Review"My Life as a Fake_ _is so confidently brilliant, so economical yet lively in its writing, so tightly fitted and continuously startling." –John Updike, The New Yorker “Ingenious . . . Carey is as diabolical as the hoaxes that his book includes.” — The New York Times "Brisk, relentlessly prankish. . . . A virtuoso amalgam of styles, simultaneously a literary conundrum of the Borges variety, an exotic adventure tale evocative of both the settings and the narrative methods of Conrad, and a horror story derived from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." –_The New York Times Book Review "A wholly absorbing, bizarrely madcap comedy and a telling commentary on the sometimes baffling sources of art. . . . Though fiction, the book is anything but fake. It's truth, beauty and comedy wrapped in one sprightly package." –Chicago Tribune_“We have a great novelist living on the planet with us, and his name is Peter Carey." _–Los Angeles Times Book Review "Circling from the real to the imaginary and back is as happily perplexing as a drawing by M.C. Escher. . . . Carey can bring a character to life, give him a voice and a history and a psychological topography, in a single paragraph." –The New York Review of Books "No other Australian writer in our time has succeeded as well as Peter Carey in writing novels that compel the attention of a world-wide audience. His work . . . occupies a high plane of literary brilliance." –The Boston Globe “Peter Carey’s new novel comes like a monsoon after drought. It is a magnificent, poetic contemplation of the lying, fakery and insincerity inherent in the act of artistic creation. . . . It’s a charismatically furious piece of work, brilliantly meshing its ethical and artistic debate with a rich human drama.” –The Times _(UK)“Reads like the impossible offspring of a fictional ménage-à-trois involving Pale Fire, Lord Jim, and Our Man in Havana. . . . A fabulous book in the original sense of the term--and in the other one, too." –_The Atlantic Monthly_ “In book after book, Peter Carey has proven that he's incapable of writing a dull page. . . . He’s one of the greatest storytellers alive. . . . A dazzling narrative.” –The Christian Science Monitor “Fast, furious and fantastical. . . . Carey is Australia's finest living novelist.” –The Guardian "Carey is that rare artist brave enough to flee success, a tactic that underlies his dazzling track record. Each of his novels sets him a different challenge; in each, he excels. A triumph in its own right, My Life as a Fake_ leaves us wondering how he's going to delight and disconcert us in his next book." –St. Louis Post-Dispatch _"My Life as a Fake_ is the real thing." –Time "Complex and masterful. . . . A haunting story whose surreal events are as captivating and memorable as the misguided aspirations of its characters." –Minneapolis Star-Tribune_ __"In_ _My Life as a Fake_, Peter Carey has created a novel that is captivating and haunting, and, in the end, sinfully delightful. For both longtime readers and those coming to his work for the first time, it's a book not to miss." –Richmond Times-Dispatch "Great rollicking fun. . . . A dazzling, beautifully detailed, intellectually energetic book." –The News & Observer _(Raleigh)__"My Life as a Fake_ _dazzles the reader with heady ideas and literary reference points (à la Frankenstein_ _and Pale Fire), then catapults us into madcap action. . . . [Carey] exudes a hallucinatory realism that makes imaginary universes feel concrete and believable." –_The Village Voice_"A devilishly engrossing meditation on illusion. . . . My Life as a Fake_ [is] an ingenious homage to the power of the imagination and to Carey's ability to create–and connect–worlds within worlds." –The Atlanta Journal-Constitution_Product DescriptionFiendishly devious and addictively readable, Peter Carey’s My Life as a Fake is a moral labyrinth constructed around the uneasy relationship between literature and lying. In steamy, fetid Kuala Lumpur in 1972, Sarah Wode-Douglass, the editor of a London poetry journal, meets a mysterious Australian named Christopher Chubb. Chubb is a despised literary hoaxer, carting around a manuscript likely filled with deceit. But in this dubious manuscript Sarah recognizes a work of real genius. But whose genius? As Sarah tries to secure the manuscript, Chubb draws her into a fantastic story of imposture, murder, kidnapping, and exile–a story that couldn’t be true unless its teller were mad. My Life as a Fake is Carey at his most audacious and entertaining.

Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Random House, Incorporated

Penguin Group (Australia)

Random House AudioBooks

Vintage International

Penguin Random House LLC, New York, 2010

United States, United States of America

1st American ed, New York, 2003

Melbourne, Vic, 2015

January 4, 2005

Reprint, 2005

<p><p>fiendishly Devious And Addictively Readable, Peter Carey&#8217;s <b>my Life As A Fake</b> Is A Moral Labyrinth Constructed Around The Uneasy Relationship Between Literature And Lying. In Steamy, Fetid Kuala Lumpur In 1972, Sarah Wode-douglass, The Editor Of A London Poetry Journal, Meets A Mysterious Australian Named Christopher Chubb. Chubb Is A Despised Literary Hoaxer, Carting Around A Manuscript Likely Filled With Deceit. But In This Dubious Manuscript Sarah Recognizes A Work Of Real Genius. But Whose Genius? As Sarah Tries To Secure The Manuscript, Chubb Draws Her Into A Fantastic Story Of Imposture, Murder, Kidnapping, And Exile&#8211;a Story That Couldn&#8217;t Be True Unless Its Teller Were Mad. <b>my Life As A Fake</b> Is Carey At His Most Audacious And Entertaining.</p><h3>the New York Times</h3><p>given The Amply Demonstrated Brilliance Of Its Author, <i>my Life As A Fake</i> Is Also Replete With Its Own Poetic Echoes And Allusions. They Work Best When The Narrative Still Appears Firmly Grounded In Reality, And When The Obtuseness Of The Poetry-averse Can Become One Of The Book's Sly Delights &#8230; <i>my Life As A Fake</i> Is Serious About Art, But Mr. Carey's Down-to-earth Australian Wryness Is Also Much In Evidence. &#151;<i>janet Maslin</i></p>

"Fiendishly devious and addictively readable, Peter Carey's My Life as a Fake is a moral labyrinth constructed around the uneasy relationship between literature and lying. In steamy, fetid Kuala Lumpur in 1972, Sarah Wode-Douglass, the editor of a London poetry journal, meets a mysterious Australian named Christopher Chubb. Chubb is a despised literary hoaxer, carting around a manuscript likely filled with deceit. But in this dubious manuscript Sarah recognizes a work of real genius. But whose genius? As Sarah tries to secure the manuscript, Chubb draws her into a fantastic story of imposture, murder, kidnapping, and exile -- a story that couldn't be true unless its teller were mad. My Life as a Fake is Carey at his most audacious and entertaining."--Book cover

2025-02-04