Illywhacker Contributor(s): Carey, Peter (Author) |
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ISBN: 0679767908 ISBN-13: 9780679767909 Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions Published: April 1996 Annotation: In Australian slang, an illywhacker is a country fair con man, an unprincipled seller of fake diamonds and dubious tonics. And Herbert Badgery, the 139-year-old narrator of Peter Carey's uproarious novel, may be the king of them all. Vagabond and charlatan, aviator and car salesman, seducer and patriarch, Badgery is a walking embodiment of the Australian national character - especially of its proclivity for tall stories and barefaced lies. As Carey follows this charming scoundrel across a continent and a century, he creates a crazy quilt of outlandish encounters, with characters that include a genteel dowager who fends off madness with an electric belt and a ravishing young girl with a dangerous fondness for rooftop trysts. Boldly inventive, irresistibly odd, Illywhacker is further proof that Peter Carey is one of the most enchanting writers at work in any hemisphere. Click for more in this series: Vintage International |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Literary |
Dewey: FIC |
LCCN: 95043450 |
Lexile Measure: 1070(Not Available) |
Series: Vintage International |
Physical Information: 1.14" H x 5.26" W x 8.03" L (1.05 lbs) 608 pages |
Features: Price on Product |
Review Citations: New York Times 11/10/1996 pg. 68 Publishers Weekly 04/01/1996 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: In Australian slang, an illywhacker is a country fair con man, an unprincipled seller of fake diamonds and dubious tonics. And Herbert Badgery, the 139-year-old narrator of Peter Carey's uproarious novel, may be the king of them all. Vagabond and charlatan, aviator and car salesman, seducer and patriarch, Badgery is a walking embodiment of the Australian national character--espcially of its proclivity for tall stories and barefaced lies. As Carey follows this charming scoundrel across a continent and a century, he creates a crazy quilt of outlandish encounters, with characters that include a genteel dowager who fends off madness with an electric belt and a ravishing young girl with a dangerous fondness for rooftop trysts. Boldly inventive, irresistibly odd, Illywhacker is further proof that Peter Carey is one of the most enchanting writers at work in any hemisphere. |
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