ISBN: 9780571193776

Synopsis A bizarre novel that reinterprets Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations, Jack Maggs is set in London in 1837. The anti-hero of the novel, Jack Maggs, is a foundling who has been trained as a small child to rob wealthy houses. As a teenager Maggs is caught, sentenced to transportation and imprisonment in Australia, and forbidden to return to England on pain of execution. On his way to Australia the vulnerable young man is surprised when a 4-year-old orphan shows him kindness by feeding him from his own meager food supply. The boy’s generosity is never forgotten; from Australia, Jack manages to locate him in an English orphanage, arranges for his education and support, and comes to think of the lad as his son. After many years, he decides to return to London in secret and at great risk to search for the boy, now a young man living the life of a gentleman. Back home Maggs encounters Tobias Oates, a famous writer fascinated with the criminal mind, amateur hypnotist who wants to probe his subconscious and fellow burglar – in this case of people’s minds. In return, Tobias promises to help him find his “son.” Needless to say, not all goes to plan. This story has as many twists and turns as the streets of London, but in the end justice is served.

Bookclub Review Summary:

A bizarre novel that reinterprets Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations, Jack Maggs is set in London in 1837. The anti-hero of the novel, Jack Maggs, is a foundling who has been trained as a small child to rob wealthy houses. As a teenager Maggs is caught, sentenced to transportation and imprisonment in Australia, and forbidden to return to England on pain of execution. On his way to Australia the vulnerable young man is surprised when a 4-year-old orphan shows him kindness by feeding him from his own meager food supply. The boy’s generosity is never forgotten; from Australia, Jack manages to locate him in an English orphanage, arranges for his education and support, and comes to think of the lad as his son. After many years, he decides to return to London in secret and at great risk to search for the boy, now a young man living the life of a gentleman. Back home Maggs encounters Tobias Oates, a famous writer fascinated with the criminal mind, amateur hypnotist who wants to probe his subconscious and fellow burglar – in this case of people’s minds. In return, Tobias promises to help him find his “son.” Needless to say, not all goes to plan. This story has as many twists and turns as the streets of London, but in the end justice is served.

What the group thought:

The majority of the group enjoyed the book, and found it to be very readable, however some readers also felt that there were many characters involved and that the plot was complicated. The group gave the book an average score of 3/12 out of 5.

Here’s what the group had to say:

The group thought that the book had a very Dickens-esque – that is to say, English – atmosphere but in fact our Australian member pointed out that Peter Careys intention was to recreate the story from a particularly Australian perspective (that of the convict) and reverse the traditions of colonial fiction that cast the Australian convict as a rough-hewn, desperate, and ultimately doomed creature.

Peter Carey very cleverly wove human issues into his portraits of the main characters. Humiliation was a strong thread throughout the book, as Percy Buckle, Mercy and Tobias Oates, desperately struggled to save face and keep up appearances of success in the face of both bitter humiliation and circumstances that were not quite what the world perceived them to be. The struggle for survival that each character experienced was also a strong theme of the book. The story was visual and evocative: as one member pointed out, he felt like he was “walking with Jack Maggs”. London was well described with its smog, neglect and impoverished working class population. The class structure and social divide was apparent, throughout the book. Humor was also much evident and indeed some of the scenes were hilarious.

The group also felt that the ending was disappointing and weak. Some of the members felt that the book was predictable and some incidents unbelievable. Is Peter Carey playing with us? Having a laugh? Some clichés were identified as were a number of rather far-fetched coincidences that occurred throughout the book. The question is, do they add up to literary weakness, or an ironic nod to the master, Dickens.

Buzz words (one word that the group identifies that summarizes the book, from their perspective).

“challenging”, “hypocritical”, “complicated”, ”humiliation”, “Australian”, “clever”, “anti hero”, “survival”.