Bliss
by Peter Carey
published
January 30th 1996
(first published 1981)
by Vintage
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binding
Paperback, 304 pages
isbn
0679767193
(isbn13: 9780679767190)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 207)
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Read in August, 2008
My favorite novel, Ken Grimwood's Replay begins with the main character dying of a heart attack, then returning to life which forces him to examine what his past life had been and what he should do given this second chance. In Bliss, Harry Joy also dies at the very first page, but when he returns to life, he doesn't dwell on his past but thinks that he has moved on to Hell and al...more
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A very dear friend of mine once wrote to me, after my sending this book to her, to say that this book was flawed. She is probably right, but there are so many things that I love about it I would forgive it almost anything.
Firstly, it has one of the greatest opening sentences in lit history (okay, so I'm prone to gross exaggeration) - something like, 'Harry Joy was to die three times, but it was his first death that left the most lasting impression on him'. I think Harry Joy is a wonderful ...more
Firstly, it has one of the greatest opening sentences in lit history (okay, so I'm prone to gross exaggeration) - something like, 'Harry Joy was to die three times, but it was his first death that left the most lasting impression on him'. I think Harry Joy is a wonderful ...more
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Read in January, 2008
oh peter carey is a wonderful storyteller. he wrote this one much earlier in his career, so it only hints at the fantastic, baroque constructions he later manifests in books like 'oscar and lucinda' and 'the unusual life of tristan smith' and so forth.
this is, like most of his stories, a morality fable about Good and Evil, and about how hard it is to tell the difference between them sometimes, and also how hard it is to learn to be Good. it's about the seductions of comfort, about how painf...more
this is, like most of his stories, a morality fable about Good and Evil, and about how hard it is to tell the difference between them sometimes, and also how hard it is to learn to be Good. it's about the seductions of comfort, about how painf...more
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Peter Carey tells you how people look, think and feel-each of these in total disharmony with the rest of it and with other people, how each trait and person keeps changing and is completely unreliable, and he even goes to the incestuous, and yet he tells you about the most common feelings of people regarding themselves and others. Some descriptions of the mindwork and of perceptions take my breath away with their accuracy.
Finished it, and now I want more peter Carey!
Interestingly, his biogr...more
Finished it, and now I want more peter Carey!
Interestingly, his biogr...more
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8 comments
Read in July, 2004
This is the story of a man who dies on the operating table for a few minutes but then is revived. He believes, however, the he has died and gone to hell. And his belief that this is true is firmly upheld as he faces the awful truth about the dysfunctional state of his family for the first time.
This is one of the most bizarre books I have ever read. It was utterly horrifying in parts, full of twists and turns and fascinating characters. I was thoroughly captivated by it and think about it ofte...more
This is one of the most bizarre books I have ever read. It was utterly horrifying in parts, full of twists and turns and fascinating characters. I was thoroughly captivated by it and think about it ofte...more
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Read in May, 2008
Took me awhile to get started, almost didn't pick it back up. But, I'm so glad I did. The last part of the book is an incredibly documented contrast to the prior three quarters of the book. It made me want to change my life. It also made me really sad as it clarified how truly messed up modern society is in many many ways, mainly environmental but also in terms of the way people treat each other and themselves, very insightful! This book is really forward thinking for having been written in the...more
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Read in June, 2007
I enjoyed this book, and found it a very easy read, but it didn't engage me until the last thirty pages - slightly odd for a book of almost 400 pages.
The characters are caricatures, and while there's nothing wrong with that as long as they're there for a purpose, it's hard to see exactly what Carey's purpose is.
What is interesting is that the themes (cancer, corruption, organic living) are unusually prescient given that the book was published in the mid-80s.
The characters are caricatures, and while there's nothing wrong with that as long as they're there for a purpose, it's hard to see exactly what Carey's purpose is.
What is interesting is that the themes (cancer, corruption, organic living) are unusually prescient given that the book was published in the mid-80s.
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Read in April, 2008
The beginning was great and really well written he sort of lost me in the middle somewhere got a little to fanciful. Although sort of hilarious how the character who was written as a hippy dippy in the early 80s when the book was published, seemed like a park slope mom in 2008.
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Read in January, 1998
I met Peter Carey at a book signing in the small general books collection of the university textbook store that I worked at. I told him that I had skipped a "meteorology and weather" class to see him. He signed my copy of Bliss "Plenty of nice weather in this book."
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Read in May, 2007
I really wanted to like this book, but I found it very hard to care about any of the characters. The books was a bit too bleak for me. The premise, however---a man almost dies, but actually thinks he did die and is in hell---is hysterical.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Most
One of my very favourite books - I adore the flawed Harry Joy, the proud Honey Barbara and the clutching ambitions of Bettina. Every character is rounded and intriguing, with equal measures of Good and Evil. Entrancing.
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This is one of those slow reads that's worth it. Don't get daunted by the disturbing scene at the beginning...
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Read many years ago and just read again this year (2008) - the story and characters seem to be so familiar. I even picture Kevin Spacey as the main character - has this already been made into a film?
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An Australian family man dies for a few minutes and then lives again: craziness ensues. Funny, entertaining, dark but kind of uplifting. Yes.
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Very good, fast, clever, well written novel. The end, unfortunately went on and on way too much. Still, I liked it.
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Read in January, 1996
Australian fiction:Australia late 1900s-----------movie was better
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Read in January, 2003
Picked this up on a trip in Australia, wonderful.
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Read in April, 2008
Still reading and still learning.
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