Some of the themes had been explored by Carey in earlier books, most notably Illywhacker, O&L rises above them by dint of a crystal clear purity in both character development & storyline. They are both unconventional & thus perfectly balance each other, one wishes desperately that they find happiness. Lucinda is a feminist, defiant, outspoken & ambitious in a reckless sort of way. Oscar is odd, bumbling, fearful, yet hiding a nervous courage & inner moral character full of passion.

All of the characters, no matter how minor, are drawn with fine, detailed strokes the title characters in silverpoint. Water, glass and faith are all woven throughout the story as touchstones & symbols with endless depths. As the story progresses in Sydney, they wager whether Oscar can deliver a glass church through the unmapped Australian wilderness by a certain date, a journey fraught with danger & meanings. When he arrives at her cabin to hear her confession, they discover a mutual love of gambling & each other, though the latter is almost hidden in their awkward, complex interactions. She is returning from a business trip to England, and accidentally meets Oscar, who is dealing with his phobia of water in the midst of an ocean voyage. Lucinda Leplastrier is a young woman who has inherited much wealth after the death of her farming parents & has bought the Prince Rupert glass factory. He discovers it in another form when he meets Lucinda on board the ship taking them to Sydney.

Even though he gives all of his winnings to charity, the overwhelming guilt drives him to volunteer as a missionary to Australia where he hopes to be removed from temptation. The novel concerns Oscar Hopkins, who grew up in a strict, austere home in Victorian times & discovers gambling while at Oxford studying to be an Anglican priest. The luminous 1997 film starring Ralph Fiennes & Cate Blanchett was a perfect interpretation of the book, even the author agrees with me. In all seriousness, I want to marry Oscar. In reading thousands of books, I had never connected with characters to that degree & I became obsessed with the story to an annoying, almost unbalanced, degree. Reading Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda was a transforming experience for me.

Oscar and lucinda book review