Whenever I read a Peter Carey novel, I search for Oscar.
I consider his Oscar and Lucinda a masterpiece, the pinnacle of his writing and comb his other books for associations with that one. In Illywhacker and …Tristan Smith, I found precursors. In later books, echoes, such as a puppy in Theft, that drowns in the same river Oscar floated his glass church upon . It’s a terrible habit and I wish I could stop it, but you know how obsession is.
So you can imagine how pleased I was to discover that one of the main characters in Carey’s latest has dishelved red hair, just like Oscar. That would be Parrot, an orphaned printer’s apprentice who becomes a servant in middle age to Olivier, a French nobleman, who must flee the Continent during Napoleon’s reign. Their adventures and encounters in both Europe and America is the plot of this rambling book.
Olivier, who is based upon Alexis de Tocqueville, is quite full of himself and alarmed at the low standards of everything in America. Despite his higher station in life, he doesn’t really control anything in it, all of his doings are manipulated by his family or other people, his pomposity hides a pitiful person. Parrot has had a very rough life, with much sadness, yet strives to find love with Mathilde, a tempestuous French artist. Though Carey’s trademark is terribly flawed characters, Parrot was quite likable, though he didn’t make it easy.
This book was better than the author’s last few, with more appealing characters and an obvious, if meandering, story arc. It had the feel of a book written in the 1800’s, especially Olivier’s narrations, which even had certain random words italicized, just as was done at the time. Their continual journeys made it feel like an adventure tale and the reappearance of certain characters allowed the reader to form a bond with the pair. The whole book was strangely compelling, not least because you wanted to see just where such quirky personalities would end up. This novel is not as blunt or bizarre as some of Carey’s other books, but would make a good refreshment for a reader who is familiar with the author or as an introduction to him. It’s no Oscar and Lucinda, of course, but it’s still pretty good.
Alfred A. Knopf 2009 383 pp. ISBN 978-0-307-59262-0
Jackie has also reviewed Peter Carey’s His Illegal Self and needless to say, Oscar and Lucinda .
Jackie further explains her obsession with Oscar and Lucinda in her interview with RosyB, which you can read here
Thanks for the review. I like Carey and I will check this out.
(btw, the links to your other reviews don’t work)
E.xoxo
Thanks for alerting me to the broken links, Eva. There was an extra set of quotation marks in some of them, but I’ve fixed it now & they’re working!
Interesting review, Jackie. I’ve only ever read Oscar and Lucinda (liked but didn’t love) and Theft: A Love Story which I was thoroughly disappointed by. Peter Carey is one of those author who doesn’t do it for me at all. However, I love that you have noted threads running throughout his work and I am determined to keep reading books by him until I find one to love. True History of the Kelly Gang next – have you read it?
I was disappointed by Theft also, even if it was about artists. The ones I’d recommend are “The Tax Inspector”, “Illywhacker”(which really lays the groundwork for O&L) and “..Tristan Smith” which is strange, but touching.This one here, “Parrot & Olivier” is pretty good too, especially if you’re interested in the 1800′s.
[...] It’s no Oscar and Lucinda, of course, but it’s still pretty good. Vulpes Libris [...]
[...] It’s no Oscar and Lucinda, of course, but it’s still pretty good. Vulpes Libris [...]
[...] It’s no Oscar and Lucinda, of course, but it’s still pretty good. Vulpes Libris [...]
[...] and Lucinda casts a shadow over several of the reviews of his new book. Jackie at Vulpes Libris can’t help noticing that one of the characters shares Oscar’s dishevelled red hair, while Trevor at The Mookse [...]