The Hamilton Case
by Michelle De Kretser
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A flamboyant beauty who once partied with the Prince of Wales and who now, in her seventh decade, has gone native in a Ceylonese jungle. A proud, Oxford-educated lawyer who unwittingly seals his own professional fate when he dares to solve the sensational Hamilton murder case that has rocked the upper echelons of local society. A young woman who retreats from her family and the world after her infant brother is found suffocated in his crib. These are among the linked lives compellingly show more portrayed in a novel everywhere hailed for its dazzling grace and savage wit - a spellbinding tale of family and duty, of legacy and identity, a novel that brilliantly probes the ultimate mystery of what makes us who we are. show lessTags
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This novel is the story of Sam Obeysekere, a man born in Ceylon whose relationship to British Colonialism sets the stage for a discussion of the ways in which his family and culture are marked by the ghosts that rise up from the thousands of small deaths that result from being less than citizens.
While it is not a "mystery" in the traditional sense of the genre, it is certainly mysterious. After finishing reading it, I'm still not certain what really happened. And I think that's what distinguishes it somewhat from the run of the mill "mystery" novel.
This is not a tightly tied up investigation of a crime. It is the story of a man's life as told from multiple viewpoints. There is a murder mystery inset into the story, which is The show more Hamilton Case. But there are other mysteries as well: how did Sam & Claudia's baby brother die? how did Claudia's baby die? why did Jaya marry Claudia? how much can we trust Sam's version of events? how much can we trust Shivanathan's version?
At points I thought I knew the answers, but now I'm not at all sure. show less
While it is not a "mystery" in the traditional sense of the genre, it is certainly mysterious. After finishing reading it, I'm still not certain what really happened. And I think that's what distinguishes it somewhat from the run of the mill "mystery" novel.
This is not a tightly tied up investigation of a crime. It is the story of a man's life as told from multiple viewpoints. There is a murder mystery inset into the story, which is The show more Hamilton Case. But there are other mysteries as well: how did Sam & Claudia's baby brother die? how did Claudia's baby die? why did Jaya marry Claudia? how much can we trust Sam's version of events? how much can we trust Shivanathan's version?
At points I thought I knew the answers, but now I'm not at all sure. show less
Set in Ceylon in the 1930s, Sam Obeysekere the narrator of this book is a pompous little lawyer, a product of Empire. His life is a disappointment to him. He makes his name with a notorious local murder which has caused a scandal, but even that does not provide him with any satisfaction.
An intriguing languid and laconic wafting aside with extended forefinger the veil over high society colonial days with the ensuing isolation engendered following independence. This very put downable books apparent climax drifts by until eventually on the last page, we discover the deeper purpose. An exploration of how intangible is truth and the vectors of presumption and prejudice we each bring to bear on it.
very evocative language and characters in Ceylon.
Condition: As New. Dust Jacket: As New.
Value: ~ $18. Reference: https://www.vialibri.net/searches?author=michelle+de+kretser&title=the+hamil...
Value: ~ $18. Reference: https://www.vialibri.net/searches?author=michelle+de+kretser&title=the+hamil...
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Author Information
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Michelle de Kretser is an editor who lives in Melbourne, Australia. This is her first novel. (Publisher Provided) Michelle de Kretser was born on November 11, 1957 in Sri Lanka. She was educated at Methodist College, Colombo,[2] and in Melbourne and Paris. She worked as an editor for travel guides company Lonely Planet, and while on a sabbatical show more in 1999, wrote and published her first novel, The Rose Grower. Her second novel, published in 2003, The Hamilton Case was winner of the Tasmania Pacific Prize, the Encore Award (UK) and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Southeast Asia and Pacific). Her third novel, The Lost Dog, was published in 2007. It was one of 13 books on the long list for the 2008 Man Booker Prize for fiction. From 1989 to 1992 she was a founding editor of the Australian Women's Book Review. Her fourth novel, Questions of Travel, won several awards, including the 2013 Miles Franklin Award, the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal (ALS Gold Medal), and the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Awards for fiction. It was also shortlisted for the 2014 Dublin Impac Literary Award. She won the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel The Life to Come In 2015 her title, Springtime, made the shortlist for the Australian Book Designers Association Award. She will also be taking part in the winter reading series, Writers on Mondays when she visits Victoria University in September 2015. She is the author of The Life to Come, published in September 2017. (Publisher Provided) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Hamilton Case
- Original publication date
- 2003
- People/Characters
- Sam Obeysekere
- Important places
- Sri Lanka
- Epigraph
- I always made it my business, at least, to know the part thoroughly. G. K. Chesterton.
- Dedication
- For Chris, with love.
- First words
- A name is the first story that attaches itself to a life.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I loved the dash of it, as a boy: a small island riding an ocean and nothing to break the fall. Shivanathan.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 823.914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 1901-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PR9619.4 .D4 .H36 — Language and Literature English English Literature English literature: Provincial, local, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
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- 463
- Popularity
- 65,672
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.47)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 4
