Bliss was published by University of Queensland Press in 1981 and won the Miles Franklin Award. Harry Joy, a successful advertising executive in an unnamed Australian city, suffers a fatal heart attack. He is clinically dead for nine minutes before being revived. When he returns to consciousness, he discovers — or believes he discovers — that the world he has returned to is Hell. His wife is having an affair with his business partner; his children are monstrous; his agency’s clients are knowingly poisoning the environment; and the entire structure of comfortable suburban life is revealed as a machine for producing suffering.
Carey’s debut established his characteristic method: a premise that is simultaneously fantastical and realistic, deployed as a vehicle for savage social satire. The novel can be read as a literal supernatural story (Harry has been to Hell and returned with the ability to see it) or as a psychological drama about a man whose near-death experience strips away his capacity for self-deception.
Collecting Bliss
First edition (University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 1981): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- Australian first edition, fine in jacket: $200–$600
- UK first edition (Faber, 1981): $100–$300
- US first edition (Harper & Row, 1982): $50–$150
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. Carey’s debut novel.
After Death
Harry Joy, an Australian advertising executive, dies of a heart attack and is revived. When he wakes, he becomes convinced he is in Hell — and the evidence supports him. His wife is having an affair, his children are selling drugs and practising incest, and his profession is built on lies. Bliss is a savage satire of suburban Australian life that also works as a genuine fable about the possibility of redemption through flight, love, and the rejection of materialism.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Bliss Carey’s first book? His first novel (1981), though he had previously published two celebrated short-story collections: The Fat Man in History (1974) and War Crimes (1979). The short stories established his reputation in Australia; Bliss brought international attention and was adapted into a 1985 Australian film directed by Ray Lawrence.