Theft

A Love Story

By: Peter Carey

Narrated by: Stan Pretty

Michael "Butcher" Boone is an ex-"really famous" painter, now reduced to living in the remote country house of his biggest collector and acting as caretaker for his younger brother, Hugh, a damaged man of imposing physicality and childlike emotions. Together, they've forged a delicate equilibrium, a balance instantly destroyed when a mysterious young woman named Marlene walks out of a rainstorm and into their lives. Beautiful, smart, and ambitious, she's also the daughter-in-law of the late, great painter Jacques Liebovitz, one of Butcher's earliest influences. She's sweet to Hugh and falls in love with Butcher, and they reciprocate in kind. And she sets in motion a chain of events that could be the making, or the ruin, of them all.©2007 Peter Carey (P)2007 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"A magnificent creation." (New Yorker)
"A funny, gorgeous steal of a book." (Sunday Telegraph)
"A new Peter Carey novel is a cause for joy." (Guardian)

This grew on me.

At first I wasn't too sure about this book, especially the Aussie accent. But once the characters started to develop and I got used to the accent, I really enjoyed it. The slow-witted brother was great! This isn't a typical type of book, and is worth the listen. I think the performance enhanced the story.