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Wish: Text Classics

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( 238 ratings, 26 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Wish: Text Classics by Peter Goldsworthy explores the intersection of human and artificial intelligence. The story revolves around a linguist and his relationship with Eliza, a gorilla trained to communicate via sign language. As their connection deepens, the novel raises profound questions about language, consciousness, and the boundaries between human and machine.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate stories that explore the complexities of communication and human connection through a thought-provoking narrative. This novel intertwines themes of science, language, and emotion, creating a unique and compelling reading experience for those who enjoy delving into the essence of relationships and the barriers that often arise.

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Adrift after his divorce, J.J. takes a job teaching sign language to a gorilla. Their relationship takes an unexpected turn...

* Introduction to be placed with newspaper or magazine as an extract * Select events to be organised around publication * Review coverage in press and literary magazines * Online review coverage * Promotional giveaways to be organised with media * Featured in Text newsletters and website * Reading copies available to the trade * Advertisements in literary and current affairs publications such as the Monthly and on their websites * Promotions and giveaways with targeted subscriber groups, including book lovers such as CAE * Feature title in Text newsletters and website

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

"I'm not deaf, but I've always felt more at home in Sign. Both my parents are deaf. Deaf as posts. Deaf as adders, deaf as beetles. And proud as peacocks, Deaf Pride long before there was a word, or a sign, for it. I learnt to speak with my hands from birth; there was no other way of reaching my parents..."

J.J. is back living at home in Adelaide, unemployed and drifting after a messy divorce. Then he is offered a job teaching Sign to Eliza. His new pupil is smart, sensitive, attractive - and a gorilla recently liberated from a medical research laboratory by animal rights activists.

First published in 1995, the third novel by the acclaimed writer Peter Goldsworthy is unique in Australian literature โ€” a dazzling, moving story about scientific experimentation and ethics, language and love. This edition comes with a new introduction by James Bradley.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Wish: Text Classics by Peter Goldsworthy is praised for its intellectual challenge and playful nature, showcasing a restless imagination. Reviewers highlight its stylishness, imagination, and poignancy, noting it as unsettling yet deeply satisfying. The novel is recognised for representing a significant achievement in Goldsworthy's body of work, with a recommendation that it offers a unique experience unlike any other novel.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781922147035

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 July 2013

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 287g

Pages: 400

About the Author

Peter Goldsworthy grew up in various Australian country towns, finishing his schooling in Darwin. After graduating in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1974 he worked for several years in alcohol and drug rehabilitation, but since then has divided his working time between general practice and writing. He has won major literary awards across a range of genres- poetry, short story, novels, theatre, and opera libretti. Goldsworthy's novels have sold over 400 000 copies in Australia alone, and have been translated into European and Asian languages. His novels have three times been shortlisted for the NSW Christina Stead Fiction Prize, and twice for the Miles Franklin Award. Three Dog Night won the 2004 FAW Christina Stead Award, and was longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC prize. In 2003, his first novel, Maestro, was voted by members of the Australian Society of Authors as one of the Top 40 Australian books of all time. Five of his novels are currently being adapted for the screen, and two more - Wish and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam - for the stage. His most recent novel, Everything I Knew, published in 2008, was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Fiction Prize. A new collection of short stories, Gravel, was published in 2010. petergoldsworthy.com

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