Peter Carey the Australian writer who has won the Booker Prize twice is a consistently top notch writer. You may have read Oscar and Lucinda or The True History of the Kelly Gang. Most of his books have been set in the past during the frontier years of Australia. Carey now lives in New York City and has a new novel out which is on my "to read" list. His Illegal Self is set in both the States and Queensland, but the author leaves the past behind to tell a more modern story.
The story begins through the eyes of a wise and precocious seven year old, named Che Selkirk, a child of the hippie revolution. It takes place in 1972. Che was born while his mother, Susan, the daughter of wealthy parents, was studying at Harvard. She became radicalized after taking up with an underground leader, David Rubbo. Selkirk and Rubbo led student protests against the likes of Robert McNamara. They robbed banks and devised homemade bombs. Their activities lead the reader to imagine them as members of the Weathermen of the 70s. After Che was nearly run over during a protest, his grandmother Phoebe Selkirk takes custody of the infant and raises him to the time when the story begins.
The first part of the book is somewhat bewildering as it would be to the young boy who is now called Jay by his grandparents. At this point, a young Vassar lecturer from Southie in Boston, who admired Susan Selkirk, enters the story. The reader is told her name is Dial and we at first think she is Che's mother. It soon becomes clear that she is not. Rather, she has been sent by Susan and the underground to bring Che to Susan in Philadelphia. The flight of Dial and Che is told in different flashbacks when the story is continued through the eyes of Dial. They never reach Philadelphia because Susan is the victim of an accident caused by a home-made bomb. Dial's story is gradually revealed, and we find out who she really is and what her background is.
After a series of ill-planned adventures, the underground helps Dial (who is now branded as a kidnapper) and Che to flee to Australia. Here they join a loosely organized hippie commune on the edge of the outback in Queensland. This hippie group seem quite hapless as do the local police. The jungle-like settlement is buggy, muggy and the living conditions are extremely poor. It is a credit to Che that he is able to adjust to this earthy life and never gives up hope that his adventures will lead to his father whom he fantasizes about. Despite this, Che is more grounded in reality than the helpless Dial.
One of the men, Trevor, who seems to be on the run for some undisclosed activity, takes it upon himself to protect the naive Dial and Che. Trevor's motives are suspect and this creates tension as he interacts with Che and Dial. As the story works toward its ending, this tension builds and keeps the plot moving until the pieces fall into place.
Carey is a brilliant writer and the book is enjoyable and has a bit of a mystery as the reader discovers how all the players are connected. I was amused to even see Whitey Bulger mentioned, as he was indeed in the news in 1972 and has rarely been out of the news since then. Right now his trial is going on in Boston.
I recommend this book to all who enjoy a good story related with imagination and color. This is also a good book for a reading group.
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