Oscar & Lucinda
(Book)
Author:
Published:
New York : Vintage Books, 1997.
Format:
Book
Edition:
1st Vintage International ed.
Physical Desc:
433 pages ; 21 cm.
Lexile measure:
1020L
Status:
Description
Oscar Hopkins is a high-strung preacher's kid with hydrophobia and noisy knees. Lucinda Leplastrier is a frizzy-haired heiress who impulsively buys a glass factory with the inheritance forced on her by a well-intentioned adviser. In the early parts of this lushly written book, author Peter Carey renders the seminal turning points in his protagonists' childhoods as exquisite 19th-century set pieces. Young Oscar, denied the heavenly fruit of a Christmas pudding by his cruelly stern father, forever renounces his father's religion in favor of the Anglican Church. "Dear God," Oscar prays, "if it be Thy will that Thy people eat pudding, smite him!" Lucinda's childhood trauma involves a beautiful doll bought by her struggling mother with savings from the jam jar; in a misguided attempt to tame the doll's unruly curls, young Lucinda mutilates her treasure beyond repair. Neither of these coming-of-age stories quite explains how the grownup Oscar and Lucinda each develop a guilty passion for gambling. Oscar plays the horses while at school, and Lucinda, now an orphaned heiress, finds comfort in a game of cards with an odd collection of acquaintances. When the two finally meet, on board a ship bound for New South Wales, they are bound by their affinity for risk, their loneliness, and their awkwardly blossoming (but unexpressed) mutual affection. Their final high-stakes folly--transporting a crystal palace of a church across (literally) godforsaken terrain--strains plausibility, and events turn ghastly as Oscar plays out his bid for Lucinda's heart. Yet even the unconvincing plot turns are made up for by Carey's rich prose and the tale's unpredictable outcome. Although love proves to be the ultimate gamble for Oscar and Lucinda, the story never strays too far from the terrible possibility that even the most thunderstruck lovers can remain isolated in parallel lives.
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Westbrook Adult Fiction
F CAR
On Shelf
More Details
Language:
English
ISBN:
0679777504 (pbk.)
Lexile measure:
1020
Notes
General Note
Originally published: New York : Harper & Row, 1988.
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Carey, P. (1997). Oscar & Lucinda. 1st Vintage International ed. New York, Vintage Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Carey, Peter, 1943-. 1997. Oscar & Lucinda. New York, Vintage Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Carey, Peter, 1943-, Oscar & Lucinda. New York, Vintage Books, 1997.
MLA Citation (style guide)Carey, Peter. Oscar & Lucinda. 1st Vintage International ed. New York, Vintage Books, 1997.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
7ea67f65-514c-5aaf-8be4-e76ec63a5977
Record Information
Last Sierra Extract Time | Apr 28, 2024 04:42:18 AM |
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Last File Modification Time | Apr 28, 2024 04:42:53 AM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Apr 28, 2024 04:42:25 AM |
MARC Record
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