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True History of the Kelly Gang A Novel Peter Carey Books

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True History of the Kelly Gang A Novel Peter Carey Books

Initially unaware that both books were short-listed for the Booker in 2001, I read True History of the Kelly Gang shortly after finishing McEwan's Atonement. I find it interesting that the role of the author is at such issue in both books. Thankfully, the two authors take markedly different approaches.

Carey's novel is apparently a fictional enlargement of something actually written by Ned Kelly, a notorious nineteenth century Australian outlaw. For those whose first encounter with Ned Kelly, like my own, is through this book, it appears that Ned Kelly is an historical figure whose particular story is deeply embedded in the frontier foundation mythology of Australia. For Americans, a parallel would be Jesse James.

Like many myths that gain traction, Kelly's story is great; Carey chose wonderful material to work with. Much of this (quasi-epistolary) novel is written in the first person, so Carey takes great pains with the vernacular. I can't vouch for the authenticity but it certainly rings true. And Carey clearly sympathizes with his subject, making the outlaw's youthful mistreatment at the hands of the local authorities look like easy justification for what follows. But the real strength of the myth stems from the fact that Kelly was always doomed. And, indeed, he was hung.

As it pertains to my initial comparison, we have the Jerilderie Letter which was actually written by Ned Kelly but will certainly have been subjective. Then we have Thomas Curnow, a character in the book who makes off with Kelly's fictional manuscript. That it appears at all (fictionally, of course) indicates that he "published" it, which suggests he could have edited it. And, of course, we have Peter Carey with the pen. So, at least three layers lie between the events of this novel and the actual events of Kelly's life.

There is plenty else at work here but, like Atonement, Carey's novel seems to imply that the search for "fact" in the historical record is a quixotic endeavor.


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True History of the Kelly Gang A Novel Peter Carey Books Reviews

I read this book before a trip to Australia, and it helped me appreciate how Kelly is something of a folk hero in that country. The author takes a creative approach by telling the story from Kelly's perspective. It is tough to read because there is no punctuation and reads the way an uneducated immigrant from Ireland might talk. Over time you get used to it, however. You can't help but develop sympathy towards Kelly, because you understand his moral compass and realize how mistreated he was by outsiders growing up. Read the book, then visit the Melbourne Goal to hear more about Kelly and his Gang.
I read this on a flight to Australia and could not put it down. This is an extremely well written and well researched book, written in Ned Kelly's voice. Carey has captured the language and cadences of the time. So much of this time in history was unknown to me. How dreadful and hard life was for the early settlers and particularly for Irish migrants to Australia. One can well understand why Kelly turned to crime and became such a folk hero. He is in fact a hugely sympathetic character with motivations as simple as defense of family and provision of food. I found myself wholly caught up in the time, hearing the sounds and smells and sad when Ned is captured for the last time. I had to include a trip to the Melbourne gaol after reading this, and felt real grief at seeing places and events so accurately depicted. I must read more of Peter Carey's work. This was a masterpiece.
I think this book was superb storytelling at its finest. The reader enters the world of Ned Kelly and gains an understanding of the conditions that made him into an outlaw legend. Kelly's mother was very young when he was born and thus they almost grew up together and are extremely close, as the story demonstrates. However it is the cultural social structure of Australia that is fascinating and helps the reader understand the creation of such an outlaw. Australia was a prison colony at a time when England was constantly suppressing the Irish people. Thus many poor rebellious Irishmen and their families came to Australia where English protestant wardens oversaw the pioneer areas, taking sides with the powerful landowning English protestant squatters and suppressing the Irish. Poverty and suppression create certain mental and social conditions that were seen in Australia, in Ireland, and among African Americans in the Southern states. Justice is so elusive when it lies in the hands of the powerful that those without power have to create their own local home-grown justice. Such is the case with Ned Kelly and his family. The narrative shows the development of Ned Kelly's character step by step as he encounters a world where the cards are stacked against him and his people. Carey uses a sentence structure that takes two minutes to master and reflects the way that thoughts cascade from the human mind in clusters of sentences. In this regard he reminded me somewhat of William Faulkner, however Carey is far more easy to read than Faulkner. The characters and events are vivid, the plot moves at a reasonable pace considering the number of years that the story covers. I highly recommend the book. It is full of action but also thoughtful reflection as Kelly is fully cognizant of what he is becoming and the ways he might exploit this notoriety.
Initially unaware that both books were short-listed for the Booker in 2001, I read True History of the Kelly Gang shortly after finishing McEwan's Atonement. I find it interesting that the role of the author is at such issue in both books. Thankfully, the two authors take markedly different approaches.

Carey's novel is apparently a fictional enlargement of something actually written by Ned Kelly, a notorious nineteenth century Australian outlaw. For those whose first encounter with Ned Kelly, like my own, is through this book, it appears that Ned Kelly is an historical figure whose particular story is deeply embedded in the frontier foundation mythology of Australia. For Americans, a parallel would be Jesse James.

Like many myths that gain traction, Kelly's story is great; Carey chose wonderful material to work with. Much of this (quasi-epistolary) novel is written in the first person, so Carey takes great pains with the vernacular. I can't vouch for the authenticity but it certainly rings true. And Carey clearly sympathizes with his subject, making the outlaw's youthful mistreatment at the hands of the local authorities look like easy justification for what follows. But the real strength of the myth stems from the fact that Kelly was always doomed. And, indeed, he was hung.

As it pertains to my initial comparison, we have the Jerilderie Letter which was actually written by Ned Kelly but will certainly have been subjective. Then we have Thomas Curnow, a character in the book who makes off with Kelly's fictional manuscript. That it appears at all (fictionally, of course) indicates that he "published" it, which suggests he could have edited it. And, of course, we have Peter Carey with the pen. So, at least three layers lie between the events of this novel and the actual events of Kelly's life.

There is plenty else at work here but, like Atonement, Carey's novel seems to imply that the search for "fact" in the historical record is a quixotic endeavor.