The Boys Who Stole the Funeral

The Boys Who Stole the Funeral (1980) is a verse novel by Australian writer Les Murray. It was originally published by Angus and Robertson in Australia in 1980.

The novel consists of a sequence of 140 sonnets, many of which had been previously published in newspapers, literary journals and poetry anthologies.

Synopsis
The novel tells the story of how two young men steal the body of an old friend from a city undertaker in order to give their friend the rural burial he so desired.

Publishing history
After its initial publication in Australia by Angus and Robertson in 1980, the novel was reprinted by Angus and Robertson in 1982 and then published as follows:


 * Carcanet, UK, 1989
 * Farrar Straus and Giroux, US, 1991
 * Minerva, Australia, 1993

A sound recording of the novel was created in 1985 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Critical reception
The Judges' Report for the National Book Council Award noted: "Here we have an original and daring work — a novel sequence in poetry — poetry indeed and not verse, and poetry which seeks to articulate a mythology about rural Australia. The lines are chiselled with care, the book sculptured with grace; narrative and dialogue fuse into a poetic whole, the poetic sensibility informs all: the darting phrase, the naked insight."

Awards

 * Grace Leven Prize for Poetry winner 1980