I saw him as part of a group of writers, including Rushdie and Achebe and Walcott people for whom the act of writing literature is also about reclaiming history."Ĭarey's route to reclaiming history has involved using the classic literature of the colonial power. "In that sense he was a quintessential post-colonial writer who was trying to contribute to the writing of a national literature of Australia. But to me Peter seemed to be doing a re-mapping of Australian history. People were very concerned with the formal invention in his work. "When I first encountered him in the 80s, his work was categorised as being complex, rather challenging novels from Australia. The writer Caryl Phillips sees Carey's writing in more global terms. It is such a rare thing for a literary novelist to plug in like that." Here was an Australian author speaking directly to a large section of the Australian people about who they were. "His role was almost bardic in that he had articulated one of the great myths of this people. McGrath watched Carey reading to a packed hall at the Brisbane Writers' Festival. That, in fact, a strand of their character could be traced back to a murderer and a thief who wound up on the gallows." That reaction indicated the statement was true, but also very troubling for Australians. "There were letters to the papers condemning his suggestion that Kelly was the Thomas Jefferson of Australia. "It was clear he had breathed life into this iconic national figure and had aroused powerful antagonisms," says McGrath. Only official Australia has always hated him."įriend and fellow novelist Patrick McGrath was in Australia when the book was published. Kelly was a popular hero at the time of his death and his reputation has been stable ever since.
"There was some bullshit controversy about me glorifying a murderer," he explains. To come back and tackle the nation's most potent myth was risky, and indeed, coverage of the book duly broke out of the arts ghetto and on to the news pages. He has lived in New York with his wife, theatre director Alison Summers, and their two sons, since the late 80s. Just as contentious as the suggestion that Kelly's legacy still shapes Australia was the fact that Carey was tackling the subject at all.
So many Australians were pleased to see him there as part of the story." "I thought the bucketheads and sparklers were unbelievably stupid and thoughtless and cheap. "Yes, when I first saw the Olympic thing I was a bit appalled," he says.
Carey's initial dismay at the representation of Kelly was based on a belief that the country was selling its Jefferson short.
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