Carey, Peter

▪ Australian author

in full  Peter Philip Carey  

born May 7, 1943, Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia

      Australian writer known for use of the surreal in his short stories and novels.

      Carey attended the prestigious Geelong Grammar School and studied for a year at Monash University in Clayton, Victoria. He worked as an advertising copywriter and at various other odd jobs in Australia and England until 1988, when he became a full-time writer. His collections of short stories, The Fat Man in History (1974; U.K. title, Exotic Pleasures) and War Crimes (1979), exhibit many grotesque and macabre elements. His novels Bliss (1981; filmed 1985), Illywhacker (1985), and Oscar and Lucinda (1988; filmed 1997) are more realistic, though Carey used black humour throughout all three. The later novels are based on the history of Australia, especially its founding and early days. His other works include The Tax Inspector (1991), The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith (1994), Jack Maggs (1997), and True History of the Kelly Gang (2000), a fictional account of the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly (Kelly, Ned). My Life as a Fake (2003) and Theft (2006) explore issues of authenticity in literature and art. His Illegal Self (2008) relates the story of Che, the son of radical students who left him with a wealthy grandmother, from whom he is seized and then taken on a continent-spanning journey with the ostensible purpose of reuniting with his parents. Carey received the Booker Prize in 1988 and 2001 for Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang, respectively.

Additional Reading

Karen Lamb, Peter Carey: The Genesis of Fame (1992); Anthony J. Hassall, Dancing on Hot Macadam: Peter Carey's Fiction, 3rd ed. (1998).

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