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'A breathtaking new novel from the Stella Prize-winning author of The Strays.
'In the fall of 2011, a heartbroken young man flees Australia for the USA. Landing in the excessive, uncanny-familiar glamour and plenitude of New York City, Will makes a vow to say yes to everything that comes his way. By fate or random chance, Will's journey takes him deep into the American heartland where he meets Wayne Gage, a fast-living, troubled Vietnam veteran, would-be spirit guide and collector of exotic animals. These two men in crisis form an unlikely friendship, but Will has no idea just how close to the edge Wayne truly is.
'Wild Abandon is a headlong tumble through the falling world of end-days capitalism, a haunting, hyperreal snapshot of our own strange times. We read with increasing horror and denial as we approach the cataclysmic conclusion of Will's American odyssey, dreading what is galloping towards us, but utterly unable to look away.
'This lyrical and devastating new novel from the Stella Prize-winning author of The Strays offers us startling and profound visions of the world and our place in it.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Australia in Three Books
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2021; Meanjin , Summer vol. 80 no. 4 2021;
— Review of Fairyland : A Novel 1990 single work novel ; Dancing on Coral 1987 single work novel ; Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel -
y
At Home with Emily Bitto
Astrid Edwards
(interviewer),
Melbourne
:
Bad Producer Productions
,
2021
23443379
2021
single work
podcast
interview
'Emily Bitto is a Melbourne-based writer of fiction, poetry and non-fiction. Her debut novel, The Strays, was the winner of the 2015 Stella Prize, and in 2021 she released her second novel, Wild Abandon.
'Her fiction, poetry and non-fiction has appeared in various publications, including Meanjin, The Age, the Monthly, the Saturday Paper, The Big Issue, and The Sydney Morning Herald. She is also the co-owner of Carlton wine bar Heartattack and Vine.' (Production summary)
-
Tales of Freedom and Captivity
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25 September 2021; (p. 25)
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel -
Wayne’s World : Emily Bitto’s Baroque New Novel
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 437 2021; (p. 31)
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel'Joe Exotic. Carole Baskin. Tiger King. There was a moment in early 2020 when these were names to conjure with; when a plague-ridden world became fascinated with the outlandish behaviour of these larger-than-life Americans and their unbelievably legal menageries of ‘exotic’ animals. Now, as we inch closer to ‘Covid-normal’, revisiting this surreal world through Emily Bitto’s exuberantly baroque second novel, Wild Abandon, is an unsettling experience.' (Introduction)
-
Emily Bitto Wild Abandon
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 30 October - 5 November 2021;
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel'Emily Bitto’s first novel since her 2015 Stella Prize-winning debut, The Strays, is the coming-of-age story of 22-year-old Will. It is 2011 and, reeling from a bad break-up, Will flees Melbourne for the United States in search of “experience” and “the grand American ideal of self-determination”.' (Introduction)
-
Emily Bitto : Wild Abandon
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , October 2021;
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel'Emily Bitto won the Stella Prize in 2015 for her first novel The Strays. Her second, Wild Abandon, was worth the wait.'
-
Emily Bitto Wild Abandon
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 30 October - 5 November 2021;
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel'Emily Bitto’s first novel since her 2015 Stella Prize-winning debut, The Strays, is the coming-of-age story of 22-year-old Will. It is 2011 and, reeling from a bad break-up, Will flees Melbourne for the United States in search of “experience” and “the grand American ideal of self-determination”.' (Introduction)
-
Wayne’s World : Emily Bitto’s Baroque New Novel
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 437 2021; (p. 31)
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel'Joe Exotic. Carole Baskin. Tiger King. There was a moment in early 2020 when these were names to conjure with; when a plague-ridden world became fascinated with the outlandish behaviour of these larger-than-life Americans and their unbelievably legal menageries of ‘exotic’ animals. Now, as we inch closer to ‘Covid-normal’, revisiting this surreal world through Emily Bitto’s exuberantly baroque second novel, Wild Abandon, is an unsettling experience.' (Introduction)
-
Tales of Freedom and Captivity
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 25 September 2021; (p. 25)
— Review of Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel -
Australia in Three Books
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2021; Meanjin , Summer vol. 80 no. 4 2021;
— Review of Fairyland : A Novel 1990 single work novel ; Dancing on Coral 1987 single work novel ; Wild Abandon 2021 single work novel -
y
At Home with Emily Bitto
Astrid Edwards
(interviewer),
Melbourne
:
Bad Producer Productions
,
2021
23443379
2021
single work
podcast
interview
'Emily Bitto is a Melbourne-based writer of fiction, poetry and non-fiction. Her debut novel, The Strays, was the winner of the 2015 Stella Prize, and in 2021 she released her second novel, Wild Abandon.
'Her fiction, poetry and non-fiction has appeared in various publications, including Meanjin, The Age, the Monthly, the Saturday Paper, The Big Issue, and The Sydney Morning Herald. She is also the co-owner of Carlton wine bar Heartattack and Vine.' (Production summary)
-
cUnited States of America (USA),cAmericas,
- 2011
