{"title":"Lech Blaine","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the captivating world of \u003cstrong\u003eLech Blaine\u003c\/strong\u003e, an acclaimed author known for his profound storytelling and incisive exploration of contemporary issues. Blaine's works weave personal narratives with broader societal themes, making his books both deeply personal and universally relatable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAustralian Gospel: A Family Saga\u003c\/em\u003e is a compelling journey through family dynamics, exploring how personal histories intersect with national identity. This saga delves into the complexities of heritage and the enduring bonds that define us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBad Cop\u003c\/em\u003e offers a gripping look into the world of law enforcement, unraveling the moral complexities and challenges faced within the system. It's a thought-provoking piece that engages with current affairs, encouraging readers to examine the intricate layers of justice and ethics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLech Blaine's breakout memoir, \u003cem\u003eCar Crash\u003c\/em\u003e, provides an introspective reflection on a life-altering event. With poignant honesty, Blaine navigates the aftermath of a tragic accident, exploring grief, resilience, and the journey towards healing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEach book in this collection showcases Lech Blaine's literary prowess, as he tackles themes of identity, morality, and personal growth with elegance and authenticity. Step into his world and be prepared for narratives that challenge, inform, and inspire.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"australian-gospel-by-lech-blaine-9781760643973","title":"Australian Gospel","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom one of Australia's most brilliant writers, a dark comedy about the tangled fates of two couples and the children trapped between them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWild applause. Brave, funny and true.\u003c\/em\u003e - David Marr\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis is the new benchmark for the quintessential Australian epic. I lost count of how many times I laughed and cried.\u003c\/em\u003e - Grace Tame\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMichael and Mary Shelley are Christian fanatics who loathe their fellow Australians - especially their 'reckless indulgence of alcohol and obsession with idiotic ball sports'. Lenore and Tom Blaine are working-class Queensland publicans raising a large family in a raucous, loving, sports-obsessed home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere's just one problem. Lenore and Tom are foster parents to three of Michael and Mary's children, who were removed from the Shelleys as infants. And the Shelleys are prepared to do anything to get them back. Anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAustralian Gospel\u003c\/em\u003e is the true story of Lech Blaine's family, a stranger-than-fiction tale that is heartbreaking, hilarious and altogether astonishing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA rollicking, insightful and moving account of the everyday heavens and hells we make for ourselves, and each other.\u003c\/em\u003e - Sarah Krasnostein\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhat makes a real family? Whose rights should triumph in battles over a child? Which inheritances can we escape, and which will haunt us forever? All this is explored in an irreverently joyful family saga you'll never forget.\u003c\/em\u003e - Charlotte Wood\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46344071741676,"sku":"9781760643973","price":41.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23826673482814.jpg?v=1744011927"},{"product_id":"car-crash-by-lech-blaine-9781863959698","title":"Car Crash","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is it like to survive a crash that kills your best friends, and how do you move on? From an exceptional debut writer comes a stunning memoir about grief, perseverance and courage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Scarifying and unforgettable ... A brave and unsettling account.'\u003c\/em\u003e -Tim Winton\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A heart-soaring act of literary bravery'\u003c\/em\u003e -Trent Dalton\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt seventeen, Lech Blaine walked away unharmed from a car crash that killed three of his friends and left two in comas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn a May night in 2009, seven boys in Toowoomba, Queensland, piled into a car. They never arrived at their destination. The driver made a routine error, leading to a head-on collision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the aftermath, rumours about speed and drink driving erupted. There was intense scrutiny from media and police. Lech used alcohol to numb his grief and social media to show stoicism, while secretly spiralling towards depression and disgrace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a riveting account of family, friendship, grief and love after tragedy. In a country where class and sport dominate, and car crashes compete with floods and pandemics for headlines, our connection with others is what propels us on. Heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, \u003cem\u003eCar Crash\u003c\/em\u003e is a story for our times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'One of the best writers of his generation'\u003c\/em\u003e -Benjamin Law\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Shines with a fierce intelligence'\u003c\/em\u003e -Kristina Olsson\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'This book is for everyone - it truly captures something of \"modern Australia\" in a tenderly told story of one young man's tumultuous coming-of-age.'\u003c\/em\u003e -Bri Lee\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance\u003cbr\u003e Shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Non-Fiction Book Award\u003cbr\u003e Shortlisted for the National Biography Award\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46344077803756,"sku":"9781863959698","price":41.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17809693482851.jpg?v=1744012025"},{"product_id":"car-crash-by-lech-blaine-9781760645182","title":"Car Crash","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is it like to survive a crash that kills your best friends, and how do you move on? \u003cem\u003eCar Crash\u003c\/em\u003e is a stunning memoir about grief, perseverance and courage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Scarifying and unforgettable ... A brave and unsettling account.'\u003c\/em\u003e - Tim Winton\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'\u003cem\u003eCar Crash\u003c\/em\u003e is a phenomenal book. Beautiful and dark and compelling.'\u003c\/em\u003e - Rick Morton\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt seventeen, Lech Blaine walked away unharmed from a car crash that killed three of his friends and left two in comas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn a May night in 2009, seven boys in Toowoomba, Queensland, piled into a car. They never arrived at their destination. The driver made a routine error, leading to a head-on collision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the aftermath, false rumours about speed and drink driving erupted. There was intense scrutiny from media and police. Lech used alcohol to numb his grief and social media to show stoicism, while secretly spiralling towards depression and disgrace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a riveting account of family, friendship, grief and love after tragedy. In a country where class and sport dominate, and car crashes compete with floods and pandemics for headlines, our connection with others is what propels us on. Heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, \u003cem\u003eCar Crash\u003c\/em\u003e is a story for our times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'One of the best writers of his generation'\u003c\/em\u003e - Benjamin Law\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'This book is for everyone - it truly captures something of \"modern Australia\" in a tenderly told story of one young man's tumultuous coming-of-age.'\u003c\/em\u003e - Bri Lee\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46370112864492,"sku":"9781760645182","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23838763482814.jpg?v=1744805673"},{"product_id":"bad-cop-by-lech-blaine-9781760644383","title":"Bad Cop","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere will Dutton lead the Coalition?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWho is Peter Dutton, and what happened to the Liberal Party? In \u003cem\u003eBad Cop\u003c\/em\u003e, Lech Blaine traces the making of a hardman—from Queensland detective to leader of the Opposition, from property investor to minister for Home Affairs. This is a story of ambition, race and power, and a politician with a plan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDutton became Liberal leader with a strategy to win outer-suburban and regional seats from Labor. Since then we have seen his demolition of the Voice and a rolling campaign of culture wars. What does Peter Dutton know about the Australian electorate? Has he updated Menzies' Forgotten People pitch for the age of anxiety, or will he collapse the Liberals' broad church? This revelatory portrait is sardonic, perceptive and altogether compelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBad Cop\u003c\/em\u003e explores Dutton's influence on Australian politics: \"Dutton doesn't need to become prime minister to redraw the battle lines of Australian politics. His fight with Albanese over parochial voters was always going to drag the political conversation rightwards—on race, immigration, gender and the pace of a transition away from fossil fuels ... Dutton's raison d'être? Make Australia Afraid Again. Then he will offer himself as the lesser of two evils. A serious strongman for the age of anxiety.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis issue also contains correspondence discussing Quarterly Essay 92, \u003cem\u003eThe Great Divide\u003c\/em\u003e, from Nicole Haddow, Joseph Walker, Judith Brett, Brendan Coates \u0026amp; Joey Moloney, Mark Walker, Peter Tulip, Nicholas Reece, Pete Wargent, Peter Mares, Saul Eslake, Stephen Smith, Evan Thornley \u0026amp; Jane-Frances Kelly, and Alan Kohler.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46848491815148,"sku":"9781760644383","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23830773482814.jpg?v=1758982550"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/lech-blaine.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}