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lbolesta's review against another edition
2.0
Epic in a bad way. No one's first novel should be 800 PAGES LONG.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This was a different kind of read for me as I at parts felt that I didn't enjoy reading about the characters nor the plot but still wasn't able to put it down as I was very curious on what was going to happen next. Similar with not knowing what made me slightly not loving it I can't figure out why I was intrigued by it. Maybe it was the writing style. I would want to read more by Peter Carey but unfortunately no more books is available on my library nor book app but I'll look for some at my local second hand
peter_fischer's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the archetypal magic realism novels: an absolute gem, full of Australian colour and humour. It tells the story of aviator, car salesman, and all-round larrikin and confidence man Herbert Badgery.
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
4.0
Tales of a trouble-making larrikin, a true raconteur. Very good, but I didn't love it like Oscar and Lucinda.
damopedro's review against another edition
3.0
I started out really loving this book but then it seemed to lag in the middle and I lost some interest and it all seemed to go on too long. It's a crazy tale and awesome in parts and generally written well but yeah, I struggled.
thereadingmum's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is the first Peter Carey that I'm not very excited about.
Perhaps it was becuase I listened to the audio version. Or maybe it was because it followed A Fraction of the Whole so closely, but it just didn't gel for me. I have been a fan of Carey's writing, which I think is superb, but here there was way too much exposition. Again this may not have jarred so much if I were reading it myself, but hearing it read, made my mind wander a lot.
I also think the length of the book did not help at all. Even though my mind wandered and I lost whole chunks of the narrative, I still got the overarching story, so I didn't bother to go back most of the time.
Neither did I relate to the characters much. It was also very weird and confusing when the MC, Herbert Badgerey, referred to himself in the third person occasionally.
I got through the over 24 hours though so it wasn't all bad. Just not up to my usual standard of enjoyment.
Perhaps it was becuase I listened to the audio version. Or maybe it was because it followed A Fraction of the Whole so closely, but it just didn't gel for me. I have been a fan of Carey's writing, which I think is superb, but here there was way too much exposition. Again this may not have jarred so much if I were reading it myself, but hearing it read, made my mind wander a lot.
I also think the length of the book did not help at all. Even though my mind wandered and I lost whole chunks of the narrative, I still got the overarching story, so I didn't bother to go back most of the time.
Neither did I relate to the characters much. It was also very weird and confusing when the MC, Herbert Badgerey, referred to himself in the third person occasionally.
I got through the over 24 hours though so it wasn't all bad. Just not up to my usual standard of enjoyment.
shiftycourtney's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
beetective's review against another edition
1.0
A waste of time. Probably the worst book I’ve read this year and I was struggling to get through it. At points, I kept reminding myself that I can't DNF it, that this can’t be the second book I’ve ever DNFed, but oh man was I close to. It started out okay, about 200 pages in it started to go downhill. We got pages and pages of information stuffed down our throats that didn’t even matter. I don’t care about Leah!!! The only person from her backstory that has any lasting impact was Izzie, we don’t need it! So much could have been cut out it’s annoying. For most of the book I felt like I was in a room blindly trying to find my way around, it was hard to understand. The characters don’t make it better, Herbert is a fucked-up guy who (self-proclaims) likes young women to the extent of marrying a 17-year-old then proceeds to fuck her mom when she leaves. He is unlovable and pretty much just a horrible person. I didn’t like any of the other characters, they aren’t even worth talking about.
The ending was really weird, and I had no idea what the hell was even happening in that section. Ugh.
Rating: 2/10
The ending was really weird, and I had no idea what the hell was even happening in that section. Ugh.
Rating: 2/10