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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
A book littered with fascinating ideas and complex, intriguing characters - most notably Christopher Chubb. Positively, 'My Life As A Fake' deals with themes akin to Shelley's Frankenstein. This conjurs up evidently exciting prospects within the context of poetry, such as what happens when a poet's creation/hoax becomes real? And tortures its creator? This part is enjoyed thoroughly when it's first introduced but, by the latter half of the story, Frankenstein Monster's becomes Frankenstein's Mess. Chubb's creation of McCorkle shines when it's 'grounded' but embedded in mystery. Once Chubb's daughter is kidnapped, the mystery is replaced by a convolution of events. These narratives are too plentiful, or to be better put it - multiple narratives are not aided by the writing style. To keep track of 'who said what' becomes laborious after 150 pages, especially considering the various time jumps. A lack of quotation marks is the culprit for this chore. Whilst in books such as 'Normal People', a lack of quotation marks evokes intimacy, here it evokes confusion.
A nice twist on the idea of a literary hoax and what happens when you add a Dr. Frankenstein to the mix.
I didn't like any of the characters and found it disjointed and confusing
This is an oddball story - and I confess I had no idea it was based on a real-life poetry hoax in the 1940s until I read the author's note at the very end. It's unexpectedly riveting, with very compelling, messy, unlikeable characters and some clever prose pushing the whole thing forward. There's much to make the reader think about the act of creation and what happens when control over that creation is lost (which also makes me wonder why I didn't think sooner that Frankenstein comparisons are very apt here!). I see more Peter Carey in my future.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
while reading the third chapter the thought crossed my mind that this might be my favorite novel—that I might be reading my favorite novel for the first time—and that idea gestated over the next days as I read on, rapt, to the point that now, just having finished it, I’m convinced that this is my favorite novel, my new favorite, having usurped the counterfeiters… though somehow leaving me equally sure that this is a just trick that the book played on me
Compelling and confounding, this is a well written tale of literary intrigue with characters that seem insane and actually might be, but that are so utterly themselves, thanks to Carey's writing, that you don't really care. It has a strong undercurrent of "Frankenstein" about it and a strange story spun in short chapters and different perspectives. I don't know if the absence of conventional quotation marks to signal dialogue is an Australian thing or not, but it definitely enhanced the doubt and frenzy of the story.
I enjoyed this book. It was about an editor who gets invited to go to Malaysia which leads her to meet a writer who’s reputation is destroyed over a hoax he wrote years earlier about a non-existant character. The story he relates to the editor makes up the majority of the story which twists and turns to the very end. My brother recommended this book to me.