Parrot & Olivier in America

Parrot & Olivier in America
By Peter Carey
Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 379 pgs. Fiction

Olivier Jean-Baptiste de Clarel de Barfleur, is a member of the french aristocracy. He and his family have just managed to avoid losing their heads to the guillotine and his parents have contrived his relocation to America in hopes to keep their young progeny safe. Parrot (John Larritt) spent his youth and much of his adulthood ekeing out a survival as man of many talents used by a mysterious benefactor. These two men will together travel to America and investigate what the young democracy has to offer.

For some reason, I was never able to connect to these characters. The story was interesting and the writing had some really nice moments but I just never cared about any of it. I enjoyed the relationship between the two men and how their differing perspectives illustrated their class prejudices. This is a good choice for those who love historically detailed fiction, I feel like at a different time I may have enjoyed it a lot more than I did.

CZ