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1) For the first time since I read A Little Life, I am bestowing a 1-star rating to a review. I have always thought of that "book" whenever determining if I should award 1 star. In all honesty, I do NOT hate this book as much as I hate A Little Life. But I still disliked this book to the point of... Well, I'll get to that in reason #2 in a second.
Illywhacker was short listed for the Booker Prize. Uncomfortable with this success he began work on The Tax Inspector. It was an entertaining evening — albeit very, very cold (even with the heating on, the church was akin to sitting in a giant refrigerator and after an hour in the pews I could barely feel my feet because they’d turned numb with the cold). He largely spoke about the background behind the novel, which is based on the Redex Australia Trial, a road rally dating from 1953 that circumnavigated Australia and was open to pro and amateur drivers in unmodified cars unsuited to the tough terrain. If you’re thinking that 15% isn’t enough to know if a story is good or not, then I agree.
A Long Way From Home - Paperback By Peter Carey - GOOD
The diminutive Titch Bobs and his feisty wife Irene are a couple determined to get ahead. Overall this is clearly an earnest attempt by a well-known author to finally come to terms with the dark history of his country, but it is not a very coherent one. Willie becomes aware of his own racial origins via a rather improbable co-incidence, and Irene of the truth of his son’s parentage . Willie ends up stranded as a cattle station where he is asked to teach the aboriginal children.
I didn't know that much about Australian history and all the difficult tensions and conflicts that existed between the indigenous folks and whites, and perhaps my appreciation of the book suffered as a result. The language is also a little difficult, what with the local phraseology and lingo. Maybe I'm just too removed from Australia and its history to appreciate the language and in-depth look at the setting of the various small towns and the Aboriginal history.
Aspects of Narration in Peter Carey's Novels
Peter Carey has used a style here that is reminiscent of painful required readings in school. With first person viewpoints that mix dialogue, thoughts and descriptions all together you have to really pay attention to get the juicy details out. For me, these days, unless I’m instantly drawn into the story I am not interested in putting in the work.
The Commonwealth of Australia was founded under the concept of Terra Nullius. No land was taken because no owners existed before the first white settlers arrived. This was obviously a fiction, but one only struck down by the Eddie Mabo case High Court in the 1980s, when Australia finally acknowledged prior black settlement of the continent (Mabo's grave was subsequently desecrated by angry whites).
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I believe it is no longer forgivable to write books that are so far outside the realm of 50% of readers. And this comes from someone who loves The Lord of the Rings and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which are both very intense and reading feats in their own right, but at least they grabbed my attention quickly. If you are a mainstream author and want to sell books you really have to write for your audience; and unless you want the small marginal audience of PhD's and the occasional snobby reader, then I recommend you not write books like this. The book is sad, compelling and forces the reader to stare directly into the underbelly of white Australian history. It also shows us a culture that has survived despite its subjugation and draws for the reader everyday small acts of rebellion as well as suggesting big acts since colonisation that have largely gone ignored by white culture.
The book was first published in October 30th 2017 and the latest edition of the book was published in October 30th 2017 which eliminates all the known issues and printing errors. A breakneck, often hilarious, eye-opening adventure that at the same time reminds us how white people took possession of a timeless culture—the high purpose. As the Redex Trial and the potentially rich feminist story of Irene fade into the background, Carey recasts A Long Way From Home as a novel. A Long Way From Home begins in Bacchus Marsh, a small town outside Melbourne. It's , and local car salesman Titch Bobs and his wife Irene.
Had I opened it in the library to read the beginning, I would have put it back. But having heard about it, heard Carey read some, and being interested in both the Ford-vs-Holden rivalry in motor sport and in Aboriginal history, I had to give it a go. Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the shipping service selected, the seller's shipping history, and other factors. This study conducts a close analysis of the linguistic structures and narrative techniques of Peter Carey's novels Bliss, Illywhacker and Oscar and Lucinda. Also examines the ideological, philosophical, economic and historical aspects in Carey's novels. This is a revised and expanded edition of Woodcock's accessible study, now including detailed readings of Carey's latest novels, 'Jack Maggs' and 'True History of the Kelly Gang'.
Mind you, I heard the author asked about this spelling on the cover illustration, and he said he hadn't seen it, so he had no idea. A reader has admonished me severely for making a wisecrack about the artist's age and said it's from an old poster. I haven't found the poster, but I did find what looks like the car that inspired it, TRAIL instead of TRIAL and all the same sponsors, I think. I do love the cover illustration, but I still wonder about the spelling.
The two stories never really meshed well, and by the end they wander off in their own directions. I found the final third of the book the most interesting, but the ending itself suggests to me that Carey didn't know where he was going with his own story. There are lots of interesting facts here, but it doesn't mesh into a coherent narrative. Also I found the magic realistic touches (babies snatched by eagles; an old man appearing as if by magic across long distances) distracted and didn't add to the narrative. I mention these stories by way of a long prelude because Carey's book annoyed me in the way it wrapped up this atrocious part of Australian history in a sort of horrible nostalgic glow .
There are a couple of acclaimed Aussie authors that I have trouble getting into and Peter Carey is one of them. It’s a long, long time since I read Oscar and Lucinda and Illywhacker and I wanted to try another of his books to see if my perspective would change but it didn’t. For a start, it takes ages, around 150 pages, before we get to the meat of the story. I do admire him for tackling Australia’s ‘big issue’ though and give him 3 stars for that.
It is however long enough to know that the style and delivery of the story is not for you. This section ends with Titch, on the verge of a Holden dealership entering the Redex Reliability motor rallying trials around Australia, with Titch as co-driver and Willie as navigator. This story takes place in the 1950s, and the Redex was a popular event followed by all car enthusiasts as we waited to hear what Gelignite Jack Murray had blown up each day (to clear the track with “jelly”, of course). Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Peter Carey has twice won the Booker Prize for his explorations of Australian history. From 1976 Carey worked one week a month for Grey Advertising, then, in 1981 he established a small business where his generous partner required him to work only two afternoons a week. Thus between 1976 and 1990, he was able to pursue literature obsessively. It was during this period that he wrote War Crimes, Bliss, Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda.
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