Scan barcode
A review by bekahpaige
Amnesia: A novel by Peter Carey
3.0
This novel is a hot mess. I was first introduced to [a:Peter Carey|22595|Peter Carey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1334883386p2/22595.jpg] via [b:True History of the Kelly Gang|110090|True History of the Kelly Gang|Peter Carey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427614607s/110090.jpg|2134852] in an Australian Literature class when I studied abroad at the University of Queensland. That is a 5-star book for me. Carey writes wonderfully, with clear fresh prose and characters that effortlessly come to life. The genius of "True History" is in the fact that Carey fabricates all of these source documents as if it is a truly historical piece, rather than a piece of fiction. The end result asks the reader to question what is "history", really, besides a fictional narrative written by people far removed from both the time and the culture, even if we desperately want to view it as "fact"? Can we ever know the "true history" of a person who has become a legend in Australia and over time? Who writes the true history of a dead person? Who gets to control the story for future generations?
This novel starts in a similar vein and we get very interesting introductions to parts of Australian history and its relationship with the US during WWII that I have never heard about in my life, neither as an American or my time spent studying abroad in Australia. With Carey you never know what is historical, based on the truth, or pure fiction, so I was excited to find out that the Battle of Brisbane, the Brownout Strangler, and the coup of 1975 were actual historical events that I have never heard about. Part One of this novel is fantastic.
Part Two I do not understand. It morphs into a long tedious tale of a narrator listening and writing a narration of events recorded from first person accounts into a tape recorder by a mother and daughter. The detail is staggeringly tedious and the characters are not interesting. I lost interest in the mystery and the story completely and ended up feeling dissatisfied by the end.
This novel starts in a similar vein and we get very interesting introductions to parts of Australian history and its relationship with the US during WWII that I have never heard about in my life, neither as an American or my time spent studying abroad in Australia. With Carey you never know what is historical, based on the truth, or pure fiction, so I was excited to find out that the Battle of Brisbane, the Brownout Strangler, and the coup of 1975 were actual historical events that I have never heard about. Part One of this novel is fantastic.
Part Two I do not understand. It morphs into a long tedious tale of a narrator listening and writing a narration of events recorded from first person accounts into a tape recorder by a mother and daughter. The detail is staggeringly tedious and the characters are not interesting. I lost interest in the mystery and the story completely and ended up feeling dissatisfied by the end.