'I lost my own father at 12 yrs of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in hell if I speak false.' In a dazzling act of ventriloquism, Peter Carey gives the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly a voice so wild, passionate and original that it is impossible not to believe that the famous bushranger himself is speaking from beyond the grave. Carey gives us Ned Kelly as orphan, as Oedipus, as horse thief, farmer, bushranger, reformer, bank-robber, police-killer and, finally, as his country's beloved Robin Hood. In 1878 Francis Harty, a poor farmer, said, 'Ned Kelly is the best bloody man that has ever been in Benalla, I would fight up to my knees in blood for him - I have known him for years, I would take his word sooner than another man's oath'. By the time of his hanging in 1880 a whole country would seem to agree - and it is a measure of Peter Carey's achievement that he has not only made art from his country's great story but that he persuades us all to understand the true measure of that 'best bloody man'.
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In True History of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey returns to the harsh, brutal world of Australian history, so brilliantly evoked in earlier novels such as Illywhacker and Oscar and Lucinda. Set in the desolate settler communities north of Melbourne in the late 19th century, the novel is told in the form of a journal, written by the famous outlaw and "bushranger" Ned Kelly, to a daughter he will never see. As Kelly explains, "I lost my own father at 12 yr. of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lies may I burn in hell if I speak false".
The salty, colloquial, unpunctuated style of Kelly's journal is reproduced with great skill, as Carey recounts the outlaw's early life with a cross-dressing, Irish immigrant sheep worker, and a beautiful but headstrong mother, always on the wrong side of the law. Inadvertently causing the arrest and death of his father, Ned realises that "there were a drought and nothing flourishing there but misery I were the oldest son I thought it time to earn my place", a decision that ultimately leads him into conflict with the law, and to form the notorious Kelly Gang.
The novel contains some wonderfully lyrical and deeply moving moments, as Ned struggles to articulate the harsh injustice of the world around him, but some readers might find Carey's epistolary style rather restrictive and colourless after the first 100 pages, and lacking in the imaginative excitement of Carey's earlier novels. --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Peter Carey has produced some very fine novels before now, but this, I would say, is his finest.' --Daily Telegraph
'Contains pretty much everything you could ask of a novel.' --New York Times Book Review
'[Peter Carey is] without question the pre-eminent literary voice of post-colonial Australia, he loves to take risks.' --Guardian
'Contains pretty much everything you could ask of a novel.' --New York Times Book Review
'[Peter Carey is] without question the pre-eminent literary voice of post-colonial Australia, he loves to take risks.' --Guardian
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Yes it won the Booker price, and yes I loved it but its' important that you realise that there is no guarentee that you will enjoy it.
The written style is main thing to worry about. The narrators voice, Ned Kelly, can be a hard read. I've heard of people who have said that the found the books style a real grind to read and have never even finished the book. For me Ned Kelly's voice is utterly unique, free of the over intellectual prose of many authors. I was swept away, inside his head, into his world. I had never read anything like it.
It is clear Peter Carey has done a vast amount of research as well as made a massive leap of imagination. The gritty story is filled with tender and powerfully sad moments. It is certainly one of the most accomplished books I have read.
My advice, read a few pages or passages before you buy. If it you like the sound of it then go for it.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a "western" which gallops to life, and the reader feels the grit, smells the dust, and agonizes with desperate characters as they are tossed every which way, not by their own deliberate decisions so much as by the unpredictability of their Australian frontier existence.
Ned Kelly, the Jesse James of Australia, becomes human here, not a monstrous blackguard so much as a man who is forced to make impossible choices. In this tale, which purports to be the hand-written autobiography he wants to leave for his baby daughter, we follow his childhood in poverty, his reluctant "apprenticeship" to the villainous Harry Powers, his cruel imprisonment by corrupt authorities, and his attempts to stay out of trouble upon his release. The judicial system's attack on his mother, however, becomes the catalyst for Ned's life in crime, a life which the reader understands could have been completely different, had authorities simply shown more compassion.
Carey is masterful in using small details to show contrasts and to make the big picture come alive. A new pair of soft boots achieves almost mystical significance--the ecstasy of their acquisition contrasting with the strength achieved through their sacrifice. "Fresh bread and jam...barley and mutton soup," served to Ned in jail, provide poignant contrast to the poorer, leaner fare on the farm. And a red silk dress becomes a symbol for corruption in one context and love in another.
This is a vigorous, exuberant, and uncompromising vision of wilderness life and death. It is the sensitive portrayal of a young man forced to make impossible decisions to save and protect his family.
... Read more ›66 of 69 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Peter Carey has written an unusual novel that is put together as a series of letters written by Ned Kelly the famous Australian outlaw and bushranger, who became a national hero. It is presented as a raw, personal journal, written to a daughter he would never see. This is not only a very interesting concept but also provides a good insight into life in 19th century Australia. This novel is set in the desolate settler communities north of Melbourne, Victoria in the late 19th century, during a time when the first Irish settlers in Australia faced many hardships and struggles.
Peter's novel is basically a corrective to the popular conception, among some Australians, of Ned Kelly being a thug, thief and murderer. Ned's portrayal in this work is nothing less than a folk hero and freedom fighter, a defiant exemplar of Irish-Australian cussedness in the face of colonial oppression. To the authorities, this son of dirt-poor Irish immigrants was a born thief and, ultimately, a cold-blooded murderer; to most other Australians, he was a scapegoat and patriot persecuted by "English" landlords and their agents. With his brothers and two friends, Kelly eluded a massive police manhunt for twenty months, living by his wits and strong heart, supplementing his bushwhacking skills with ingenious bank robberies while enjoying the support of most everyone not in uniform. He declined to flee overseas when he could, bound to win his jailed mother's freedom by any means possible, including his own surrender if necessary. Ned Kelly was executed by hanging for murder in 1880 in Melbourne, Victoria. In the end his mother served out her sentence in the same Melbourne prison where her son was hanged.... Read more ›
Peter's novel is basically a corrective to the popular conception, among some Australians, of Ned Kelly being a thug, thief and murderer. Ned's portrayal in this work is nothing less than a folk hero and freedom fighter, a defiant exemplar of Irish-Australian cussedness in the face of colonial oppression. To the authorities, this son of dirt-poor Irish immigrants was a born thief and, ultimately, a cold-blooded murderer; to most other Australians, he was a scapegoat and patriot persecuted by "English" landlords and their agents. With his brothers and two friends, Kelly eluded a massive police manhunt for twenty months, living by his wits and strong heart, supplementing his bushwhacking skills with ingenious bank robberies while enjoying the support of most everyone not in uniform. He declined to flee overseas when he could, bound to win his jailed mother's freedom by any means possible, including his own surrender if necessary. Ned Kelly was executed by hanging for murder in 1880 in Melbourne, Victoria. In the end his mother served out her sentence in the same Melbourne prison where her son was hanged.... Read more ›
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
To be honest I had not heard of Peter Carey before I had heard about this book. I bought the book and found I was completely drawn into this world of Australian settlers/immigrants lives in the mid 19 th century. Ned voice was given a clarity and such depth I found I could not put this book down. I did, however, find myself wanting to find out more of Ned, and his descendants....great book. I loved it.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is a riveting story of the struggle of a family to survive in nineteenth-century Australia. It is told by Ned Kelly himself and the language is correspondingly unpolished with very little use of punctuation. After the first chapter or so, however, you stop noticing the language and get involved in the story. This book has been greatly hyped because of the Booker Prize but it's probably one you should judge for yourself. There's lots that's worth reading even if you're not Australian!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
Really good pace to this story - I was gripped from the start: an interesting subject matter to continue the tradition of historically-based modern novels.
Published 9 days ago by Danny Devito
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ok, but a bit slow
This was an interesting read, and when I got used to the style (very little punctuation, and the grammar was a bit off) I enjoyed reading it, but I found the book slow to get... Read more
Published 19 days ago by miss_spookiness
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
Amazing time to live. Difficult to talk about but this is worth reading as the times are so well depicted.
Published 2 months ago by Diana Longshaw
1.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't give a proper review
I couldn't give an honest review of the condition of the book or the story, because it never turned up. "Lost in the post". Good job.
Published 2 months ago by Dean Hubbard
4.0 out of 5 stars
history of kelly gang
Delivery was very good and book in good condition. The only negative is that it did not contain a map as did the one I had read from the public library and this wasn't stated on... Read more
Published 2 months ago by dumbo
4.0 out of 5 stars
True Great Historical Story
This is a great read for anyone who is interested in the real story of Ned Kelly or anyone who enjoys a story based in history. Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. Leyne
4.0 out of 5 stars
True History of the Kelly Gang!
`True History of the Kelly Gang' by Peter Carey is an action packed novel based on the true story of the famous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his outlaw partners `The Kelly... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Grace
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be put off by the written style...
This is a fabulous & captivating book.
Perusing other reviews, you may well note the odd review criticising the way in which it has been written.... Read more
Perusing other reviews, you may well note the odd review criticising the way in which it has been written.... Read more
Published 7 months ago by IntensiveCareNurse
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be put off by the writing style...
This is a fabulous & captivating book.
Perusing other reviews, you may well note the odd review criticising the way in which it has been written.... Read more
Perusing other reviews, you may well note the odd review criticising the way in which it has been written.... Read more
Published 7 months ago by IntensiveCareNurse
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting read
A brilliant book which was bought for my husband as a present. He loved it so I started to read it and then lost the book en route from Australia to the UK! Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. E. Cooper
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