The Painter
Photo by storm_gal used under a Creative Commons license.

Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda (Vintage, 1997).
Oscar is a shy, English minister; Lucinda is headstrong Australian, the owner of a glass factory bought with her inheritance. In the nineteenth century, they meet on the boat to Sydney, sharing an affinity for gambling, and other things, some of which lead to his being defrocked. One thing leads to another, and they embark on the unlikely mission of building a glass church in the Outback. Oscar and Lucinda won the Booker Prize in 1988 (and Carey won again in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang).

Perry Middlemiss posted this bio of Carey. Here is a Peter Carey site at Flinders University. Here is Carey’s site. John Gross reviewed it in The New York Times. Paul Gray reviewed it in Time. Trevor Berrett liked it. So did this Trevor. Kate Jonuska was a little disappointed. Jackie became obsessed with the story to an annoying degree. Sarah liked it too. Hil found fact in Carey’s fiction. The Guardian‘s Sam Jordisan took another look at it. Here are clips from the movie. Carey didn’t get into this fight with Ian McEwan.

Buy it at Amazon.com.

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