{"product_id":"9781921961342","title":"Blueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe\u003c\/i\u003e, Wayne Macauley's first novel, is a bitingly dark take on the great Australian dream. Fable-like, effortlessly readable and ultimately moving, it shows us the depth of Macauley's talent.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e  Bram and his fellow residents are drawn by a dream: the promise of a freeway leading to a new suburb north of the city. The houses are built, but the freeway never comes. One by one, the dreamers leave, until only a small, hardcore group is left, including Bram, One-eyed Michael, and Michael's self-possessed daughter Jodie. As the disused houses crumble around them they barricade themselves in. They have a gun, a bulldozer, and a hellbent determination to stay till the end, whatever, whenever, that is. But the authorities have other ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eWayne Macauley\u003c\/b\u003e is a Melbourne writer. He is the author of three highly acclaimed novels, \u003ci\u003eBlueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCaravan Story\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Cook\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e'Wayne Macauley has the soul of a poet and his surreal novella is stunningly written...It is a satire of exquisite poise and confidence...If more Australian literature was of this calibre, we'd be laughing.' \u003ci\u003eAge\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e'[It was] like falling into a bale of barbed wire in the dark and fighting to get out till morning. The more I struggled, the more it got under my skin.' \u003ci\u003eBulletin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e'A salutary fable about the horrors awaiting our disaffected modern citizenry...lasting visual images and resonant symbolism.'     \u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e'Bewitching...ethereal...hallucinatory...In an era when many Australian novelists are playing it safe...Wayne Macauley is an ambitious talent worth watching.' \u003ci\u003eWet Ink\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e'Tapping the hidden heart of a different Australia...this is original Australian writing at its best.' \u003ci\u003eCourier Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Text Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47176581578992,"sku":"9781921961342","price":11.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781921961342_p0.jpg?v=1763632225","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781921961342","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}