Scan barcode
A review by jmatkinson1
Amnesia by Peter Carey
3.0
Felix is a polemic left-wing journalist who has just lost a trial for defamation and his career is in tatters. Woody is a multi-millionaire friend with suspect motives who commissions Felix to write the story of Gaby, a member of a hacker collective that has infiltrated the Australian and American prison systems. Gaby's mother is Celine, an actress who is a old friend of Felix. Starting with the arrival of American troops on Australian soil during the second world war, the book looks at the underbelly of the relationships between the two nations and also the power of cybercrime.
The first half of this book was really enjoyable, it skipped along paralleling the stories in the present day and backstory of Gaby. However about halfway through it started to get a little bogged down in detail and so did I. Some of Carey's work is lucid, most is complex and some impenetrable, this novel encompasses all three - the best and worst of Peter Carey. It is an ambitious premise but between the complex plot and the complicated writing I got lost.
The first half of this book was really enjoyable, it skipped along paralleling the stories in the present day and backstory of Gaby. However about halfway through it started to get a little bogged down in detail and so did I. Some of Carey's work is lucid, most is complex and some impenetrable, this novel encompasses all three - the best and worst of Peter Carey. It is an ambitious premise but between the complex plot and the complicated writing I got lost.