Peter Carey Books

This is a further exploration of the relationships in Philip Jose Farmer' s Wold Newton Universe, as seen in books like Tarzan Alive, Doc Savage - His Apocalyptic Life, and the Other Log of Phileas Fogg.

Myths for the Modern Age is worth it for the Captain Nemo is Moriarty piece alone, not to mention the fabulous cover, complete with Modesty Blaise!

Here you have a collection of essays that inter-relate various characters, families and other information, by several different authors, including a compatriot, as well as Eckert himself, not to mention Farmer himself, so you could call this an anthology.
Please be aware that this is not a novel, if that is what you are looking for.

Eckert has a passion for this stuff, yes, you could call it obsessive monomania, but that is what collecting, which is really what this is all about, 'collecting' characters into universes and relationships, and utter, utter, fandom.

He is also a Philip Jose Farmer expert, to boot.

This is just fantastic stuff. Check out his and Farmer's various websites too, they are great. There are also related mailing lists that are worth it, if you are interested to this level.

Something else I have found : if you ask these authors a question, or anything like that, they will answer. They are completely devoted.

Outstanding book, in presentation, content, and participation. I am sure Farmer is quite pleased.

5 out of 5

Philip Jose Farmer had created the Wold Newton Universe. The 'stargate' necessary to access that Universe is the book in question. Read it fast and by the end of it, you would be hooked. Read it slowly, you might feel sleepy. Neverthless, the book is wonderful.

The contributors for this book provide a wonderful look into the world of Philip Jose Farmer. I had only read one Farmer book (The Tongues of the Moon) before delving into Myths. The excitement and intelligent discussion of Farmer's works in this volume prompted me to order several other titles. I am now on my third.

Having read both this book from cover to cover and the reviews that are posted on this sight, I can only conclude that one of the reviewers has an axe to grind with one or more of the writers responsible. Don't let that sway you; this is an excellent book that, yes, occasionally offers up contradictory information - if you take the time to read the introductory portion CAREFULLY, you will note that not only does Mr. Eckert acknowledge as much, but goes on to state that this is part of the fun in the game these writers are playing. Some people should lighten up and learn how to have fun already!

I'm so glad that all these bits about The WNU have been collected in one volume. I first got interested in PJF's concept when I read his Doc Savage bio. I've been lucky enough to track down a mint HC version of it...at a very reasonable price! This book has made me almost miss my Metro stop on more than one occasion. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, pulp heroes, or just want to read some very creative writing then you must buy this book. I plan on giving a couple as gifts this year.
I am also lucky enough to have been accepted into the Johns Hopkins University's Master of Arts in Writing Program. I showed this book to one of my instructors and he was fascinated by it. I gave him the nutshell explanation of WNU and told him that, after I get my degree, I would like to teach a course or two about it. If you are already an English/Writing teacher, please do the same. Let's srpead the fun around!!!

The very nature of this topic is difficult to accept given its sadness. However, with only the very-well-made movie to capture its subject, this book helps define everything, thereafter. Nothing can alleviate the weight of its subject matter; but, it does help one to interpret the man, more than the mystique. Ultimately, it makes you glad that Mr. Merrick did have a graceful exit from life given the dire physical deformity that shaped it.

'Tis true my form is something odd
but blaming me is blaming God,
Could I create myself anew
I would not fail in pleasing you.

If I could reach from pole to pole
or grasp the ocean with a span,
I would be measured by the soul -
the mind's the standard of the man.

I bought this book many years ago, unfortunately I made the mistake of lending it to someone and I never got it back. This is a remarkable book. I was touched by Joseph Merrick years ago. For the past nine years, I have been running the Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website. It is a site dedicated to Joseph, the person - not Joseph, the disability. I'm presently heading a London and Leicester (UK) campaign to have a commemorative plaque erected in his honour. He deserves to have a permanent tribute. He has done a great deal to advance medical science, through his skeleton, and thanks to him, there will one day be a cure for Proteus Syndrome. It's time the world said 'thank you'. Please give your moral support by visiting the site. I'm not sure if web addresses can be mentioned here, so simply type the following in your web browser: Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website

This book cannot help but touch every human being who reads it! With so many disabled people in our world, and our pre-occupation with appearances and the body beautiful, the elephant man story covers all the physical and emotional aspects of living with an extreme disability with dignity and humility for all readers to experience. Of course the help and support he and others must receive all helps. Peter Ford presents his extensive research findings on those that came to the elephant man's aid in a personable way. Although the film is based on his life, the book reflects Joseph Merrick's life in reality, politely comparing the differences between his film persona and his real life condition. It helped me to fill in the gaps left after watching the film and left me with a thankfulness of how well off my family and I are.

With twelve viewings so far, David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" has been my favorite movie for about twenty years, indeed one of the very few movies I would call a masterpiece. So it is quite a mystery why I should have waited so long to read this biography of its protagonist, Joseph Carey Merrick, whom the movie, following errors in the source material itself, incorrectly names John.

Having already seen a decent BBC documentary on the subject ("The Curse of the Elephant Man"), I was not totally unaware of the facts of the case, and I already knew for instance that Joseph spent some time in the countryside, something which Lynch decided not to depict in his film so as to achieve a more complete immersion in his bleak, black and white vision of Victorian London (indeed, one type of shock a fan of the movie will encounter while reading the book comes from its occasional touches of colour : I remember being struck by the blue bunsene light that lit the Elephant Man's face when Treves first met him.)

What is most surprising about the book, is how the film managed to be so faithful to Merrick's psychology (Lynch's John is the true Joseph, not some Hollywood fantasy), while altering many elements in the background, most of the secondary characters being dramatically different.

To mention a few of the changes from reality to film :

Joseph's manager as a freak, Tom Norman, was turned by the screenplay into Freddie Jones' very Dickensian Bytes, who beat and exploited his freak. Actually, Tom Norman was one of the few decent persons whom Joseph encountered before his change of fortune, enabling him to save as much as £50 (enough to live for a year without working) over his short career. The true evil was in fact the British government, which decided to ban all exhibitions of freaks as indecent (and references to Joseph's "nakedness" suggests that they may well have been), thereby forcing them out of the market and depriving them of their livelihood. To the writers' discharge, though, it might be argued that the fictional Bytes was a composite of Norman and the evil Austrian impresario who robbed Joseph of his savings in Belgium, which somewhat minimizes the gratuitousness of an all-too-typical Hollywood slur on the entrepreneur.

One of the famous scenes of the movie, in which Joseph attends a pantomime, is asked by Treves to "stand up" before the audience and is applauded by them, is a complete reversal of the true incident. Actually, Joseph attended the show incognito, and the most stringent precautions were taken to keep the rest of the audience unaware of his arrival, presence and departure (but then, the screenwriters needed their second "stand up" scene for dramatic reasons.)

In the film, Anne Bancroft's Mrs Kendal is shown visiting Joseph regularly at the hospital. Actually, the actress never met him in person, though she did send him her photograph and other presents. On the other hand, Princess Alexandra, who is shown much more sparingly in the film, did visit him several times, and send him Christmas cards.

The scene in which Michael Elphick's night porter introduces a bunch of drunks and prostitutes into Joseph's rooms may also be an exaggeration from much more minor real-life incidents. Also, on his return to London, Joseph did not find refuge in the toilets, but in the waiting room of the railway station. As for the model church he made, Lynch hides the fact that Joseph was actually using commercialized cut-and-assemble models from the local bookstore, which the nurses helped him assemble. The film makes it appear that Joseph had some wonderful artistic gift and was very dexterous, whereas his enormous right hand prevented him from even working in the cigar industry.

One thing I was curious about was Joseph's religion, as the film has very little to say about it, or about religion at the hospital in general. His mother was a Baptist, and the Bible was a book he had read several times over. When at the London Hospital, he was "confirmed" by an Anglican "bishop" (I am using scare quotes because as a Catholic I believe Anglican "bishops" are not validly ordained and, being mere laymen, do not have the power to confirm anyone) and allowed to participate in church services at the chapel.

Howell and Ford's book is truly a biography everyone should read. It gives an excellent picture of Victorian London, conditions in Poor Houses, the whole milieu of country fairs and freak shows and life at the London Hospital. It also contains a two-page autobiographical piece by Joseph himself, and the relevant extract from Treves' famous "The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences", but it is well-researched enough to point out the few errors and inaccuracies in these primary sources themselves. It also corrects erroneous interpretations in Ashley Montagu's earlier book on the subject.

All in all, this is a superb read, which could serve as concrete argument against a culture of death which is too ready to consider some lives not worth living. "Happy every hour of the day", after all, was how Joseph himself described his life at the hospital. And his happiness is one of the things most readers will paradoxically end up envying him.

Very good and in-depth book on the life of not only Joseph Merrick, but also Mr. Treves and many other people who happened into his life. Can you imagine even for one minute being in this guys shoes? I mean can any of us even begin to grasp the sort of life Joseph must of had to deal with? Can you imagine being so utterly repulsive looking (sorry, but he was) that just one glance at your face would make people flee, children cry, and women pass out, I mean think about just how horrible that would have been. He also suffered from chronic pain, and smelled something awful. Yet, beyond that he was such a kind, gentle, shy, caring, lovable and curious individual, who by all accounts would of been completely normal and was highly intelligent. What a life, what a great true story of a very strong determined soul.

With the four part story arc titled Inferno, ends one of the most ambitious and extraordinary dark fantasy sagas of modern fantasy.
Comprising of about thirty two numbers that began on the first trade The Devil in the Gateway, Carey's epic of power and ambition ranks among the best theological/urban/dark fantasies ever written.
Carey is a master of continuity, allusion, indirectness and oblique multilayered narrative, metaphor and arcane religious symbolism.
Like the majority of comic book writers, Carey's visual imagination(sometimes disturbingly surreal) and plotting are strong, unlike them his attention for style, characterization, tone and atmosphere is remarkable.He is a literate who chose the comic book medium to express his vison about power, arrogance and ambition.
It's the many levels of significance that puts Lucifer apart of other comics books.
I wouldn`t do the book justice if I didn`t mention the excellent artwork and coloring of the artistic team.Regular artists Peter Gross (story arcs) and Dean Ormston (single issues)did an excellent job; the equally excellent artist Chris Weston left the book early.
Gross` drawings on the first issues seems to me rather crude and sketchy but in later issues gets much better.Ormston's disturbingly creepy gothic drawings gives the perfect mood for the single issues, I love his work.The colour pallete is rich; sometimes dark and moddy, sometimes bright and colourful.
For the true conoissieurs Lucifer is an indipensable comic book.

Inferno marks the conclusion of a major story arc: whatever happened to those blasted wings of Lucifer? Last seen in the possession of Susano-O-No-Mikoto, they left the battlefields as the Basanos committed suicide, apparently into the mists of time (or whatever passes for cryptic walking- off- into- the- sunset in Lucifer's world anyway.)

Lucifer duels with Amenadiel - that duel promised in Lucifer #2, Children And Monsters (p.196), but sends his deputy to deal with the wings. Along the way, she meets... someone from her past. A Lilum like herself, which would technically make the union incest, but hey, this is 'Lucifer', after all, and there are no taboos.

The duel fought and won (sort of, on a technicality), Lucifer ends the book by taking on a loan from Loki, setting the stage for Lucifer #6: Mansions of the Silence.

As usual, there's a kooky laugh-at-it story within this collection as well: look out in particular for the bizarre-bittersweet "Bearing Gifts", with Dean Ormston's distinctive art.

This is the end of the first big story arc that has been foreshadowed in the divination of the Tarot deck in part one. And, please note, this part one is not 'Sandman presents: Lucifer' but 'Lucifer: Devil in the gateway'. (That's why the first review by millernw was not helpful, although I fully support his message.)

Well, almost all that has been foreshadowed. Except the divination of the 'innocence' card where Lucifer has been told that he'll have to repay the favour of Elaine Belloc. The last two-parter 'Come to judgement' that nicely ties up loose ends such as the fate of Cestis starts Lucifer's quest to do exactly that.

In the main story arc I particularly liked the re-telling of the old Venus-Vulcanus-Mars story. (The ugly engineer and his pretty wife ...) I know that the originals are Greek gods, not Roman gods, but few readers would know 'Hephaistos' would they?

Also very impressive how the whole story is told by the Duke of Gly. His comments show that Carey has not lost one bit of his ability to surprise the reader with a sentence that you may think about for a long time afterwards. (As you may do about the last words of the inspector at the very end of this book.)

You'll do yourself a disservice if you think of this book as anything other than a fantasy fiction novel. The engrossing, inventive storylines and the detailed characters will capture you from the first page. Mike Carey has taken Neil Gaiman's version of the fallen prince of angels and developed him into a calculating, reflective manipulator on a cosmic scale.
This collection begins right as the last one ends, and just when you thought Lucifer was beaten and his plan completely unfolded, a completely new layer emerges, rising from the ashes like our prideful protagonist. Pick it up for something new, complex, and original.

Man, I just stumbled onto this series after getting turned on to the Sandman library, Lucifer is a science fiction fan's dream come true-

Incredible plots, great art, it's the best thing I've seen since, well, Sandman.

I sure hope this series runs for a long time, I'm amazed at the creativity that has gone into this title!

I agree with the other reviewers that these stories are indeed marvelous. This is a different Carey than one often encounters in his novels. There is more of an edge, more of a threat, a greater distance from reality as we know it and a very different reality created by the author so if you don't care for writing that isn't based on a literal world you're used to inhabiting you may not enjoy these tales but it will be your loss. If you like John Cheever's short stories well then you'll be on familiar ground.

If there's any rap against postmodernist writers, it might be that they are "too clever for their own good", creating dense stories full of pointless cerebration, with no real regard for the reader.

Peter Carey, blessedly, is none of those things. This volume of stories is accessibly written, stimulating and entertaining without being pompous or impenetrable. These stories stand up well after 30 years because of Carey's ability to mix a few supranormal or science fiction elements into a base of complete naturalism. Most postmodernists tend to get a little cute with the conceits they create, but Carey is a very cosmopolitan writer--the comparison with Calvino is very apt. The best stories in this collection ("Fat Man in History", "War Crimes", "The Chance", "Puzzling Nature of Blue") examine human nature from many angles, as through a lens, but never losing sight of the characters' humanity. If I were pressed to choose a favorite, it would be "War Crimes", which is the story of two nearly psychotic gonzos who take over a frozen food conglomerate. It's a very funny and perceptive pastiche of cutthroat capitalism.

Only a few stories disappoint. There are a couple, including "Last Days of a Famous Mime" which bring to mind Stephen Millhauser, and only serve to show that at the top of his game, Carey is a much better writer than Millhauser. Applause, applause, for this splendid writing!!

Yes, Flannery O'Connor does come to mind, but actually Carey reminds me more of Charles Bukowski or Paul Bowles. As profane as Bukowski can be, though, I think that Bukowski was much more optimistic than Carey, who seems to share Bowles' view of man as an insect. Cruel, yes, but the cruelty of nature seems to be the prevailing view here. Man is a brute, with an impulse for perverse, sadistic acts, but what makes it all tolerable is the knowledge, Carey seems to suggest, that nature finally is capable of an even greater cruelty. Man acts with the hope of having an effect, but nature's final cruelty is to show once again that oblivion will be our reward. Is it the brutality of great empty spaces that teaches such a brutal metaphysic? Perhaps. Carey is exhilarating because his imagination stabs at our greatest fear. He writes completely free of the need to please. Yes, life is horrible. We read on because, as Nietzsche argued, we are stimulated by the truth.

Peter Carey is a writer who lives in NY but is mostly known in the British Isles. He has won the Booker Prize--the most prestigious award in the book world over there--a couple of times. He is a writer that offers a truly unique perspective on obsessions about fame and glamour--thoughts that this gossip and personal appearance fixated society should consider. The writing is always tight and surprising, and something that stays in your thinking. This may not be beach reading, exactly, but it is really excellent literature.

This collection of short stories by Peter Carey are the most imaginative stories I think I have ever read. Not only does he create such fantastic settings and characters, but the actual ideas and metaphors he creates for each one are stunning and contain so much meaning. There is the strange and absurd in his storytelling, but they don't distract you from the main idea, on the contrary, the strange and absurd give his ideas a real life of their own.

I read this book when I was maybe 7 and thoguht it was really good...and now that I read it 8 yrs later I still love it! This book plays out so strangely. It's like a dream. You have to read it!

Do you like taking matters into your own hands, well if you do listen to this.
Ok theres a book I've been reading called The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey.Its about a nine year old boy Sam.Sam's mom dad and of course him were down to there last twenty three dollars and fourty cents.So his family all went to a small town to see if they could make some money.Sam's Dad is a big gambler and his mom paints and sells art the size of match boxes but worth big bucks Sam was worried cause his big shot dad took his family to a huge hotel with a casino,buffet, and huge rooms.
The hotel was asking ....a night.Don't foreget they were broke, but sams mom was selling a .... piece of art so they supposed if she sold it theyed be able to pay rent.But it didn't work out how they thought,Sams mom didn't get the money and his dad was afraid to lose any more money by gambling it away.So Sam decided to go on a voyage for the thing his dad called the big Bazoohley.
I liked this story because a little boy thats 9 years old boy is going out to help his family.
I recommend this book to any body because it's usually hard for me to get into a book but I liked this one from the first chapter.

This kid needs more than ordinary luck to get himself and his parents out of a tight spot, but he isn't just going for a fix for the situation; he's shooting for the Big Bazoohley!

A book about guts and glory. A childhood adventure with a touch of magic.

Peter Carey brings his originality and poetic vision to a children's book with all the success he has had in adult prose. I loved it!

Will Self, T.C. Boyle and Haruki Murakami wish they wrote stories as brilliant as ones written by Peter Carey. In fact, if you're in the UK, pick up Collected Stories for all-inclusive brilliance. Not as self-indulgent or inscrutable as Self, quieter than Boyle, more clever than Murakami (and I do like these guys), Carey shows his ability here in different ways than with his novels. He understands what short stories can and should be. Anyone who likes the form, or who often doesn't have time for a lot of fiction but wishes he/she did, might want to track this down.

The twelve stories in this collection were my first introduction to Peter Carey's fiction, and I was immediately dazzled by their imaginative verve. Surreal, allegorical, sometimes chilling, sometimes magical, and often enigmatic, these are powerful works in a medium which can often be too short to make an impact.

Many of the situations described in the stories are not of the concrete world we live in, but evolve with a nightmarish logic, invoking feelings that we all have experienced in dreams. Witness the "Report on the Shadow Industry" with its baffling but somehow deeply familiar description of a society buying boxes of "shadows" - are they consumable goods, or hopes, or dreams? Also fascinating is "Conversations with Unicorns", a strange fable of unicorns discovering truths about their own mortality. More disturbing still is "Life & Death in the South Side Pavilion", a surreal tale of a man minding horses, who finds that a horse dies every time he makes love, and is trapped in his situation by guilt and an unyielding authority figure. Allusions to intrusive and dominating political systems or other sorts of authority lend a sense of powerlessness and struggle to other stories including "The Fat Man in History".

Overall, these stories invoke a complex and elusive mixture of feelings of yearning and despair. A perfect, intense, short introduction to the work of this author.

"The Fat Man in History" collects but a few great stories by Peter Carey. After reading a few of these stories, you won't be satisfied knowing there are more out there -- therefore the preferred and complete collection is "Collected Stories." Check out my review of Carey's "Collected Stories" here which includes all of the stories found in "The Fat Man in History."

"Collected Stories" by Peter Carey.

Here are the complete (26) short stories of Peter Carey in a single volume, including those collected in the books "The Fat Man in History" (Crabs, Peeling, Life & Death in the South Side Pavilion, Room No. 5 (Escribo), Happy Story, A Windmill in the West, Withdrawal, Report on the Shadow Industry, Conversations with Unicorns, American Dreams, and The Fat Man in History), "War Crimes" (The Journey of a Lifetime, Do You Love Me?, The Uses of Williamson Wood, The Last days of a Famous Mime, A Schoolboy Prank, The Chance, Fragrance of Roses, The Puzzling Nature of Blue, Kristu Du, He Found Her in Late Summer, Exotic Pleasures, and War Crimes), along with 3 previously unpublished works (Joe, Concerning the Greek Tyrant, and A Million Dollars Worth of Amphetamines).

Peter Carey has risen to fame as a novelist, having gained notoriety from such works as Oscar and Lucinda (which garnered him the Booker Prize), Jack Maggs, The True History of the Kelly Gang, and My Life as a Fake. However, like most writers, his debut publications were short story collections and "Collected Stories" finds his mini-masterpieces all in one place. I started reading Carey during a brief residence in Melbourne (I'm a short story fan and was looking for an Australian writer to compliment my travels -- I think it was a travel guide that pointed me to Peter Carey). I bought "The Fat Man in History," but after being blown away by the first few stories, I returned it for the complete "Collected Stories" and never looked back.

Many of the stories have a surrealistic plot, such as "Do You Love Me?" in which the work of cartographers plays a role in the dematerialization of places and people, "Life and Death in the South Side Pavilion" in which a man attempts to shepherd a group of horses that keep dying by falling into a pool of water, "Peeling" in which a man's lover unravels into nothingness, or "Exotic Pleasures" in which captivatingly beautiful birds murderously overwhelm the world. Others center on human relationships, such as "Room No. 5 (Escribo)" in which a couple traveling in a foreign land fall in love in the midst of a military coup, "Happy Story" in which a man balances his love for his girlfriend with his passion for flying, "The Uses of Williamson Wood" in which a woman confronts her abuser, and "He Found Her in Late Summer" in which a man sacrifices himself for his lover. The stories are difficult to describe further because they're not really "like" many other authors I can think of. The language and character interaction are spare but powerful (reminiscent of Joe Frank -- see joefrank.com), the stories are brief, often divided into terse sections/chapters and focusing on the bizarre or fantastic (like Vonnegut), and there is a recurring theme of futility in impossible situations and suggesting a larger metaphorical meaning (evoking Kafka). Each tale leaves a strong emotional impression -- I found myself eager to read the next, but not wanting to finish too soon and exhaust the supply either.

Although "Collected Stories" is the complete collection of Carey's short works, it isn't as available (in the U.S.) as is "The Fat Man in History." But trust me, after reading a few of these stories, you won't be satisfied knowing there are more out there.

After reading this short story collection, I tried a few of Carey's novels. None ever matched the power of these short works. There have only been a few other authors whose stories made such a mark. I also happened to read "Letter to Our Son" by Carey while browsing in a bookstore -- a very short tribute to his son's birth, but also great little story that sticks in my memory.

This collection of short stories from Australian author Peter Carey is daring, original,and brilliantly written. The scope of Careys imagination is awesome, and the landscape he paints for his readers is beautiful, and haunting. Extremely absorbing, they are the kind of short stories you don't want to stop reading, the characters are engaging, and the storylines always supremely entertaining. This is Ian McEwans 'In Between The Sheets" with a nightmarish twist and a slight bent towards the realm of fantasy. Careys prodigous talent is a joy to behold.

I was given a copy of Exotic Pleasures by a boyfriend years ago and I panicked when I saw the title.. I thought it might have been some sort of guide to tantric orgasm. I was pleasantly surprised. Peter Carey is such an original and talented story-teller. I've read many of his novels since receiving this collection of short stories. He takes you to places in your imagination that are sometimes unpleasant but always memorable and fascinating. Favourite stories in the volume: 'Peeling' & 'The Chance'. I'd bear this man's children if I could.

Collaboratively researched and written by Janet Carey Eldred (Associate Professor of English, University of Kentucky) and Peter Mortensen (Associate Professor of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Imagining Rhetoric: Composing Women Of The Early United States is a scholarly and revealing study of how women's writing developed in the era between the American Revolution and the Civil War. A truly fascinating look at how educated women used the power of the pen to promote civic goals, as well as how a new female readership emerged and changed the as yet fledgling book industry, Imagining Rhetoric is a highly recommended contribution to Women's Studies and Literary History reference collections and academic reading lists.

Collaboratively researched and written by Janet Carey Eldred (Associate Professor of English, University of Kentucky) and Peter Mortensen (Associate Professor of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Imagining Rhetoric: Composing Women Of The Early United States is a scholarly and revealing study of how women's writing developed in the era between the American Revolution and the Civil War. A truly fascinating look at how educated women used the power of the pen to promote civic goals, as well as how a new female readership emerged and changed the as yet fledgling book industry, Imagining Rhetoric is a highly recommended contribution to Women's Studies and Literary History reference collections and academic reading lists.

After making it clear to everyone, that 'the strong one is most powerful alone' Lucifer is finally reaping the fruits of his arrogance in the 'Paradiso' and 'Purgatorio' story arcs. When he only survives by the skin of his teeth he finds himself indebted to some characters that he used to treat pretty much like cockroaches in previous encounters.

Truly a masterful parable about power and arrogance that may have a lot of meaning in this day and age. However it is again the short interludes where the genius of Mike Carey shines most brightly. 'The Writing on the Wall' is not only a masterful story in itself (... thousand years are but one day ...) but also a prism shining light on the greater story arc. (Re-read the first page about the importance of communication after you know the whole story and be amazed!)

After making it clear to everyone, that 'the strong one is most powerful alone' Lucifer is finally reaping the fruits of his arrogance in the 'Paradiso' and 'Purgatorio' story arcs. When he only survives by the skin of his teeth he finds himself indebted to some characters that he used to treat pretty much like cockroaches in previous encounters.

Truly a masterful parable about power and arrogance that may have a lot of meaning in this day and age. However it is again the short interludes where the genius of Mike Carey shines most brightly. 'The Writing on the Wall' is not only a masterful story in itself (... thousand years are but one day ...) but also a prism shining light on the greater story arc. (Re-read the first page about the importance of communication after you know the whole story and be amazed!)

"War Crimes" collects but a few great stories by Peter Carey. After reading a few of these stories, you won't be satisfied knowing there are more out there -- therefore the preferred and complete collection to find is "Collected Stories." Check out my review of Carey's "Collected Stories" here which includes all of the stories found in "War Crimes."

"Collected Stories" by Peter Carey.

Here are the complete (26) short stories of Peter Carey in a single volume, including those collected in the books "The Fat Man in History" (Crabs, Peeling, Life & Death in the South Side Pavilion, Room No. 5 (Escribo), Happy Story, A Windmill in the West, Withdrawal, Report on the Shadow Industry, Conversations with Unicorns, American Dreams, and The Fat Man in History), "War Crimes" (The Journey of a Lifetime, Do You Love Me?, The Uses of Williamson Wood, The Last days of a Famous Mime, A Schoolboy Prank, The Chance, Fragrance of Roses, The Puzzling Nature of Blue, Kristu Du, He Found Her in Late Summer, Exotic Pleasures, and War Crimes), along with 3 previously unpublished works (Joe, Concerning the Greek Tyrant, and A Million Dollars Worth of Amphetamines).

Peter Carey has risen to fame as a novelist, having gained notoriety from such works as Oscar and Lucinda (which garnered him the Booker Prize), Jack Maggs, The True History of the Kelly Gang, and My Life as a Fake. However, like most writers, his debut publications were short story collections and "Collected Stories" finds his mini-masterpieces all in one place. I started reading Carey during a brief residence in Melbourne (I'm a short story fan and was looking for an Australian writer to compliment my travels -- I think it was a travel guide that pointed me to Peter Carey). I bought "The Fat Man in History," but after being blown away by the first few stories, I returned it for the complete "Collected Stories" and never looked back.

Many of the stories have a surrealistic plot, such as "Do You Love Me?" in which the work of cartographers plays a role in the dematerialization of places and people, "Life and Death in the South Side Pavilion" in which a man attempts to shepherd a group of horses that keep dying by falling into a pool of water, "Peeling" in which a man's lover unravels into nothingness, or "Exotic Pleasures" in which captivatingly beautiful birds murderously overwhelm the world. Others center on human relationships, such as "Room No. 5 (Escribo)" in which a couple traveling in a foreign land fall in love in the midst of a military coup, "Happy Story" in which a man balances his love for his girlfriend with his passion for flying, "The Uses of Williamson Wood" in which a woman confronts her abuser, and "He Found Her in Late Summer" in which a man sacrifices himself for his lover. The stories are difficult to describe further because they're not really "like" many other authors I can think of. The language and character interaction are spare but powerful (reminiscent of Joe Frank -- see joefrank.com), the stories are brief, often divided into terse sections/chapters and focusing on the bizarre or fantastic (like Vonnegut), and there is a recurring theme of futility in impossible situations and suggesting a larger metaphorical meaning (evoking Kafka). Each tale leaves a strong emotional impression -- I found myself eager to read the next, but not wanting to finish too soon and exhaust the supply either.

Although "Collected Stories" is the complete collection of Carey's short works, it isn't as available (in the U.S.) as is "The Fat Man in History." But trust me, after reading a few of these stories, you won't be satisfied knowing there are more out there.

After reading this short story collection, I tried a few of Carey's novels. None ever matched the power of these short works. There have only been a few other authors whose stories made such a mark. I also happened to read "Letter to Our Son" by Carey while browsing in a bookstore -- a very short tribute to his son's birth, but also great little story that sticks in my memory.

Before he won the booker prize for Oscar and Lucinda Peter Carey was writing short stories for journals and the like. Carey enjoyed success from his first short story collection, The Fat man in history, and then came out with the darker more broody War crimes. Highlights include "A Schoolboy Prank", a macarbe tale of revenge by a group of professionals on their old school teacher and "Kristu-Du" a story of the delusion of an architect (somewhat loosely taken from the story of Nazi architect Albert Speer). Macarbe, inventive and always a little funny Carey provides a collection worth reading over and over again