Collected Stories [Paperback]

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Nature of Blue, Kristu Du, He Found Her in Late Summer, Exotic Pleasures, and War Crimes), along with 3 previously unpublished works (Joe, Concerning the Greek Tyrant, and A Million Dollars Worth of Amphetamines).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 [...], 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.

As a rule, I've found that short-story collections - especially those collecting all of an author's output - tend to have as many weak stories as strong, or else the first selections are original and thought-provoking, but the author is unable to sustain my interest due to sameness of style. Peter Carey cannot completely escape the first problem - though the hits well outweigh the misses - but he demolishes the second with the astonishing variety of settings and circumstances he incorporates into these tales. And even though commonalities of theme link these stories to their author and to one another, Mr. Carey approaches each one from such radically different angles that it's almost a surprise to recognize that he's returned us to similar ground.

No publishing dates are given for the individual stories - only that of the collection. No doubt they range over Mr. Carey's career, although they seem remarkable pertinent regardless if some detail creeps in to hint they may have come from thirty or more years ago. I say pertinent rather than fresh, because these stories are often insightful devices for illuminating the realities of how we interact with the world and the people in it. In order to accomplish this, Mr. Carey departs from that same reality, presenting us with exotic, fancifully alternate worlds at times, but with the same old, same old human nature intact. This can be entertaingly bizarre, as in the lead story 'Do You Love Me?', and 'Life and Death on the South Side Pavilion', or predominantly realistic with only a slight variation from the real world, such as 'He Found Her in Late Summer'. But whether he writes about visitors from space ('The Chance') or delves briefly into autobiography ('A Letter to Our Son'), I found nearly all of them to be oddly affecting and memorable.

There are elements to a few of these stories that some readers may find offensive, both in language and in sexual situations, but I consider that content minor, and not out of line when compared with contemporary standards. Potentially more thorny, especially to U.S. readers, is a noticeable anti-American slant to a few of the stories. I found the use of these broad stereotypes briefly irritating, but not enough to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.

Too often, in order to try and provide context, I read comparisons between authors - this one reminds me of that one and so on. Whether Mr. Carey is as original as he seems to me or not is really beside the point - I can say that these stories often strike out toward surreal horizons and are consistently imaginative and unique. Since he also capably pairs this imagination with insight makes this the most entertaining collection from start to finish that I've read in several years. Highly recommended.

Careys style is a sort of cross between Hemingways short, clipped descriptive prose and Flann O'Briens surreal story telling and this collection illustrates this to the full.
As in all collections you get a mixed bag, but this volume contains far more 'hot' than 'cold'-Kristu Du, A Million dollars worth of Amphetamines,Puzzling nature of Blue,Exotic Pleasures and Fragrance of Roses sticking out particularily for me; all telling of how reality never quite lives up to the myth.
A good collection.

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