The authors behind the 2006 Booker longlist: Peter Carey

Name: Peter Carey

Date of Birth: May 7, 1943.

Nationality: Australian, but lives in New York.

Book on Booker longlist: Theft: A Love Story, which is about the escapades of an artist and his 'damaged' brother living in New South Wales.

Other books:  Bliss (1981), Illywhacker (1985), Oscar and Lucinda (1988), The Tax Inspector (1991), The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith (1994), Jack Maggs (1997), True History of the Kelly Gang (2000) and My Life as a Fake (2003). He has also written many short stories, non-fiction, a children's book and a screenplay.

Awards: 1979 Miles Franklin Award (Australia) for War Crimes; 1980 New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for War Crimes; 1981 Miles Franklin Award (Australia) for Bliss; 1982 National Book Council Award (Australia) for Bliss; 1982 New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for Bliss; 1985 Australian Film Institute (Best Adapted Screenplay) for Bliss; 1985 Australian Film Institute (Best Film) for Bliss; 1985   Book Council Award (Australia) for Illywhacker; 1985 The Age Book of the Year Award for Illywhacker; 1986 Ditmar Award for Best Australian Science Fiction Novel for Illywhacker; 1986 Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction for Illywhacker; 1986 Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Australia) for Illywhacker; 1988 Book Council Award (Australia) for Oscar and Lucinda; 1988 Booker Prize for Fiction for Oscar and Lucinda; 1989 Miles Franklin Award (Australia) for Oscar and Lucinda; 1994 The Age Book of the Year Award for The Unusual Life of Tristran Smith; 1997 The Age Book of the Year Award for Jack Maggs; 1998 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) for Jack Maggs; 1998 Miles Franklin Award (Australia) for Jack Maggs; 2001 Booker Prize for Fiction for True History of the Kelly Gang; 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) for True History of the Kelly Gang; and 2001 Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction for True History of the Kelly Gang. A two-time Booker winner, he was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1985 for Illywhacker.

Interesting facts: He originally worked as an advertising copywriter and eventually went on to start his own advertising agency in 1980. He famously caused a controversy in 1988 by declining an invitation to meet the Queen after winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Jack Maggs. He cited family and personal reasons at the time, but others thought it was because he was motivated by his Australian Republican beliefs. He wrote the Wim Wenders film Until the End of the World.

Online resources:
Author profile on Australian Literature website
Author profile on Contemporary Writers website
The Flinders University of South Australia's Peter Carey website
A recent interview in The Independent
Entry on Wikipedia

Reading Matters comment: There can be no doubt that Peter Carey is Australia's leading contemporary writer. Despite this, I have a love/hate relationship with him. I struggled with The True Story of the Kelly Gang and abandoned it about three-quarters of the way through. Ditto for Illywhacker. But I loved, loved, loved Oscar and Lucinda and felt equally enraptured by Jack Maggs. On the strength of past Booker performances, I suspect Theft will make the shortlist.

Comments

[Isabella]

I had no idea he'd had any part in Until the End of the World -- one of all-time favourite movies and it's really held up well over time. I've only read My Life as a Fake, which was excellent, but keep meaning to read more. Of all the longlist, his book has the most appeal for me.

[kimbofo]

Isabella, I didn't know this either. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the film.

[Perry Middlemiss]

I'm not sure where the information re the 1979 Miles Franklin Award and Carey's War Crimes came from. That year the award was won by A Woman of the Future by David Ireland. I know: picky, picky, picky.

I've only read it once but think the first third to half of Illywhacker (the part about Herbert Badgery) contains Carey's best work.

You've done good work here.

[kimbofo]

Perry, the info is from the Contemporary Writers website (link above).