True History of the Kelly Gang (Hardcover)

The precise nature of Ned Kelly's lawlessness is central to Carey's book, for most of Kelly's crimes are seen as reactions against a cruel and unjust system being enacted against immigrants by the predominantly British system in Australia. For example, when Kelly is accused of stealing another horse, but when the case comes to trial the dates do not match up, the accused being out of the area when the theft was alleged to have taken place. The result of the trial is still a conviction. Kelly is found "guilty of receiving a horse not yet legally stolen." Finally, when Ned Kelly and his three companions are being hunted for the attempted murder of a policeman-something Kelly denies in his history-there is a shootout at Stringybark Creek resulting in the deaths of three constables. Kelly realizes that the only way to discourage the locals from turning them in is to pay them more than the reward money being offered by the authorities. After some audacious bank robberies to raise such funds the Kelly gang are cornered in Mrs. Jones' hotel in Glenrowan. Three are killed and Kelly is captured in his newly created(and now iconic) suit of armor. In 1880 he was tried and hanged. Kelly is a victim, like Jack Maggs in Carey's last novel, of a system that pulls him into a life of crime and judicial punishment. As Maggs is apprenticed to a house-breaker in Victorian London, so Kelly is apprenticed to a bush-ranger in this novel. They struggle, feeling that they can escape their lot in life, but the system pulls them down. Both men explain themselves--Maggs in the invisible writing he leaves for his errant adopted son, and Kelly in his "true history."

Carey's epigram in this book is taken from William Faulkner: "The past is not dead. It is not even past." This is his theme, for Carey is examining what it meant to be Australian in the last century and, by association, what it means today. Is it any different? Australia is still under the sovereign rule of Britain, the Republic still not realized. Carey's focus on post-colonialism and the struggle for Australian identity has clarified with every novel he has written, and it has never been clearer than here. The past is not dead, but it continues. Australia is still not free today, just as it was not free in Kelly's time. The sense of injustice in this book, and in this situation is prevalent.

But do not think this an overly serious or difficult book, because Carey has always been a wonderful story-teller and entertainer. There is abundant action and humor in this novel, and it comes at a great pace. The description of the Australian outback is vivid and sensual, bringing to life the harsh beauty of the country, the loud blackness of the bush night, and the roaring life of rivers in flood. Even the explanations of Kelly's difficult situation are couched in native terms that ring with truth and beauty. For example, when Kelly confesses that he can't imagine the forces stirred against him, he describes himself as "a plump witchetty grub beneath the bark not knowing that the kookaburra exists unable to imagine that fierce beak or the punishment in that wild and angry eye." Throughout the telling the voice of Kelly is dominant, Carey disappearing masterfully behind his narrator. Detail is immaculately and consistently observed. Kelly is obsessed it seems with numbers, for example. He gives ages and dimensions meticulously. Also, and effectively given the violence of the story and the reputation of Kelly himself, there is a winning sense of decorum in Kelly's refusal to report strong language. Instead we get b----r, and b----y, and most notably the replacement of all other swear words with the cover-all term "adjectival." Each chapter is a "found" document, Kelly's writings being made on any available paper stock tell his story, and pulled together after his capture and execution. Kelly's civil disobedience, while often violent in nature, is grounded in an sense of moral injustice that breeds a sturdy stoicism. Kelly is the hero we identify with and the forces of imperialism and societal intolerance that we read of in this book are the historical factors that forced him into being, in all his conflicted fatalism. In the "true" history of the Kelly gang it is made clear that this past is not dead but still with us. If Carey's novel is particularly Australian, his theme is universal.

Another book that has dealt with trying to get into the real character of Ned Kelly was Our Sunshine. I feel that "True History of the Kelly Gang" gives us a more in depth feel into one view of what the true Ned Kelly was like. The characters in the book comes alive and at times, you forget that this was not written by Carey but by Ned himself (which is what Carey wants the reader to do). The grammatical errors and the lack of punctuation did become confusing at times but, trust me, you get used to it and it also makes the story come alive and makes it very, very believable. It is almost like the new phase of Reality TV but better.

The book deals with all the events that Ned Kelly went through and Carey weaves all these events with Kelly's personal life and an example of what he might have felt during different stages of his life. The layout of the "project" is given to the reader in a package form from his younger days to his early death. It is extremely detailed and it is obvious that a lot of painstaking research was poured into the book and it is evident that Carey actually became the Ned that he was painting in his mind.

This is a book that has everything - murder, love, family, loyalty, betrayal, action and most of all, it is able to draw the reader into the situation to feel what all the characters are feeling. It forces the reader to think about whether Kelly was in the right or in the wrong and it creates debate between knowledge that we all might have past before about this character.

It is hard for someone who had never heard of the Kelly story before to really get into this book and to truly appreciate it, some history has to be studied. This is what makes the book fascinating as it is remarkable to see how Carey has weaved the events to make it feel like a flowing river of events. Basically, these parcels/manuscripts that have been written are from Ned Kelly himself to his daughter so as to give evidence that he is not the man the newspapers portray him as. It is a touching and very emotional account of a man that has been wronged for most of his life. But we also have to pause and think whether what all he is saying is true or what he wants to be true.

As a teenager, I recommend it to all age groups (I mean, if it passes for teenagers, it should be able to pass for everyone) as it can be read on many levels - as a story or as a trip into real history.

This book serves its purpose of bringing Ned Kelly to life and I salute and thank Peter Carey for doing that for me.

In the True History Carey has looked anew at a timeless story. One which is just as relevant today. How much is one's environment responsible for the illegal actions of an otherwise decent man. Yet, despite all his disadvantages, Ned Kelly emerges as a man of much depth, compassion and intelligence. Ned cared much for his fellow Irish-Australians and the other dispossessed choking under the English yoke in the colony of Victoria in the nineteenth century.

What'smore I loved how Carey has truly captured Ned's voice. A voice that shows a lack of education but a great depth of insight and understanding of his times. And what exciting times they were.

A great book by a writer who has now reached the height of his powers. If one wants to understand what, hopefully, lies at the heart of the Australian character then this is, as Ned's mother would say, the effing book.