Summary of Alan Duff's A Conversation with my Country

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The internet meme about an audio experiment that played a single word to test subjects is an example of a perceptually ambiguous stimulus that can be seen in two ways. #2 I have had a conversation with this country for about 30 years. I have written many books, which have polarized people, but I continue to explore ideas and provoke discussion. The alternative is to do nothing and let chaos and anarchy rule. #3 I had moved to Waipukurau in Central Hawke’s Bay following my wife’s appointment to head a hospital center for the disabled. I had quit smoking, set up a Chinese takeaway shop, and was determined to write and get my first novel published. #4 I began to write the book in 1989, and it took me twelve drafts to complete. The book was about an all-too-typical Maori family, the Hekes, ruled by the iron fists of a drunken father, Jake The Muss. Jake had voluntarily tossed in his job and gone on welfare because he figured he got only $17 a week less than he did in employment.