 First edition (Australia) | |
| Author | Peter Carey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | UQP (Australia) Faber and Faber (UK) Harper & Row (US) |
Publication date | 1981 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-571-11769-4 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 8075118 |
| Followed by | Illywhacker |
Bliss is the first novel by Australian writer Peter Carey. [1] Published in 1981, the book won that year's Miles Franklin Award. [2]
Written as a dark, comic fable, the story concerns an advertising executive, Harry Joy, who briefly 'dies' of a heart attack. On being resuscitated, he realizes that the life he has previously drifted amiably through is in fact Hell – literally so to Harry. His wife is unfaithful, while his son is selling drugs, and his daughter is a communist selling herself to buy them. In one of the novel's more shocking scenes, glimpsed through a window, incest occurs.
Redemption comes in the form of Honey Barbara – a pantheist, healer and prostitute. In the words of the book's blurb "Honey is to Harry as Isis is to Osiris. Together they conquer Hell and retire to the forest where their children inherit the legend of paradise regained." But Harry must die for a second time to be truly saved.
In 1985 Bliss was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by Ray Lawrence and starring Barry Otto. [3]
Commissioned by Opera Australia, Brett Dean and Amanda Holden wrote an opera of the same name, which premiered in March 2010 at the Sydney Opera House, directed by Neil Armfield, conducted by Elgar Howarth, and featuring Peter Coleman-Wright as Harry Joy.
Tom Wright adapted in 2018 a stage version for the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, and the Belvoir, Sydney. [4]
Australian singer-songwriter James Gabriel Keogh took his stage name Vance Joy from Harry Joy's grandfather in this novel. [5]
Peter Philip Carey AO is an Australian novelist.
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.
Timothy John Winton is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles Franklin Award four times.
Peter David Goldsworthy is an Australian writer and medical practitioner. He has won major awards for his short stories, poetry, novels, and opera libretti. He is known for his novels Honk If You Are Jesus, and Three Dog Night. His 1989 novel Maestro is being made into an upcoming film.
Bliss is a 1985 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Ray Lawrence, and co-written by Lawrence and Peter Carey, based on Carey's 1981 novel of the same name. It stars Barry Otto, Lynette Curran and Helen Jones.
The Australian Literature Society Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature for "an outstanding literary work in the preceding calendar year." From 1928 to 1974 it was awarded by the Australian Literature Society, then from 1983 by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, when the two organisations were merged.
David Neil Ireland was an Australian novelist.
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Bliss is an opera in three acts by Brett Dean to a libretto by Amanda Holden. The libretto is based on Peter Carey's novel Bliss, which had earlier been made into the 1985 film Bliss. The opera premiered at the Sydney Opera House on 12 March 2010 and has subsequently been performed in the United Kingdom and Germany. A performance of the work lasts for about two hours and forty minutes.
Matthew Lutton OAM is an Australian theatre and opera director.
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The Drowner (1996) is a novel by Australian author Robert Drewe.
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Tom Wright is an Australian theatre writer, mostly known for his adaptations and translations.
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