True History of the Kelly Gang (2000)

I read this book while in Australia, and was a little disappointed, as I felt I could have learnt as much from a documentary or film. If you know nothing of Ned Kelly it works as a reference point - but does not answer the question I wanted to know, "why do most Australians idolise Ned Kelly so much?" ( )

This book is probably better to listen to than to read. The language is very pleasant, rolling over you. Loved the use of "adjectival" - it kept making me smile. The structure of the novel is intriguing and the author made some interesting choices. I knew nothing of this piece of history and it's easy to see why the story still has power and significance to Australians. ( )

Another brilliant Carey. I wasn't sure about this one. I'd always had the impression that Ned Kelly was hero-worshipped here in Aus for no particularly good reason - that he was a thieving, murdering scumbag with delusions of grandeur who had been posthumously given undeserved dignity. I'm not sure whether Carey is simply reinforcing the general "whitewash" of a criminal with this highly sympathetic fictional "autobiography", or whether this is more like the true Kelly. Either way, it's a fantastic read.

I was a little dubious that an uneducated, poor farm lad like Kelly would write in such a fanciful manner, but on glancing through Kelly's Jerilderie letter I found that the style was very similar to that used by Carey (for example, within the first couple of sentences Kelly writes: "the ground was that rotten it would bog a duck in places".) I read a few pages of the transcript of Kelly's letter (to be found here: http://www2.slv.vic.gov.au/collections/treasures/jerilderieletter/jerilderie01.h...) but Kelly was certainly no Carey when it comes to writing! The writing is tortuous and swiftly gave me a headache. ( )

I knew nothing about Ned Kelly and meeting him in this fictionalized account was certainly not painful. Carey’s writing was solid: he had an ear for what appears as the authentic language of the period and was able to sustain that language to the story’s end. The characters also were well enough drawn. And the novel’s conceit—that we were reading thirteen parcels of multiple sheets of paper handwritten by Kelley to his fictional daughter chronicling his life and time—was effective. My problem was that the novel’s pace was too slow and somewhat repetitive. About ¾ of the way into the book and I was ready for the end. I am not certain if that impatience was justified. It might have been my mood at the time and less a reflection of Carey’s style and talents. The work, after all, won the 2001 Man Booker Prize. ( )

This review has been crossposted from my blog Review from Rose's Book Reviews Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me.

This novel is metafictional - Carey has taken the facts and then changed them to suit the story if it had really happened. Instead of Ned Kelly being an unforgivable highway robber, he is a painted more as a lovable modern day Robin Hood in a way. He is set on the pathway to criminality by his mother, trying to support a huge family of Irish children with no support from Ned's father.

The language of this book is hard to get into, as Carey attempts to capture the language of Ned Kelly back in the early days of Australian history. The novel is sectioned according to where Ned's correspondence comes from. As always, Carey's writing challenges conventions.

This book is relevant to anyone who has an interest in Ned Kelly. Sure, you aren't going to get historical facts out of it, but if you have someone who hates Australian literature (and for good reason!) or don't know very much about our 'national icon', then this is a great book to introduce them to it.

This isn't a novel I would read of my own volition, this was yet another literature text. It was one of the more enjoyable ones to read, surprisingly since it was Australian literature! However, the language usage, although 'authentic', was very offputting for me.

If you had to pick a Peter Carey to read out of this and Collected Stories, I'd pick this one over it. Collected Stories gives you a nice variety, but it's all very deep and meaningful. The Kelly Gang is slightly more lighthearted, and infinitely easier reading.

It is very sensitively written, and doesn't contain any swearing, though of course Ned comes up with his own adjectival curses! It's likely suitable for teens, and certainly for adults.

As with many books for my literature classes, I didn't purchase this book, rather I borrowed it from my local library. I don't think I would reread for pleasure, although others may feel differently. ( )