10 Things about ‘Parrot and Olivier in America’ by Peter Carey

Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey…

1.) … taught me new things about Federalist America and early-19th-century France
2.) … in the ending, made a vivid point about the differences between America and the “Old Country,” be that where it may
3.) … had excellently ficionalized historic figures in it (Alexis de Tocqueville, I mean you)
4.) … made good use of narrative, flashback, and general literary structure
5.) … was, in short, quite an enjoyable read
6.) … was also not terribly memorable or challenging
7.) … could be read in two sittings (I got slowed down by a brief stint in an American prison by one of our two narrators in the middle and had to break)
8.) … intrigued me sufficiently to take look at Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda
9.) … had moments of sauciness, seriousness, silliness, and sadness, sometimes all at once
10.) … set up a nice tale of contrasts that was neatly carried through to the very end