Oscar and Lucinda (1988)
Who wrote it?
Peter Phillip Carey (1943-; active 1966-), born Victoria, Australia. Carey is a much decorated author of novels of and short stories, nominated for the Booker five times and one of only five authors to win it twice (his second win was for 2001’s True History of the Kelly Gang.)
His writing career started somewhat less auspiciously. Having dropped out of his Melbourne science degree due to lack of interest, and working for an ad agency, he wrote five novels in the Sixties, all of which were rejected. His only published work in that decade was a single short story. Things picked up in the Seventies on the short story front, as his advertising career developed - first in London and then on return to Australia. His first published novel was Bliss (1981), and he received his first Booker nomination for his second, Illywhacker (1984).
What's it about
Oscar and Lucinda describes the lives of two very different characters whose lives become intertwined when they meet on a long sea journey to Australia in the mid nineteenth century and discover a shared passion for the (then illicit) world of gambling. Oscar Hopkins is a devout Christian, from an evangelical background with a memorably fanatical father, who converts to Anglicanism, which while relatively moderate, still is very much unable to tolerate his increasing addiction to the card table and racecourse. Lucinda Laplastrier is an Australian orphan and heiress who ploughs her fortune into a glass factory. She develops her own fascination with gambling - especially card games - and as a woman in the nineteenth century is similarly frowned upon (albeit not in a way that threatens her relative power from a financial perspective.)
When their paths cross, a mutual love develops between the unlikely pair, but despite them ending up cohabiting, it remains tragically unspoken. Oscar misguidedly believes Lucinda retains a passion for a former lover, now a clergyman in remote Northern New South Wales, and tries to win her affection by promising to see to the building of a grand folly - a glass church - in his parish. The final part of the novel, as a result, transforms from the Dickensian character studies of its first half into a bleak parody of a nineteenth century “adventure” novel, as Oscar undertakes, under the guidance of the obsessive explorer Jeffris, a nightmarish journey through the rough terrain of “undiscovered” NSW. The denouement is littered with classical tragedy motifs of misunderstandings and poor timing, but I wouldn’t want to give away too much more…
What I liked
Possibly the best winner so far in terms of pure storytelling and readability. It’s both a gripping page-turner and packed with deep insights into the human condition.
It starts very small, in the claustrophobic village life of Oscar’s childhood, and ends with epic tragedy (historical and personal) and the fantastic image of a glass church arriving in a rural village, floating along a river. It is safe to say that there is a lot in this book.
As many others have commented, its ability to evoke a lost period in history is remarkable. Yet unlike previous “historical” winners it doesn’t feel overwhelmed by its history - more like an undiscovered gem from the period that somehow showed up in the late twentieth century.
The only thing that prevents this is the very lightly but effectively used device of the “present day” narrator, Oscar’s great-grandson. Again without giving too much away, his existence is crucial to the plot’s unravelling and maintains an element of suspense that keeps you hooked to the end.
It almost goes without saying that the characters in here are remarkable. From the “Odd Bod” Oscar and his Oxford pal Wardley-Fish to the wonderfully fierce (but ultimately tragically flawed) Lucinda, these are characters that will stay with you beyond the pages.
The novel’s handling of the devastating impact of colonialism is subtly handled but extremely effective. The malicious undertones exist throughout the novel but are brought horrifically to the surface on Jeffris’ manic expedition, where local tribes are slaughtered as mere inconveniences, with seemingly as little thought as for the cedars that are felled in huge quantities merely for a better view of a trig point. It’s hardly surprising that Oscar has all but abandoned his faith by the novel’s end.
What I didn't like
Honestly, once again, it’s hard to pin anything down here. I guess if you were splitting hairs you could argue that the opening third of the novel isn’t the easiest welcome, with a heavy focus on religious issues that (while incredibly well told) are probably somewhat obscure to the average modern reader.
Food & drink pairings
As ever there’s a broad smattering of booze in here, including a memorable bottle of “lukewarm colonial hock”
By the end, like Oscar, you’d likely be grateful for a bottle of Laudanum at hand at all times.
Fun facts
This seems to have been one of the smoother years for the judging panel, with a majority of the judges in favour of Carey from the off. The only serious competitor was a “pre-controversy” The Satanic Verses (the fatwa wasn’t issued until the following year) - apparently the favourite of this year’s token “huh?” judge - former Labour leader Michael Foot. The rest of the panel were for Carey though, so Rushdie was denied his second winner.
There’s a 1997 film of this starring Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett which apparently did quite well. Has anyone seen it? I’m off-put by the casting (is Fiennes really suited as an “Odd Bod”) and a cursory read of the plot which suggests they’ve incorporated a marginally less bleak ending. I have to admit I’m still somewhat intrigued, though…
Carey was inspired to write this when living in the part of rural NSW described in the novel’s final part. When a local church was threatened with closure, he wanted to write a fantasy of its arrival in the area, immediately settling on the vision of it arriving, fully formed, on a barge. He then worked backwards from there, which seems to have worked out rather well.
Oscar’s childhood in the novel is inspired by Carey’s reading of Father and Son, the autobiography of English poet Edmund Gosse, which details his relationship with his Plymouth Brethren evangelical preacher father and therefore birthed the incredible character of Theophilus in the novel.
Vanquished Foes
Bruce Chatwin (Utz)
Penelope Fitzgerald (The Beginning of Spring)
David Lodge (Nice Work)
Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses)
Marina Warner (The Lost Father)
Nope, not read any of these. Probably should read the Rushdie at least. Any other tips?
Context
In 1988:
Wave of demonstrations in Communist countries including Singing Revolution in Estonia
Soviet Union begins economic restructuring (Perestroika)
Hungary allows freer travel to the West
First McDonalds in a Communist-run country opens in Belgrade
Iraqi massacre of Kurds using chemical weapons - Halabja attack, towards tail end of Iran-Iraq War
Formation of Al-Qaeda by Osama bin Laden
Iran Air Flight 655 is shot down by a missile launched from the USS Vincennes, killing a total of 290 people on board
UK ban on broadcast interviews with IRA members
George H. W. Bush defeats democrat Michael Dukakis in US Presidential Election
Benazir Bhutto elected in first open elections in a decade in Pakistan
Lockerbie Disaster - Pan Am flight blown up over Scottish village, killing 270.
Tim Berners-Lee discusses his plans for what would become the World Wide Web at CERN
Stephen Hawking publishes A Brief History of Time
First World AIDS Day
The Phantom of the Opera, the longest running Broadway play ever, opens.
Paolo Coelho, The Alchemist
Roald Dahl, Matilda
Rain Man
Die Hard
Big
U2, Rattle and Hum
Pixies, Surfer Rosa
NWA, Straight Outta Compton
Life Lessons
All of these tragic misunderstandings would be a lot less likely to happen if people just… talked. I suppose this is a slight flaw to the plausibility of the novel - I fully understand Oscar’s motivations for not speaking up, but Lucinda’s seem more engineered for the purposes of storytelling…
Still, it’s a bloody good story, so I guess who cares?
Score
9
Another stunner. The 80s have certainly had their ups and downs so far…
Ranking to date:
Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (1981) - 9.5
Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively (1987) - 9
Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey (1988) - 9
The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch (1978) - 9
Life & Times of Michael K. - J. M. Coetzee (1983) - 9
Schindler’s Ark - Thomas Keneally (1982) - 9
The Bone People - Keri Hulme (1985) - 8.5
Troubles - J.G. Farrell (1970, "Lost Booker") - 8.5
Saville - David Storey (1976) - 8
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973) - 8
Rites of Passage - William Golding (1980) - 7.5
Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald (1979) - 7.5
The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens (1970) - 7
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974) - 7
Holiday - Stanley Middleton (1974) - 7 .
Heat & Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1975) - 6.5
In a Free State* - V.S. Naipaul (1971) - 6.5
G. - John Berger (1972) - 6
Something to Answer For - P. H. Newby (1969) - 5.5
Staying On - Paul Scott (1977) - 5
Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner (1984) - 4.5
The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis (1986) - 4
*Read in later condensed edition.
Next up
The wonderful The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, which is my first proper revisit of this journey, and one I’m very much looking forward to!
