In The Land Of Oz

by  Howard Jacobson

Hamish Hamilton, 1987, [First Edition], ISBN 0241121108, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, top fore edge a trifle dusty, previous owners stamp on inside front cover, dustjacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with minor rubbing and bumping (see photographs)

“In 1837 the explorer George Grey landed in the far North-west of Australia, together with five men, three dogs, an undisclosed number of ponies, and two pints of water to go round; his express intention being to familiarize the natives with the British temperament and character.  One hundred and fifty years later, Howard Jacobson – an ardent admirer of Grey’s genius for comic exploration – flies into Darwin, marginally  better prepared, and with only one travelling companion, to do the same.
Taking whatever means of transport presents itself, but always remembering to be careful where he sits, he travels the circumference of the country, and then bisects it for good measure, encountering crocodile wrestlers, to say nothing of an Arab/Israeli conflict, in the Kimberleys; watching Ghost Busters on video with the entire Aboriginal population of Aeryonga; losing three days, four nights, and a sizable portion of his memory on the smallest but most potent winery in the Barossa; even receiving the last drunken confession of an ex-Hungarian SS Officer at a bar in Coober Pedy.
It is a perilous journey.  Sharks nibble at the shoreline; crocodiles cruise the creeks; the outback is alive and ticking with venomous snakes and spiders and feral feminists.  At the foot of Ayers Rock the dingoes stalk his camper-van; in a cleft between The Olgas the Peace-People invite him to their bus.”