Illywhacker
by Peter Carey
published
August 5th 2004
(first published 1985)
by Faber & Faber
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binding
Paperback, 576 pages
literary awards
1985 Booker Prize Nominee
isbn
057122590X
(isbn13: 9780571225903)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 197)
recommends it for:
anyone and everyone
Savour every page in this tour-de-force by Australia's finest Booker prizewinner. It's not just 139 year-old Herbert Badgery's outlandish shaggy dog stories on women, aviation and the outback, it's not just the people and places that spring vibrantly from the page, it is the beauty of Carey's craftsmanship, his perfectly-proscribed prose and lovingly-nurtured descriptions that make this novel such a pleasure to read. Enjoy the ride of each and every chapter in what would be an overworked storyli...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
people who like Peter Carey's books, books on Australia, fantastic realism (a la Garcia Marquez)
What an interesting book. Peter Carey's characters are always complex and his stories are epics, and this book is in the same vein, if a bit more... eclectic and bizarre. Illywhacker is an old Australian slang term for con-man or huckster, and it is the story of Herbert Badgery's life/tall tales spanning the late 1800s into the 20th century. It pulls in many threads in Australia's history, as well as some threads and plot twists that are just plain odd. But it's a well-written, very funny, enjoy...more
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If a novel's flaws are flaws of ambition, I forgive them pretty easily. Such is the case with this massive, sprawling, hilarious, poignant, stuttering epic about an Australian teller of tall tales that he passes off as his own personal history. It ends with an image I defy anyone to forget & features, as well, perhaps, the funniest scene I've ever encountered in fiction.
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Read in January, 1989
recommended to Martha by:
Gift recommends it for: Anyone
This was my first Peter Carey book, and the title is evocative of what the reader will find within. I don't remember the plot; what I do remember is that it was totally off the wall and left me wanting more from this author.
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Read in August, 2008
Illywhacker brims with fabulous characters, clever twists, and solid writing. For some reason, though, I struggled to finish the book, just as I did with Oscar and Lucinda. I guess Peter Carey triggers my ADD.
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Read in January, 1986
I loved it. The Illywhacker is about a lier and how his stories get out of hand, the end was just unbelievable, still makes me laugh.
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Another all-time top favourite of mine.
I loved everything about this book, and the way Carey makes Australia come to life.
I loved everything about this book, and the way Carey makes Australia come to life.
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Read in January, 2005
Great tale of an inveterate liar and his brood. Fact and bullshit combine to create one hell of a shaggy dog story.
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Superb. Carey's finest work. The history of Australia distilled into one character.
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Read in April, 2002
i love this book so much. i've read it four times in the past six years.
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My introduction to Peter Carey and I have been hooked ever since.
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Read in February, 2008
It's a long book, but the longer you work at it the better it gets.
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Read in January, 1990
My favorite all-time book.
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