I'm pretty sure that must be Olivier
Books with two narrators are hard to pull off. I almost always prefer one narrator to the other, which means I almost always have the following poor reading experience with two-narrative books, to wit (as they say in books written a while ago and in legal documents still):
So there I am, reading along, and then the great story I’ve been loving slams to a stop and some other story starts up, and it turns out to be one I don’t care about at all. It’s sort of like what happens at parties when some guy steps in between you and the person who’s telling a great story about, say, the time their mother tricked them into going to the United States so you wouldn’t get your aristocratic behind in trouble, and the boring guy starts to relate to you the tale of how he bought his Prius. Bad. I always wonder how the writer failed to see that the narrator I like is so much better than that other narrator to whom the writer handed over big swathes of the book. It is not a question you can ever get answered.
These problems are not present in Peter Carey’s new book, Parrot and Olivier (they go to America, and that’s part of the title too). It took me 24 hours to read it. Both Parrot and Olivier are equally wonderful. You might want to pick it up.
Only 24 hours? So what else did you do on your break?
I think I might! Thanks for the review. I’m putting it on my list.
Joseph, I have just posted a description of one of my blogging hiatus highlights. Although it is true that it appears to concern the painting of my living room, dining room and hallway, in fact it is about the larger revelation I’ve been taking in — that is, it is entirely possible to admit that you are only good at one or two things and it is okay to entrust the things you cannot do to save your life to other people. Or to ignore them entirely. I have not yet reached the zen-life state that allows me to do the latter, but I’m getting pretty good at the former.
Hello Lilian, I think you will like it. I have also linked to a lengthier review, just in case the information I’ve given about the book is not enough for those who’d actually like to know what it is about. xo
I adore Peter Carey! Since the bookstore closed I am woefully out of touch with the fiction world — thank you, Lily — and welcome back! xo