1
of
1
The Glass Canoe
Series: Classic Australian Works
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
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Glass Canoe. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
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?
Latest News
5 Things Lizzy Learned About Romance Writers
Lizzy went along to the New Zealand Romance Writers Convention and learned lots about why...
Book Briefing - 18th August
Here's this week's book briefing - a round up of all the news and updates...
Sarah J. Maas Reveals ACOTAR 6 & 7 Covers and Titles
Sarah J. Maas has revealed the titles and covers of the next two A Court...
Win a Father’s Day Gift Box with Penguin!
Buy any Penguin Father's Day pick and you're in the draw to win a this...
5 Kiwi Children's Authors to Check Out
Lizzy is sharing 5 Kiwi authors who write amazing children's books - everything from picture...
See moreThe Glass Canoe (1976) is the pub where the male workers aggressively shelter from their wives, their lives and their work. It is both a graphic illustration of the alienation of labour under modern industrial capitalism and an insight into the suburbs that surround Australian cities. It's funny; it's tragic; it's real.
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
The Glass Canoe
The Glass Canoe by David Ireland is a classic work of Australian literature. It centres around the pub—a refuge where male workers aggressively shelter from their wives, their work, and their everyday lives. This 1976 novel offers a graphic illustration of the alienation of labour under modern industrial capitalism, providing insights into the suburbs surrounding Australian cities. It's funny, tragic, and real.
David Ireland was born in Lakemba, NSW, in 1927. After finishing school, he spent much of his working life in an oil refinery. His first novel, The Chantic Bird, was published in 1968. Throughout his career, David has received numerous accolades, including being made AO in 1981 and awarded the Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society in 1985.
He is also a recipient of the Miles Franklin Literary Award for three of his novels: The Unknown Industrial Prisoner in 1971, The Glass Canoe in 1976, and A Woman of the Future in 1979.
Series: Classic Australian Works
View all-
Lucinda Brayford
Lucinda Brayford (1946) chronicles three generations of an Anglo-Australian family around the turn of the twentieth century and contrasts both Australian and English societies. The novel offers a rich tapestry that explores the intricate dynamics between two cultures as they evolve over time. Boyd’s narrative weaves together the complexities of familial bonds, societal expectations, and the personal ambitions that drive...Paperback$7600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Impersonators
The Impersonators portrays the breakdown of family relationships and the endurance of love in a materialistic age sensitively, perceptively, and humorously. When Sylvia Foley returns to Australia after twenty years, she finds her father, Jack Cornock, ill. This and his obstinate silence provoke speculation about his will among the families of his two marriages. Sylvia becomes enmeshed in the webs...PaperbackAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Pioneers
The Pioneers won the Hodder and Stoughton All Empire Literature Prize for Australasia in 1915, awarding its author one thousand pounds and the opportunity to launch her career as a creative writer. The book is set in Gippsland and is based on the author's experiences from her time there. The Pioneers was filmed twice, once in 1916 and once in...Paperback$6000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Trap
Trap (1966) won the Miles Franklin Literary Award when it was published. Its comic and satiric elements and use of several narrative voices provide revealing interpretations of cross-cultural relations, bureaucracy, and politics in Australia. Peter Mathers was born in England in 1931 and came to Australia with his family as a child. From 1964 to 1967, he worked in Britain...Paperback$7400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Glass Canoe
The Glass Canoe The Glass Canoe by David Ireland is a classic work of Australian literature. It centres around the pub—a refuge where male workers aggressively shelter from their wives, their work, and their everyday lives. This 1976 novel offers a graphic illustration of the alienation of labour under modern industrial capitalism, providing insights into the suburbs surrounding Australian cities....PaperbackSold Out -
-
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781920897147
Publisher: Oxford University Press Australia
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 December 2003
Country: Australia
Imprint: Sydney University Press (OUP Australia and New Zea
Illustration: Illustrations
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 148.0mm
Height: 210.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 241
Also by David Ireland
View all-
A Woman Of The Future
A Woman of the Future, first published in 1979, was David Ireland's best-selling sixth novel and his third to win the Miles Franklin Award. An imaginative tour de force, it is the story of the young life of Anthea Hunt - from conception to sexual awakening. It is controversial and brilliant, and unlike anything else in Australian literature. Now published...Paperback$1799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Chantic Bird
The Chantic Bird is the confession of a teenage anarchist, who combines contempt for contemporary society with a great tenderness and warmth for his younger siblings and for Bee, the girl who looks after them. The first of David Ireland's masterful novels, The Chantic Bird contains the same characteristic indictment of the bovine mindlessness of collective humanity, and the home-owning...Paperback$1799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Glass Canoe
On hot days we jumped fully clothed into our bottomless beer glasses and pushed off from shore without a backward look. Heading for the deep, where it was calm and cool. Meat Man is a regular at the Southern Cross pub in Sydney. With his tribe, he sits and drinks and watches as life spirals around him. David Ireland's novel...Paperback$1799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Unknown Industrial Prisoner
On the shores of Botany Bay lies an oil refinery where workers are free to come and go, but they are also part of an unrelenting, alienating economy from which there is no escape. In the first of his three Miles Franklin Award-winning novels, originally published in 1971, David Ireland offers a fiercely brilliant comic portrait of Australia in the...Paperback$1799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Fifth Step
Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026 The point is to divest yourself of shame. Anything that'll make you pick up a drink in the future. It's about getting clean. After many years in the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James agrees to become the sponsor of newcomer Luka. On the journey to sobriety, the...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
David Ireland Plays 1
'Playwright David Ireland challenges people to draw lines between what they find funny and what they find outrageous' (Sydney Morning Herald). This first collection of plays by David Ireland brings together three of his most successful hits that have enjoyed numerous productions around the world, alongside two previously unpublished plays: Half a Glass of Water: 'The dialogue is brutal and...Paperback$4999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Extraordinary Life of the Wildlife Man: Death-defying encounters with crocs, sharks and wild animals
"In my line of work, knowing when to obey fear and when to ignore it is often the difference between life and death." David Ireland has handfed bull sharks, filmed inside the jaws of a saltwater crocodile, looked into the black eyes of a great white shark, and felt the breath of a lion devouring a wildebeest. In working with...PaperbackSold Out
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to WinDungeon Crawler Carl
The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Pre-orderBig Little Truths
Parenting teens is not for the faint of heart but Madeline, Jane and Celeste have been through worse. It's been a decade since the school trivia night that changed their lives forever and now they're living blissfully ordinary suburban lives. But when an anonymous grisly package arrives at the local high school, and a man in a green Volvo is...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableOut 25 Aug 2026Pre-order -
New ReleaseThe Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Goal
Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to WinCarl's Doomsday Scenario
Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...Hardback$4699Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Crescent City Paperback Box Set
A beautiful box set containing all three paperback instalments of the Crescent City series from #1 bestselling global phenomenon Sarah J. Maas. BOUND BY BLOOD. TEMPTED BY DESIRE. UNLEASHED BY DESTINY. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan - Time Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James – Telegraph Spiced...Set$5499Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to Win17% offProject Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
14% off
Red Rising
The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...Paperback$1900Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Score
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." —USA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...Set$9999Elsewhere:$12495Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whānau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readers’ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
