Oscar and Lucinda

Oscar Hopkins is a high-strung preacher's kid with hydrophobia and noisy knees. Lucinda Leplastrier is a frizzy-haired heiress who impulsively buys a glass factory with the inheritance forced on her by a well-intentioned adviser. In the early parts of this lushly written book, author Peter Carey renders the seminal turning points in his protagonists' childhoods as exquisite 19th-century set pieces. Young Oscar, denied the heavenly fruit of a Christmas pudding by his cruelly stern father, forever renounces his father's religion in favour of the Anglican Church. "Dear God," Oscar prays, "if it be Thy will that Thy people eat pudding, smite him!" Lucinda's childhood trauma involves a beautiful doll bought by her struggling mother with savings from the jam jar; in a misguided attempt to tame the doll's unruly curls, young Lucinda mutilates her treasure beyond repair. Neither of these coming-of-age stories quite explains how the grown-up Oscar and Lucinda each develop a guilty passion for gambling. Oscar plays the horses while at school, and Lucinda, now an orphaned heiress, finds comfort in a game of cards with an odd collection of acquaintances. When the two finally meet, on board a ship bound for New South Wales, they are bound by their affinity for risk, their loneliness and their awkwardly blossoming (but unexpressed) mutual affection. Their final high-stakes folly-- transporting a crystal palace of a church across (literally) godforsaken terrain--strains plausibility, and events turn ghastly as Oscar plays out his bid for Lucinda's heart. Yet even the unconvincing plot turns are made up for by Carey's rich prose and the tale's unpredictable outcome. Although love proves to be the ultimate gamble for Oscar and Lucinda, the story never strays too far from the terrible possibility that even the most thunderstruck lovers can remain isolated in parallel lives.

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fantastic - Rated
It is difficult to describe the scope and artistry of this thoroughly beautiful book. From the outset the two characters are characterized with the utmost sympathy and, yes, humour. But it is a sad, sad tale, and ultimately a lush portrayal of love and the difficulty people find in connecting with others. And it is told in such a fresh, unique way! Although in some sense deeply rooted in its period it is still a timeless portrayal of society and the pressures it places on each of us to conform.

I love the great understatement near the beginning of the book, something like, "Lucinda's parents had raised a square peg in a country that was made up entirely of round holes."

I always love books where two characters from completely different worlds collide. Let's face it, this book was never going to have a happy ending, although it would have been great if it had. I'm glad that the film version was changed; both it and the book are immensly entertaining in their own ways (Cate Blanchett is superlatively ethereal as Lucinda in the film).
The trials and troubles of both characters are lovely, and I thoroughly loved the '19th century set pieces,' that the book opens with. An eccentric view of the lives of two people. Both are forced to sink or swim... One swims, the other sadly sinks, but only after they both play their parts in one of the greatest romances in literature.
Rewarding, thoroughly deserving (for once) of the Booker Prize, I think this is one of the best books ever written.

OK but poor resolution - Rated
Supposedly one of the Great Australian Novels. I was engaged by it pleasantly enough, but the eventual tragic ending seemed to me just a little far-fetched.

Recently re-read it after 10 years... - Rated
...and it is still as good as I remembered. It always seemed to me that in many subtle ways Carey has reflected the 19th century setting in the writing style he adopted for this novel (and in the Dickensian array of characters, perhaps?)

Knowing the twist that was coming this time (I had no idea it was coming when I previously read it and was quite upset) just intensifies the tragic nature of the story. A wonderful epic of a novel.

Oscar and Lucinda - my favourite for the Best of the Booker Prize - Rated
Definitely rates among one of my all time favourite novels. An amazing and fascinating story with rich character development, well worth re-reading time and time again.

As always, Carey excels at bringing fragile and flawed characters to life in an historical setting, without seeming to be "period" fiction; the characters and their stories are always deeply developed, and even when exploring personalities that may sometimes not be likeable or admirable, I think that Carey always makes the reader care about his central characters, in spite of their human weaknesses and the mistakes they make.

While not everyone thinks that the film of the book (with Ralph Fiennes as Oscar and Cate Blanchett as Lucinda) develops the characters quite so well as Carey writes them, most agree that the film is shot beautifully, and this is also an apt description for the way Carey writes character, story and place.

Gillian Armstrong, director of the film of the book, acknowledges Carey's ability to tell a story so different to the typical period drama: "It's black and ironic and tragic at times, but we hope people will love it and understand that it is an odd film,".

If you are looking for a romance with a fairy tale ending, then this wonderful novel is probably not for you. However, if you aren't already a Carey fan, and you are looking for a quirky, sad, funny read, with a love story at the heart of a strange tale, set in a harsh and sometimes confusing landscape, then read this book and enter the fabulous world of Peter Carey's fiction. If you aren't a Carey convert by the end, then perhaps you need to read it again?! ;>

One last comment from this avid Carey fan: as with his later "True History of the Kelly Gang", "Oscar and Lucinda" thouroughly deserved the Booker Prize in 1988, and, whilst probably not the bookies' favourite, it's my favourite for the Best of the Booker Prize this year (and as it's the people's choice, if you agree, vote with your fingers at http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/vote).

A fantastic novel - Rated
I am extremely suprised so many people found the main characters of Oscara and Lucinda unengaging as they are two of the most ambitious and endearing characters I have ever met. Oscar and Lucinda is a highly intelligent, secretly humorous and intricat novel which should be praised for its unique voice and mastery of language.
Oscar and Lucinda is a book which slowly builds up momentum with its many stories and short, splintered chapters. Peter Carey has surely established himself as one of the greatest modern writers in this monumental, post-colonial piece.