*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Title: A Long Way from Home
Author: Peter Carey
Publication Date: October 30, 2017
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780525520177
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Irene Bobs loves fast driving. Her husband is the best car salesman in south eastern Australia. Together they enter the Redex Trial, a brutal race around the ancient continent, over roads no car will ever quite survive. With them is their lanky fair-haired navigator, Willie Bachhuber, a quiz show champion and failed school teacher who calls the turns and creeks crossings on a map that will remove them, without warning, from the white Australia they all know so well. This is a thrilling high speed story that starts in one way, and then takes you some place else. It is often funny, more so as the world gets stranger, and always a page-turner even as you learn a history these characters never knew themselves.
What I liked about this book was the topic, the characters, and the overall idea. What I didn’t like about this book is that it just plain couldn’t hold my attention. I was bored. That may be harsh, but it’s really true. As much as I wanted to like this book, I really just couldn’t. This is the second book of Peter Carey’s that I read and I think it’s time for me to call it quits. Many people really appreciate and love his writing, but whether it’s a difference of interests or a different sense of humour, I just haven’t been able to get into his books. Where I think Carey’s strength is, is in his characterization–Irene Bobs is a firecracker of a woman and Willie Bachhuber is as interesting as he is complicated–that is to say, very interesting. But sadly, the story was very dry for me. I couldn’t visualize what was happening and really get immersed in the story. I had high hopes for this book and they were dashed. I have nothing really bad to say about this book. I think a great many readers will enjoy it. It wasn’t to my taste.
Worn Pages and Ink 