Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating and not truly rewarding (spoilers ahead)
Review: I read Oscar and Lucinda expecting it to be a romance, which may expalin why I was frustrated and disappointed by it. It is not a romance, or if it is, it is a deeply unsatisfying one, for it breaks the cardinal rule of all romances - a love story, if it doesn't end well, must end tragically. The love story between Oscar Hopkins and Lucinds Leplastrier ends stupidly, and I find that unforgivable. The story is told by a descendant of Oscar's, a gimmick that serves no purpose except to let us know, before the title characters even meet, that they will not end up together. But this knowledge does nothing but aggravate, as the reader is left to watch two people spiral around and away from each other for no reason other than their own silly shyness (towards the end Carey plays the unforgivable trick of making the reader believe, for about two paragraphs, that he may have found a loophole that allows the title characters to be together, but this hope is soon dashed.) Lucinda, who to me was the more compelling of the two main characters, is dismissed in half a line, and although this might make sense given that it is the story of Oscar's descendant, it still feels like a betrayal of the character. As if, having left her in a terrible lurch, Carey simply couldn't care enough to show us at least how she managed to find the strengh to pick up her life and start again. Hardly an appropriate ending considering Lucinda's name is in the title as well.But even ignoring my disappointed bias, there are other things that bothered me about Carey's book. Evey single character is a mass of eccentricities, and this streches crdibility and whatever sympathy the reader might feel inclined to give them. Very few characters ever speak plainly and say exactly what they feel, and when they do it is such a relief, as if the dozens of pages spent watching people bounce off each other like blind mice, misunderstanding everything they see and hear had literally twisted your guts into a knot. Even the main characters, who have a right to be eccentric, tax one's patience and make you wonder if people could really be that oblivious to the world around them. That having been said, there are a few characters whose humanity manages to shine through the grime of their mannerisms, such as Hugh Stratton and Oscar's friend Wardley-Fish, or even the closest thing the book has to a villains, the self-proclaimed Captain Jeffris and Miriam Chadwyck. I actually felt I could understand these characters, and their predicaments made me feel for them (or against them as the case may be.) Carey's writing is crisp and engaging, and certain set pieces are very evoactive and moving, but ultimately, the story amounts to nothing more than a beautiful car crash in slow motion, and, like a car crash, seems to have happened for no purpose. As I said in the beginning of my review, I was expecting a romance, and most of my frustration stems from the occasional peeks of the romance that might have been, so another reader with no expectations might enjoy the book more than I did. Either way it seems obvious that this book held me in it's grip, and for that, even though it wasn't a very pleasant grip, it deserves three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: People in Glass Houses
Review: Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda is a historical journey into the experience of coming of age within a developing nation. The two main characters find this out within the progression of time. Oscar Hopkins is the son of puritan, harassed and harangued by his father to follow his faith. Oscar becomes more and more anxious about puritanism and his father and hides out in the yard of the Anglican priest. From there his life is changed forever.
Linda Leplastrier is a repressed free spirit, who after her mother dies discovers gambling via friendly card games. It is this pursuit that leads her to a friendship with Oscar.
The book is very good, well written and keeps you interested, my only problem is that it is a little flat in parts; this only happens occasionally however and the result is an excellent story. There is a great metaphor in the book of the crystal church; life is like a glasshouse, you can look out and others can see in. Your house/self can easily be broken, shattered or destroyed. I truly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for lovers of colonial history, who enjoy a very well written and researched story.
Rating:
Summary: Anglo-Australian Eccentricities
Review: The story of Oscar Hopkins who, despite being the son of a Baptist (or because of that), becomes an Anglican priest. And the story of Lucinda Leplastrier, who inherits a glass factory in Australia. The early parts of the novel, in fact nearly the first half of it, are taken up with Oscar and Lucinda's life stories up until the time they meet. Carey switches the narrative between England and Australia, and does so with skill - the chapters are short, helping the reader skip along with the story. Thereafter, as Oscar and Lucinda meet and they agree on an ultimate bet (the plot device which underpins the latter half of the novel) I thought that the pace and flow of the novel slowed. The real problem I had with it though, and why I think I struggled to maintain an interest the longer the novel went on, was that in fact its characters are very two-dimensional. All, without exception, are eccentrics, reminding me of the worst of Dickens: a series of whimsical characters whose quirks are supposed to amuse and interest the reader. I'm afraid for me, that kind of stuff has a very limited effect, and my boredom threshold is reached very quickly. To be fair, one could make an argument that Lucinda's character is more fully drawn. Her obsession with gambling could be interpeted as a way of seeking acceptance in the male-dominated world of the mid-nineteenth century. She struggles with the burden of her inheritance and with her feminity - for example, Oscar gains the instant acceptance from her workers she has never had when he visits her glass factory, and she resents that. But this wasn't enough to ease my struggle with finishing the book - even quite shocking events near the event lost their impact due to the fact, I think, that Carey over-loaded the novel with whimsy, and because I felt that Carey is a cold, somewhat distant author: difficult to describe what I mean here, but it's almost akin to feeling the author views his characters in the same way as a chess player views his pieces - to be moved about with the object of winning the game rather than worthy of development in their own right.
Rating: 
Summary: Oscar Winner
Review: For the first couple of, short, chapters I wondered whether this was my type of book. It was. We meet the appropriately nick-named 'Odd Bodd' Hopkins, whose appearance is as eccentric as his theological obsessions. Peter Carey explores his relationship with his Plymouth Brethren father. Neither fully admits the love for the other. Odd Bodd's other obsession, gambling, leads him to the equally compulsive Lucinda. From this moment on the novel took on a new dimension for me. The undeclared love, the social repression, the misunderstandings, the emotional gambling left me wanting to cry,laugh and bang their stupid heads together. The most frustrating love story since Remains of the Day. The opening paragraph prepares us for the inevitable tragedy. The finale does not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Inevitable
Review: Yes, as the reviewer below me points out, if you are a reader of romance novels, this one is not for you. When people call this a romance, I think that they're referring to the phenomenon of two utterly isolated souls finding each other. But while this is a significant component of this book, it is not the story. I read it as an examination of how, in a place and time as wide-open as nineteenth century Australia, one's essential nature is at liberty to spin out of control. The protagonists are brought together by their gambling habits, a dangerous concentration of weakness. With no voice of reason between them, they embark on a tragic odyssey that kept me spellbound. If I have a criticism, it's a slight one. The author has chosen to divide this admittedly long work into over a hundred chapters, which I find a gimmicky distraction. Otherwise, it's a thought-provoking read.
Rating: 
Summary: Way too Slow
Review: I thought that this book was going to be a romance. The title characters did not meet each other until page 193! I enjoy historical fiction, so the details do not bother me, but at half way through the book, I didn't feel like it had started. I am surprised at the acclaim that this book has received.
Rating:
Summary: Not everybody loves this book
Review: If I hadn't read this book, the praises garnered would make me think I've missed out on something wonderful. But I have, long before this book became glamourised by Ralph Fiennes' face. And I did not enjoy it. I did not find it particularly insightful, and I felt it did not contain enough original thought to justify its self-conciousness. I was not convinced by the characters, and the story-telling was so lacking in compulsion I had to drag myself to the end of the book. I was rewarded at the end of my efforts by what I will admit was a rather unexpected denouement; but a clever ending doth not a great novel make. All this book taught me was that I should not assume that I will enjoy a book all because it has won a prestigious book prize. I did wonder at my failure to appreciate what some seem to consider to be a literary gem, so I did a little straw poll amongst my well-read intellectual friends, and what do you know; none of those who'd read it liked it either. So you are warned; you may enjoy this book, as many people apparently have, or it might just leave you cold.
Rating:
Summary: explosive
Review: Immediately after I finished reading 'Oscar and Lucinda' I went to the bookstore to buy 'The unusual life of Tristan Smith'... . Why do I give this book a 5 stare rating ? First of all: The fact that Carey actually created more space in my mind was both surprising and enlightening: The way he describes peoples thoughts, feelings and actions comes very close to the way I think about them. Only, I would never have the skill to put these thoughts in words as precisely as Carey does. They always just lingered in the back of my mind. Reading them, was simply illuminating, like little explosions inside of your head. Secondly, the story itself was great. The madly religious Oscar, unable to accept and communicate his feelings, tumbles into a project he actually resents of and in the end, all of this leads him to his greatest fear. This, combined with the constantly searching wild Lucinda, produces a colorfull story, that's bursting with emotions. I could simply not put it down !
Rating:
Summary: A book can transport you
Review: This book satisfied so many of my senses. The beauty and richness of the language, the originality of the characters, the surprises, the disappointments, all transported me into another world. I couldn't put it down except for moments when I needed to close my eyes to savor the events or the pure poetry of the phrases and analogies. I mourned when I realized I was nearing the end. Even a large book like this is too short when you are so completely caught up in the story. I can't wait to read Carey's other volumes. This is one of the best books I've read in many years. If intricate, rich writing that makes you catch your breath and characters that act in ways that bring out your protective instincts are to your taste, this book will deeply satisfy. And get the soundtrack to the film of the same name; it is rich and moving. I'm glad I listened to it while I read the book.
Rating:
Summary: A bitter disappointment. SPOILERS!!
Review: Never have I been so cruelly used and deceived by a book before! I read about the trials and tribulations of Oscar and Lucinda with a warm glow in my heart knowing that everything would work out for them in the end. After all - hadn't I read in the opening pages that this was the story of how the storyteller's great-grandparents had met? Therefore the ending was like a slap in the face that caused me to throw the book down in disgust. It left me with a bitterness I couldn't shake off even after I'd re-read it twice. I can still taste the bile, but now I'm beginning to like it.
|
