Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Carey, Peter (Vol. 183) - Norma Jean Richey (review date summer 1989)

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Norma Jean Richey (review date summer 1989)

SOURCE: Richey, Norma Jean. Review of Oscar and Lucinda, by Peter Carey. World Literature Today 63, no. 3 (summer 1989): 534-35.

[In the following review, Richey examines the symbolic elements in Oscar and Lucinda, praising Carey's characterizations of the dual protagonists.]

Peter Carey has established himself as one of the best contemporary writers of fiction. His last two novels, Bliss and Illywhacker, were finalists for the Booker Prize, and Oscar & Lucinda was an early contender. Carey has both imagination and intelligence, and his writing gets better with every venture, though I am not sure anyone can write a better picaresque novel than Illywhacker.

Oscar & Lucinda tells the story of two misfits, unsuited both by nature and by parents who raised them according to personal rather than traditional communal values. Oscar's...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Norma Jean Richey (review date summer 1989)
   2. Andro Linklater (review date 7 September 1991)
   3. Victoria Radin (review date 13 September 1991)
   4. Peter Carey and John F. Baker (interview date 13 December 1991)
   5. Paul Kane (essay date summer 1993)
   6. Carolyn Bliss (review date summer 1996)
   7. David Coad (review date summer 1996)
   8. Philip Hensher (review date 20 September 1997)
   9. Peter Carey and Ramona Koval (interview date September-December 1997)
   10. Anthony J. Hassall (essay date October 1997)
   11. Frank Kermode (review date 16 October 1997)
   12. Richard Eder (review date 1 February 1998)
   13. Brooke Allen (review date 23 February 1998)
   14. Karl Miller (review date 20 April 1998)
   15. Robert Ross (essay date July 1998)
   16. Christer Larsson (essay date October 1999)
   17. D. J. Taylor (review date 8 January 2001)
   18. Ron Charles (review date 18 January 2001)
   19. Thomas Jones (review date 8 February 2001)
   20. Peter Carey and John Bemrose (interview date 26 March 2001)
   21. Robert Ross (review date June 2001)
   22. Peter Porter (review date 25 August 2001)
   23. Andreas Gaile (review date September 2001)
   24. Paul Maliszewski (review date summer 2002)
   25. Cliff Lobe (essay date December 2002)
   26. Kirkus Reviews (review date 1 September 2003)
   27. Hugo Barnacle (review date 22 September 2003)
   28. Peter Porter (review date 27 September 2003)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright