takes a long time to get stale
.-from Book I, "The Middle Sea"

When German-Australian sailor Friedrich "Fredy" Boettcher is shanghaied aboard a German Navy battleship at the outbreak of World War I, the sight of frenzied mobs burning Armenian women to death in Turkey causes him, through moral shock, to lose his sense of touch. This mysterious disability, which he knows he must hide, is both protection and curse, as he orbits the high horror and low humor of a catastrophic age.Told in a blue-collar English that regains freshness by eschewing the mind-set of literary language, Fredy's picaresque life-as, perhaps, the only Nordic Superman ever-is deep-dyed in layers of irony and attains a mind-inverting resolution.



Review Quotes




"Murray's way with language and imagery is thrilling. . . . He has given his protagonist a biting plebeian voice, a vernacular that soars." --The New York Times

"Working-class lyricism undiminished in two hundred and fifty-three pages. . . . You can rely on the unexpected to keep happening here, and always to be exhilarating." --The New Yorker

"Highly charged in ideas as in language, Fredy Neptune may jump from sin to salvation and from Suez to Sydney in a single stanza, but it is no novelty act. Neither archer nor centaur, it is a novel. And a ripping good yarn." --Los Angeles Times




About the Author



Les Murray (1938-2019) was a widely acclaimed poet, recognized by the National Trust of Australia as one of the nation's treasures in 2012. He received the T. S. Eliot Prize for the Best Book of Poetry in English in 1996 for Subhuman Redneck Poems, and was also awarded the Gold Medal for Poetry presented by Queen Elizabeth II.


Murray also served as poetry editor for the conservative Australian journal Quadrant from 1990-2018. His other books include Dog Fox Field, Translations from the Natural World, Fredy Neptune: A Novel in Verse, Learning Human: Selected Poems, Conscious and Verbal, Poems the Size of Photographs, and Waiting for the Past.

Dimensions (Overall): 9.02 Inches (H) x 6.07 Inches (W) x .84 Inches (D)
Weight: .88 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 272
Genre: Poetry
Sub-Genre: Australian & Oceanian
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Format: Paperback
Author: Les Murray
Language: English
Street Date: January 10, 2000
TCIN: 90809463
UPC: 9780374526764
Item Number (DPCI): 247-43-3700
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.84 inches length x 6.07 inches width x 9.02 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.88 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
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Q: What recognition did Les Murray receive for his work?

submitted by AI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
  • A: Les Murray won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 1996 and was recognized as a national treasure in Australia.

    submitted byAI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
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Q: What is the main theme of the novel?

submitted by AI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
  • A: The novel explores the moral complexities and personal struggles of a sailor during World War I.

    submitted byAI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
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Q: What type of language does the author employ?

submitted by AI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
  • A: Murray uses a blue-collar English vernacular that is both accessible and rich in imagery.

    submitted byAI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
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Q: Who is the protagonist of the story?

submitted by AI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
  • A: The protagonist is Friedrich Fredy Boettcher, a German-Australian sailor facing moral dilemmas.

    submitted byAI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
    Ai generated

Q: What literary style is used in this book?

submitted by AI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
  • A: The book is written in a novel-in-verse format, blending poetry with narrative storytelling.

    submitted byAI Shopping Assistant - 27 days ago
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