Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter CareyMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I wanted to like this more. I know I'm supposed to like this more. However, clever does not equal funny, in my opinion, and you can see this book trying to be clever. Sure, the characters have some great lines, but in a story, should you be able to see those lines coming and groan when they arrive? As a historical fiction, it's good on the history side. The idea of two men running away from the French Revolution to post Revolution America is a good set up for comparing cultures and politics. That the two men come from two different backgrounds adds some depth. But the characters are so contrived to show off those backgrounds that I couldn't see them with any sense of realism. They're farcical in a realistic setting, and that's not a good read.
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