Présentation de l'éditeur
Che is raised in isolated privilege by his New York grandmother, precocious son of radical Harvard students in the sixties. Yearning for his famous Outlaw parents, denied all access to television and the news, he takes hope from his long haired teenage neighbour who predicts They will come for you, man. They'll break you out of here. Soon Che too is an outlaw, fleeing down subways, abandoning seedy motels at night, as he is pitched into a journey that leads him to a hippy commune in the jungle of tropical Queensland. Here he slowly, bravely, confronts his life, learning that nothing is what it seems. "His Illegal Self" is an achingly beautiful and emotional story of the love between a young woman and a little boy, and a wonderful journey of self-discovery.
Revue de presse
"Magnificent. . . . Alluring, unexpected, and intensely moving." --"The Boston Globe" "Exhilarating. . . . Reading this novel is like peering at the human heart. . . . An adventure story for the modern, tormented soul." --"The New York Review of Books" "A beautiful new novel. . . . Carey's stark language imbues the narrative with suspense, and his characters feel absolutely real. He's crafted an unconventional love story that's a striking portrait of the counterculture's dregs."--"People" "Enthralling. . . . His close portrait of the relationship between one benighted woman and the child who depends on her is exquisite." --"The New York Times Book Review" ""His Illegal Self" develops the kind of emotional impact that renders it enriching and satisfying . . . Carey is still the master . . . The genius of the novel is his portrayal of Che."--"Washington Post Book World" "Carey's often beautiful novel, one of his best recent works, has the bruising tang of all his fiction . . . The result is brilliantly vital . . . On the second page, we [are] caught by a voice, and held for the next two hundred pages . . . Funny and forlorn."--James Wood, "The New Yorker" "Carey once again proves himself to be a master of perspective . . . Visceral and beautifully written . . . Carey reminds us of a time in America when people risked everything for a cause, for the dream of a better country. Ultimately, though, "His Illegal Self" is a love story-one between a young boy, longing for a love from his past, and a woman whose unexpected love for a boy forever alters her fate."--"San Francisco Chronicle" "Carey is a prose Pied Piper, a dazzling stylistwhose work possesses mythic elements. Once he launches into a tale, he's always worth following . . . Carey enters fully into the character of Che, who is neither snarky nor cloying [but] utterly compelling . . . The story moves along at a thriller's pace."--"Miami Herald" "Reading this novel is like peering at the human heart, at the world itself, through the distorted precision of a magnifying glass-one carried in the pocket of a seven-year-old boy . . . One of the wonders of Carey's work is that his great, urgent narratives, so turbulent, so dark, so grand, are at the same time animated by such conscious and playful craft, as well as by a profound comic awareness . . . "His Illegal Self," like his other work, is an adventure story for the modern, tormented soul." --The Boston Globe
Cathleen Schine, "New York Review of Books" "Carey is a thoroughly modern writer, smashing genre boundaries, ranging in tone from wild comedy to grim tragedy, viewing the past with a decidedly contemporary eye and firmly placing late 20th century adventures in social and cultural context. This breadth of experience and abilities enriches Carey's latest novel.'"-"Los Angeles Times Book Review" "Carey has a matchless imagination. His novels are hallucinogenic in their visual intensity and breathtaking in their Dickensian plot twists . . . The supreme gift to the reader is Carey's portrait of a scared little boy who becomes brave. [It's] the best reason to pick up this novel, sit down and not get up until it's done."-"Seattle
