Oscar & Lucinda

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Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
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Language:
English
Description
Oscar Hopkins is a high-strung preacher's kid with hydrophobia and noisy knees. Lucinda Leplastrier is a frizzy-haired heiress who impulsively buys a glass factory with the inheritance forced on her by a well-intentioned adviser. In the early parts of this lushly written book, author Peter Carey renders the seminal turning points in his protagonists' childhoods as exquisite 19th-century set pieces. Young Oscar, denied the heavenly fruit of a Christmas pudding by his cruelly stern father, forever renounces his father's religion in favor of the Anglican Church. "Dear God," Oscar prays, "if it be Thy will that Thy people eat pudding, smite him!" Lucinda's childhood trauma involves a beautiful doll bought by her struggling mother with savings from the jam jar; in a misguided attempt to tame the doll's unruly curls, young Lucinda mutilates her treasure beyond repair. Neither of these coming-of-age stories quite explains how the grownup Oscar and Lucinda each develop a guilty passion for gambling. Oscar plays the horses while at school, and Lucinda, now an orphaned heiress, finds comfort in a game of cards with an odd collection of acquaintances. When the two finally meet, on board a ship bound for New South Wales, they are bound by their affinity for risk, their loneliness, and their awkwardly blossoming (but unexpressed) mutual affection. Their final high-stakes folly--transporting a crystal palace of a church across (literally) godforsaken terrain--strains plausibility, and events turn ghastly as Oscar plays out his bid for Lucinda's heart. Yet even the unconvincing plot turns are made up for by Carey's rich prose and the tale's unpredictable outcome. Although love proves to be the ultimate gamble for Oscar and Lucinda, the story never strays too far from the terrible possibility that even the most thunderstruck lovers can remain isolated in parallel lives.
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ISBN:
9780060159085
9780679777502
9781490622941
Lexile measure:
1020L
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID7ea67f65-514c-5aaf-8be4-e76ec63a5977
Grouping Titleoscar and lucinda
Grouping Authorpeter carey
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-03-18 08:21:01AM
Last Indexed2024-03-27 22:37:28PM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Crossley, Steven
author
Carey, Peter, 1943-
author2-role
Crossley, Steven,reader
hoopla digital
author_display
Carey, Peter
display_description
Oscar Hopkins is a high-strung preacher's kid with hydrophobia and noisy knees. Lucinda Leplastrier is a frizzy-haired heiress who impulsively buys a glass factory with the inheritance forced on her by a well-intentioned adviser. In the early parts of this lushly written book, author Peter Carey renders the seminal turning points in his protagonists' childhoods as exquisite 19th-century set pieces. Young Oscar, denied the heavenly fruit of a Christmas pudding by his cruelly stern father, forever renounces his father's religion in favor of the Anglican Church. "Dear God," Oscar prays, "if it be Thy will that Thy people eat pudding, smite him!" Lucinda's childhood trauma involves a beautiful doll bought by her struggling mother with savings from the jam jar; in a misguided attempt to tame the doll's unruly curls, young Lucinda mutilates her treasure beyond repair. Neither of these coming-of-age stories quite explains how the grownup Oscar and Lucinda each develop a guilty passion for gambling. Oscar plays the horses while at school, and Lucinda, now an orphaned heiress, finds comfort in a game of cards with an odd collection of acquaintances. When the two finally meet, on board a ship bound for New South Wales, they are bound by their affinity for risk, their loneliness, and their awkwardly blossoming (but unexpressed) mutual affection. Their final high-stakes folly--transporting a crystal palace of a church across (literally) godforsaken terrain--strains plausibility, and events turn ghastly as Oscar plays out his bid for Lucinda's heart. Yet even the unconvincing plot turns are made up for by Carey's rich prose and the tale's unpredictable outcome. Although love proves to be the ultimate gamble for Oscar and Lucinda, the story never strays too far from the terrible possibility that even the most thunderstruck lovers can remain isolated in parallel lives.
format_category_ex
Books
format_ex
Book
id
7ea67f65-514c-5aaf-8be4-e76ec63a5977
isbn
9780060159085
9780679777502
9781490622941
itype_ex
ADULT BOOK
last_indexed
2024-03-28T04:37:28.429Z
lexile_score
1020
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
primary_isbn
9780060159085
publishDate
1988
1997
2015
publisher
Harper & Row
Recorded Books, Inc
Vintage Books
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Australia -- Fiction
Clergy -- Fiction
Fiction
Gamblers -- Fiction
Glass manufacture -- Fiction
Historical fiction
Literature -- Fiction
Satire -- Fiction
Young women -- Fiction
title_display
Oscar & Lucinda
title_full
Oscar & Lucinda / Peter Carey
Oscar and Lucinda [electronic resource] / Peter Carey
title_short
Oscar & Lucinda
topic_facet
Clergy
Gamblers
Glass manufacture
Historical fiction
Literature
Satire
Young women

Solr Details Tables

item_details

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ils:.b10745816.i1189703xGuilford Adult FictionFIC CAREY1falsefalseDue Apr 1, 2024guaf
hoopla:MWT13523819Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeAudiobookAudio Books1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/13523819?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435Available Online
ils:.b10750630.i11911669Westbrook Adult FictionF CAR1falsefalseOn Shelfwsaf

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
ils:.b10745816BookBooks1st U.S. edEnglishHarper & Rowc1988433 p. ; 24 cm.
hoopla:MWT13523819eAudiobookAudio BooksUnabridgedEnglishRecorded Books, Inc20151 online resource (1 audio file (20hr., 30 min.)) : digital.
ils:.b10750630BookBooks1st Vintage International edEnglishVintage Books1997433 p. ; 21 cm.

scoping_details_ex

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ils:.b10745816.i11897053On ShelfOn Shelffalsetruetruefalsefalsefalse9999
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