The novel' s core message is: When we don' t learn from history we are doomed to repeat.' PUP explores the stupidity and ugliness of war and the lives it changes. It is a love letter to Australia and particularly inner suburban Melbourne in the 1970s as it matures and loses a little of its innocence. A provoking and in-depth read that explores what could make a good man a monster and what might help a monster regain his humanity.How does a man pick up the pieces with only one arm?A badly injured Terry Shepherd returns from Vietnam and is spat on by war protestors at the airport. Disabled and still reeling from his harrowing journey in Vietnam as a unit medic, Terry finds himself running afoul of the vicious North Richmond Sharpie gang. Pup paints a beautiful snapshot of life in Melbourne' s inner city suburbs of Fitzroy and Richmond, with a cast of characters ranging from endearing to dangerous.