When the boy was almost eight, a woman stepped out of the elevator into the apartment on East Sixty-second Street and he recognized her straight...
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Jan 16, 2008
Magdalena
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Che Selkirk is a boy whose parents, members of the increasingly violent Students for a Democratic Society, have both disappeared, leaving him with his very rich grandmother. At the age of eight, a woman that Che recognises as his mother suddenly arrives and kidnaps him, taking him from New York to Australia. This is how the book begins, and Che’s adventure through hunger, love and loss becomes almost a coming of age tale as he starts to understand who he is and where his future lies.
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Jul 22, 2011
Nick
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Peter Carey's usual mix of something a little bit mysterious and criminal, and something ironically funny, His Illegal Self is a great little comical romp involving an inadvertent kidnapping. Che (He insists on being called "Chay" whereas his grandparents call him "Jay") is snatched from his wealthy grapndparents' custody by a friend of his outlaw mother ostensibly for a short visit. When the mother unexpectantly dies, the friend, an Ivy League student from Australia named "
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Jan 03, 2011
Lacey
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I had the exact opposite problem with this book that I did with the last book I read. The problem with this book is that the story is good. It's interesting, if a bit cliche, but it takes some turns that intrigued. The problem is the writer is not a terribly good writer.
I know it's in vogue not to use quotation marks, but if you're virtually incapable of distinguishing between your characters' voices, it's probably necessary. It's not that the character's were unbelievable, but they More...
I know it's in vogue not to use quotation marks, but if you're virtually incapable of distinguishing between your characters' voices, it's probably necessary. It's not that the character's were unbelievable, but they More...
Mar 01, 2008
Molly
rated it: 
Worthy of another Booker prize?
No.
Fascinating with some literary merit?
Yes.
Carey tells this tale mainly from two characters' perspectives: a boy/son/grandson, Che or Jay, and a mother/kidnapper/revolutionary, Dial or Anna. Confused? Try reading the novel. The prose isn't necessarily dense, but it often demands rereading phrases or sentences in order to interpret what, exactly, is happening in the novel. Carey never uses quotation marks, which, surprisingly, isn't th More...
No.
Fascinating with some literary merit?
Yes.
Carey tells this tale mainly from two characters' perspectives: a boy/son/grandson, Che or Jay, and a mother/kidnapper/revolutionary, Dial or Anna. Confused? Try reading the novel. The prose isn't necessarily dense, but it often demands rereading phrases or sentences in order to interpret what, exactly, is happening in the novel. Carey never uses quotation marks, which, surprisingly, isn't th More...
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Sep 12, 2008
Lisa
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I don't often get to the point when I decide I can't read anymore but I did with His Illegal Self. I had been looking at this book for a long time and finally picked it up to read. What I found was extremely confusing. Who is the boy? Who is his mother? Is his father really the Che? How is the grandmother involved? Is his mother really his mother or someone else and what or who is she hiding from? Then the mother sacrifices herself but did she really? The story jumps around locations and
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(2 people liked it)
Jul 21, 2009
Jeff
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Peter Carey's latest novel tells the story of eight-year-old Che, the son of SDS radicals long since gone underground for crimes against the state, who is cared for by his wealthy grandmother. When the grandmother regretably gives Che over to a young woman the boy believes to be his mother, events spiral out of control and before you can say "g'day" the boy finds himself living on a hippie compound in a fecund corner of Australia. Carey handles the child's perspective quite well and th
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(2 people liked it)
Mar 30, 2009
Interesting book--While I thought some of the plot aspects were far-fetched, I was compelled to keep reading to the end. Rich language, interesting settings, emotional impact (at least for me). Peter Carey's books tend to stay with me even when I find some aspects of them difficult or jarring.
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Jan 03, 2009
Pris
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A love Letter To Nature, March 1, 2008
"With our protagonists no longer on the run, it finally becomes apparent what this novel is really about. It is a love letter to nature, and to the Australian wilderness in particular. Through the characters of this boy and woman, both cosseted urbanites who find themselves forced to live against their will in a tough, back-to-the-soil community, both of whom slowly and reluctantly come to terms with their changed circumstances, Carey pays moving More...
"With our protagonists no longer on the run, it finally becomes apparent what this novel is really about. It is a love letter to nature, and to the Australian wilderness in particular. Through the characters of this boy and woman, both cosseted urbanites who find themselves forced to live against their will in a tough, back-to-the-soil community, both of whom slowly and reluctantly come to terms with their changed circumstances, Carey pays moving More...
Dec 07, 2008
Tony
rated it:
Carey, Peter. HIS ILLEGAL SELF. (2008). ****. Carey is an excellent writer, having twice won the Booker Prize for fiction. This novel is no exception. It is the story of a young boy caught between two cultures and alternative sets of parents. His biological parents are active in some facet of a revolutionary underground, constantly in hiding, and wanted by the police. Their son, Che (or Jay), now lives with his grandmother in New York’s upper East Side. The grandmother hires a part-time
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Mar 01, 2009
Melody
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I was halfway through this book before I fell in love with it. The first half - I fought with the narrator. Who the hell is telling this story anyway? It’s part boy and part kidnapper. Part memory and part here and now. Part dreamy and part all-too-real reality. Part stinky-hairy armpit and part old-money, ivy-league’s the only way – martini breath. And then – deep in the bush of Australia – with penises peaking at me like mushrooms I was captured by Peter Carey’s lovely prose.
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Aug 02, 2011
Barbara
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Peter Carey is one of the few authors whose works I've read in their entirety. I've enjoyed some very much and others were blown away by. I think he should get at least as much attention and fame as Ian McEwan. However, "His Illegal Self" is a misstep. The novel reads like a draft--something quick and dirty that Carey had to get out to the publisher in order to fulfill a contract having already spent the advance.
There's nothing to hold on to in this book--if character makes plot More...
There's nothing to hold on to in this book--if character makes plot More...
Apr 14, 2011
Simon
rated it: 
It's just chance that I read two Peter Carey novels in a row. While I appreciated the difference in period and setting between this and Parrott & Olivier, I found His Illegal Self to be a lesser work. A young boy named Che lives in New York in the '70s with his wealthy grandmother, who has raised him after gaining custody from his Sixties radical mother. The bulk of the story concerns what happens when Anna (aka Dial) arrives to take Che to see his mother. Plans change, and the two end up in Aus
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Feb 04, 2011
Gregory
rated it:
I found the characters' voices very confusing in the first few chapters of this novel by Pater Carey.
I have had a mixed relationship with this author. Years ago he was my preferred author and I lapped up the wonderful tales in Fat Man in History, Illywacker & Oscar & Lucinda. By History of the Kelly gang he had pretty well lost me. So when I was struggling with the opening of His Illegal Self I almost put it aside. The dialogue is spoken without quotation marks and two voices can be heard i More...
I have had a mixed relationship with this author. Years ago he was my preferred author and I lapped up the wonderful tales in Fat Man in History, Illywacker & Oscar & Lucinda. By History of the Kelly gang he had pretty well lost me. So when I was struggling with the opening of His Illegal Self I almost put it aside. The dialogue is spoken without quotation marks and two voices can be heard i More...
Jan 22, 2010
Donald
rated it:
Looking through some of the Goodreads reviews on this book shows a real diversity of experiences. Even the story itself is a thing in question. Carey has jammed a lot of ambiguity into His Illegal Self and it starts in the first chapter.
I jumped into this and became totally bewildered. After about 40 pages I assumed the fault was mine so I put the book down and started again some days later. But it is bewildering, it's not me. About as confusing as an eight years old being kidnapped More...
I jumped into this and became totally bewildered. After about 40 pages I assumed the fault was mine so I put the book down and started again some days later. But it is bewildering, it's not me. About as confusing as an eight years old being kidnapped More...
Jul 22, 2011
Rebecca
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This book had some potential as it took place in both the US and Australia as the author has spent loads of time in each country. And actually when talking about both those countries, he did a very good job at writing about them, which is rare because usually the author is only familiar with one of the places they are writing about and it ends up crappy, but this one was good. But that is the only thing that was. I didn't care about the plot at all. It was about some Dude who had hippie parents,
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May 29, 2009
Susan
rated it:
I'd happily read anything Carey has written. This wasn't my all-time favorite, but it was still a fantastic read. Carey does a magnificent job of doling out tiny pieces of information at a time, letting the reader puzzle characters and events together (in a way that apparently irritates some people). Isn't this how life works, though? There are layers of complexity to people and things that take time for us to unravel. In the book, it serves to build some pretty intense mystery and suspense
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Jan 18, 2009
Flippy
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I didn't know whether to add this to my "Couldn't Finish" shelf or my "Read" shelf. I started reading the book and while I think that the author is a good writer (this is another one of those books from the top whatever of 2008 that just didn't grab me - perhaps I'm not deep enough for these books), the plot both bored and confused me. It was much like "The Confessions of Max Tivoli", in that I knew it was supposed to be good, so I went to Amazon to read the bad r
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Mar 10, 2008
Cns
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I will not finish reading this book in protest of the CHEAP novelist's tactic of introducing a beloved pet only to kill it later for emotional effect. For once, can't we have a puppy or kitten that makes it through the whole story and is last seen curling comfortable in its bed at the end of the novel? I can only hope a stingray's barbed tail pierces your cold, cold, kitten-hating heart, Peter Carey, and that this book shows up on remainder shelves very soon.
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Mar 06, 2008
Rhonda
rated it:
I am a huge Peter Carey fan - huge. I can't tell you how disappointed I was in this book. I couldn't see the character, I couldn't find the voice, I didn't see the connections, and don't get me to talk about the ending, how predictable. I'm sorry, Peter, but I don't want you to use bits of your old books either!
I will give an extra star to the place they end up living and the grandmother. Both of these are well described and alive, for me.
I will give an extra star to the place they end up living and the grandmother. Both of these are well described and alive, for me.
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Mar 12, 2011
Eliza
rated it:
3/9/2011: Peter Carey has an amazing imagination. I've read only two of his books (he's written at least 15 novels), but it becomes clear quickly that he's very good at taking a "What if..." and letting his imagination turn the answer to that question into a story. In this novel, Che/Jay, the 7-year-old son of two radical Harvard students of the 1960s, is being raised by his grandmother in Park Avenue style. Then the message comes through from the mother (who is underground) that she w
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Feb 05, 2009
The mother-son relationship forms the heart of Peter Carey's new novel, and critics agreed that the touching bond that develops between the two gives the book its merit. Carey packs a strong emotional punch as he explores Dial's conflicted view of motherhood and Che's desperate love, attachments, and doubts. No less compelling are Carey's sparkling descriptions of the Australian outback. The majority of reviewers, however, felt that the novel bogs down in the middle with the introduction of an A
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Mar 02, 2009
Stephanie
rated it:
Like a political manifesto, His Illegal Self is filled with moments of transcendent brilliance that will make you go "Aha!" and, quite possibly, change your world view.
Also like a manisfesto however, this tale of the young son of American radicals is just as often a record of the author's quirks and idiosyncracies.
Peter Carey is the Man Booker Prize-winning Australian author of Oscar And Lucinda (1988) and True History Of The Kelly Gang (2001), and his distinct More...
Also like a manisfesto however, this tale of the young son of American radicals is just as often a record of the author's quirks and idiosyncracies.
Peter Carey is the Man Booker Prize-winning Australian author of Oscar And Lucinda (1988) and True History Of The Kelly Gang (2001), and his distinct More...
Jun 07, 2009
Steve
rated it:
It seems like an unfair complaint, but I think I would like this better if it wasn't by Peter Carey. What I usually enjoy most in his novels is the combination of detailed places and events (whether historical or fantastic) with philosophical engagement of cultural politics. His Illegal Self doesn't really develop that interpretive layer. It suggests the possibility of larger questions about 1960s radicalism, commune culture, and class conflict, among other provocative subjects, but doesn't do m
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Jul 26, 2011
I gave up on this book. It seems to be one of those books that delights in making it as difficult as possible for the reader to follow the story. First, we have no punctuation marks on the conversations. OK, I can put up with that if I must. Then we have the chapters being told from different viewpoints (the child or “the mother” – who appears not to be the mother) without making that clear. OK, so I can get used to that as well, once I realize what’s going on. But add to that the time-slicing
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Sep 18, 2011
Alison
rated it:
I gave this book four stars as I could not put it down and enjoyed reading it. However, having said that I felt quite underwhelmed by the ending and now feel quite dissatisfied with the whole book in general.
I have never read a Peter Carey book before and found that I enjoyed his writing style and use of language so I think I shall have to read a few more now.
I liked that it was a complex story told in a very simple way so as not to let the reader get too drowned in what they believe More...
I have never read a Peter Carey book before and found that I enjoyed his writing style and use of language so I think I shall have to read a few more now.
I liked that it was a complex story told in a very simple way so as not to let the reader get too drowned in what they believe More...
Jun 27, 2009
Stacy
rated it:
I almost stopped reading this book. I went so far as to remove my bookmark...literally 5 seconds later I was trying to find my place. The lack of quotation marks or anything at all to let you know that someone was speaking was incredibly distracting, but that in and of itself is not why I gave this book 2 stars. I just didn't GET it. I couldn't identify with any of the characters and I just very sorry for the boy. He wasn't abused or neglected. Instead he was uprooted and lied to and throw
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Jan 29, 2012
The sound quality on playaways is pretty lousy, but the simplicity and convenience are pretty great. Trade off? Not sure I would pick a playaway over a digital audiobook on my iphone next time.
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Feb 07, 2010
Melanie
rated it:
I haven't read a Peter Carey novel for a while but I was quickly reminded of what a great writer he is. He draws characters so well you can almost smell them. I found it hard to get a grip on the plot at first, it's deliberately hazy I think. I decided to go with the flow, and it paid off. It's a nifty plot with lots of layers. It had me a little on edge at times - like watching a film when you want to shout, "Don't go in there! Why did you touch that?"
It's an unusual novel More...
It's an unusual novel More...
Dec 03, 2009
Jane
rated it:
It's easy to see eight-year-old Che Selkirk as collateral damage in the Vietnam war and maybe his radical activist parents are too. Then what about his upper-crust custodial Grandmother raising him in a luxury apartment on East Sixty-second Street? Is Anna Xenos (aka Dial) his kidnapper or his rescuer? Is a hippie commune in Australia a better home for Che than that NYC apartment? How much should Dial sacrifice for Che? A few of the questions that come to mind in this thought-provoking book
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Feb 11, 2009
Kathy
rated it:
NYTimes best book of 2008. The plot was intriguing and the characters were interesting. The prose and vocabulary are well chosen.
The action takes place in the tumultuous 60s.Parents of young Che Selkirk are members of the Students for a Democratic Society. Che lives with his rich grandmother in NY City until he is kidnapped by an Dial, an acquaintance of his mother. He ends up living in a hippie commune in Australia.
There are many times the young boy is as confused by the More...
The action takes place in the tumultuous 60s.Parents of young Che Selkirk are members of the Students for a Democratic Society. Che lives with his rich grandmother in NY City until he is kidnapped by an Dial, an acquaintance of his mother. He ends up living in a hippie commune in Australia.
There are many times the young boy is as confused by the More...
