http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246 See the latest posts on the GreenMetropolis.com Forum about Peter Carey in Contemporary Fiction en-gb Copyright 2010 GreenMetropolis.com Fri, May 24 2013 03:18:07 GMT 20 I'm ploughing my way through Parrot and Olivier - has anyone else given it a go? I was given it as a birthday present, but I'm struggling to engage with it ... http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#44368 http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#44368 Sat, Apr 09 2011 21:50:17 GMT Hi Fiona, I have recently finished this - one of the - I think - great reads I have pulled of the shelves on my recent rejoining of the local library. Carey has been likened to Dickens and I kind of agree - lots of great characters, humour and I am sure references which went over my head. But like Dickens I do have to stick in there with him. http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#44388 http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#44388 Mon, Apr 11 2011 08:27:36 GMT Thanks, Hetty - that's interesting, because I struggle with Dickens too - I am persisting ... http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#44408 http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#44408 Mon, Apr 11 2011 16:30:10 GMT I've not read 'Parrot & Olivier' but I definitely have a hit & miss relationship with Peter Carey. 'Oscar & Lucinda' is amazing (might seem slow to get going but utterly absorbing, before you know it!) and 'Jack Maggs' was a great story (speaking of Dickensian, this one is a version of 'Great Expectations' & features a thinly veiled caricature of Dickens himself, as one of the main characters). On the other hand, I found both 'Theft' and 'My Life as a Fake' disappointing; and couldn't get beyond halfway of 'The True History of the Kelly Gang'... http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#48656 http://www.greenmetropolis.com/forum/posts.aspx?t=3246#48656 Sun, Oct 16 2011 08:30:00 GMT