Amnesia
is the latest novel from the great Australian
author Peter Carey. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Carey but I was
intrigued by the premise of this novel – a young Australian woman releases a
computer virus that frees prisoners all over the world, making her “America’s
public enemy number one”. I was quietly excited when I was allowed to access an
advance copy on Netgalley.
The novel opens with journalist Felix Moore
being convicted of defamation. Immediately after being sentenced, Felix and his
grotesquely obese benefactor (this is often repeated: Amnesia is very concerned when its characters gain weight), the
wealthy criminal property developer Woody “Wodonga” Townes, repair to the pub
to get drunk, before going home and accidentally drunkenly burning his house
down. At the same time as Felix’s courtroom downfall is occurring, a virus that
opened prisons around the world, freeing political prisoners and hardened
violent criminals alike was released by a hacker called Angel, who turns out to
be Melbourne-born Gaby Baillieux, daughter of Felix’s fellow Monash alum Celine
Baillieux. Gaby is caught by the police then bailed out by Wodonga, who also
has a past with Celine. Drunk, destitute and desperate (always so very drunk!),
Felix is hired by Wodonga to write a book that portrays Gaby as a hero so that
she won’t be deported by the Americans, who Felix are convinced are behind
every major event in Australian politics. This is important, because Felix’s
firm and fervent conviction that the CIA were behind the events of 1975 that
have shaped so much of Australia’s politics ever since dominates the book and
motivates Felix’s desperate desire to tell the truth. Part I is a first-person
account of events from Felix’s point of view, while Part II’s narration shifts
a lot, moving between a third person recounting of Felix’s actions and Gaby and
Celine’s recorded first-person account that is reported by Felix.
Peter Carey is the perfect author if a
recently returned traveller wants to feel like they have arrived home. His
language evocatively captures the essence of Australia, from the truth about
how those in cities understand the rich bushland that surrounds their urban
environments to references to the annual (very dangerous!) magpie swooping
season. The book was at its best and most enjoyable when it placed Felix within
these surroundings, taking us on a journey from the Battle of Brisbane in World
War II Queensland to the suburban Melbourne of ‘90s via the harsh sundrenched
and muddy environs of the first class of Monash University (it’s still a
terrible-looking campus and one of the windiest places in Melbourne but
markedly less muddy than Carey describes it).
If it had stayed just as that, it would
have been a great book. But, the central concern that drives the plot is an
investigation of Gaby and that aspect of the book fails miserably. I just did
not for one second buy Gaby’s character. Even understanding that the “first
person” narration of Gaby’s is filtered through Felix, there is no teenage girl
in the world who speaks likes that. It was like a historical fiction that had
been researched extensively with the items all correctly identified but the
idiom just slightly off. It’s such a pity, because all the other characters
were so richly drawn that the falsity of Gaby stands out clearly. It kind of
feels like a book that was started with one idea but then ended at a place the
author did not expected it to go but wasn’t that fussed about.
I still enjoyed the book and I will revisit
Part I whenever I feel the need to immerse myself in lovely Australian
language. The second part, not so much. Three stars.
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