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Peter Carey Quotes

Powerful Peter Carey for Daily Growth

About Peter Carey

**Peter Carey**, OA (born May 7, 1943) is an acclaimed Australian novelist and short-story writer, renowned for his rich storytelling, imaginative prose, and exploration of identity and belonging. Born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Carey spent his early years in Australia before moving to the United States with his family at age 23. This cultural dichotomy greatly influenced his works, which often delve into themes of displacement and identity. Carey's writing career began in earnest in the mid-1970s. His debut novel, "Bliss" (1981), was a darkly comic exploration of mental illness, earning him the Voss Literary Award. The novel demonstrated Carey's unique narrative voice and his ability to seamlessly blend humor with profound social commentary. His breakthrough came with "Oscar and Lucinda" (1988), a historical novel that followed the lives of two eccentric characters, Oscar Costello and Lucinda Leplastrier, connected by their shared love of glass and gambling. The novel won the Booker Prize in 1988, making Carey the first Australian laureate. Carey's other notable works include "The True History of the Kelly Gang" (2000), a fictional account of the notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly told in the form of a letter by Kelly himself; and "A Long Way from Home" (2017), a road trip novel exploring themes of identity, family, and Australia's colonial past. In addition to his novels, Carey has also published several collections of short stories, including "The Fat Man in History" (1994) and "Palaces & Prisons" (2011). He has been awarded the Booker Prize a second time for his novel "True History of the Kelly Gang" (2000), making him one of only four authors to achieve this feat. Carey's works continue to captivate readers with their complex characters, richly evocative prose, and thought-provoking themes, cementing his status as one of Australia's most esteemed literary figures.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The truth is a mirage, always just beyond reach."

This quote by Peter Carey suggests that the concept of "truth" is elusive, constantly slipping away from our grasp. It implies that in our quest for knowledge or understanding, we may never truly attain an absolute, unbiased truth due to its intangible nature. Instead, truth is something perpetually out of reach, only seen as a glimmer or an illusion, making us question the reality we perceive and emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and open-mindedness in our pursuit of knowledge.

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

This quote by Peter Carey suggests that writing a novel is a journey of discovery, much like driving at night with limited visibility. Just as you can only see as far as your car's headlights, a writer can only focus on the immediate parts of their story. However, with persistence and a clear direction (the destination), they can progress through the entire narrative, gradually revealing more details and completing the journey, even though they never fully know what lies ahead in the dark. The quote captures the sense of uncertainty and adventure that writing and storytelling embody, highlighting the faith required to complete a long work with an unknown outcome.

"Art, in fact, is a means of survival."

The quote suggests that art has a profound and essential role in human life. In a world fraught with challenges and hardships, creating art serves as a coping mechanism and a way to find meaning and purpose. It allows us to express ourselves, communicate complex ideas, and find solace amidst adversity. Thus, art is not merely a form of entertainment or luxury, but an essential means by which we can survive emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

"Love is a strange and unfamiliar country, where we are all foreigners."

Peter Carey's quote suggests that love, being an abstract and deeply personal emotion, is a unique and mysterious realm for every individual, much like a foreign land. This quotation emphasizes the universal yet personal nature of love, implying that each person experiences it differently despite its universality. It also underscores the idea that we are all on our own journey to understand this complex feeling as we navigate through life.

"Fear is the mother of invention."

The quote "Fear is the mother of invention" by Peter Carey suggests that fear can be a powerful motivator for creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. When faced with a perceived threat or danger, individuals may feel fear, which can drive them to find solutions or create new ways to overcome that fear. This can lead to advancements in technology, art, science, or any field where invention is necessary. In essence, fear sparks the need for human ingenuity and progress.

My mother was the daughter of a poor schoolteacher - well, that's a tautology - a country schoolteacher.

- Peter Carey

Mother, Country, Poor, Schoolteacher

At the very end of a book I can manage to work for longer stretches, but mostly, making stuff up for three hours, that's enough. I can't do any more. At the end of the day I might tinker with my morning's work and maybe write some again. But I think three hours is fine.

- Peter Carey

Some, Very, Mostly, Tinker

When I was young and easily outraged, I would be upset when every fictional character I created was somehow reduced to 'autobiography.'

- Peter Carey

Young, Upset, Created, Fictional

There are people that you don't like because you're jealous of them until you meet them. And you haven't read their book because it's had so much attention. Then you meet them and discover they've been jealous of you, and you become friends.

- Peter Carey

Book, Been, Had, Much Attention

I thought I would be an organic chemist. I went off to university, and when I couldn't understand the chemistry lectures I decided that I would be a zoologist, because zoologists seemed like life-loving people.

- Peter Carey

Thought, Chemistry, Seemed, Lectures

What I find really attractive is something that's going to be a little dangerous. Something that might get me into trouble; you know, you turn up in London and you've just rewritten Dickens. And, of course, then you think, 'What have I done?'

- Peter Carey

London, Turn, Dangerous, Dickens

The great thing about using the past is that it gives you the most colossal freedom to invent. The research is necessary, of course, but no one writes a novel to dramatically illustrate what everybody already knows.

- Peter Carey

Necessary, Everybody, Using, Writes

One has to be able to twist and change and distort characters, play with them like clay, so everything fits together. Real people don't permit you to do that.

- Peter Carey

Play, Like, Real People, Twist

I was very anxious when I was writing 'Oscar And Lucinda.' I would take other books off the shelf to check my chapter length was OK.

- Peter Carey

Chapter, Very, Oscar, OK

I got a job in advertising. So even though I was writing, I was always supporting myself. That's the thing that would matter for my father, who was absolutely a creature of the Great Depression.

- Peter Carey

Myself, Always, Though, Supporting

Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' had an immense effect on me, and most of my novels bear the burn marks of this experience, those short chapters with their conflicting points of view, truth expressed by multiple perspectives. The other attractive thing about 'As I Lay Dying' was the way it gave rich voices to the poor.

- Peter Carey

Other, Chapters, About, Novels

I don't separate my books into historical novels and the rest. To me, they're all made-up worlds, and both kinds are borne out of curiosity, some investigation into the past.

- Peter Carey

Rest, Some, Worlds, Novels

I never base characters on real people. There are people who do that but I really don't know how to do it.

- Peter Carey

People, Real, Real People, Base

When I finished 'True History of the Kelly Gang,' I realised that Faulkner had not lost his power over me.

- Peter Carey

Gang, Over, Realised, Faulkner

Australia is my lens. I cannot see the world any other way.

- Peter Carey

World, See, Other, Any Other Way

At school, I was fanatical about being a scientist.

- Peter Carey

School, Scientist, About, Fanatical

I like how they are. I think they're great. And their communities are communities. I have a greater sense of community in New York than almost anywhere I've ever lived. Really, it's terrific.

- Peter Carey

I Think, Almost, Anywhere, Communities

I have written a memoir here and there, and that takes its own form of selfishness and courage. However, generally speaking, I have no interest in writing about my own life or intruding in the privacy of those around me.

- Peter Carey

Here, Memoir, However, Selfishness

In about 1975-76, I lived with a woman in a little hut with some fruit trees, and I had some of the most extraordinary, happy times of my life. Apart from the horrendous Queensland police, who were corrupt and venal, it really was like living in paradise.

- Peter Carey

Woman, My Life, Some, Apart

I went to work in 1962, and by '64 I was writing all the time, every night and every weekend. It didn't occur to me that, having read nothing and knowing nothing, I was in no position to write a book.

- Peter Carey

Work, Having, Read, Every Night

So in the first draft, I'm inventing people and place with a broad schematic idea of what's going to happen. In the process, of course, I discover all sorts of bigger and more substantial things.

- Peter Carey

Process, Discover, Happen, Substantial

I woke up in Australia almost every day for the first 47 years of my life. When I left, I didn't discard that, didn't reject that, didn't forget that. Not even New York City can wipe that out.

- Peter Carey

My Life, Woke, Discard, Wipe

The failure of the U.S.'s foreign adventures often seems to have its roots in the U.S.'s total ignorance of things on the ground, of the countries that they fiddle with.

- Peter Carey

Roots, Often, Countries, Fiddle

I don't think you have the right to shout about other people's private life.

- Peter Carey

Think, Other, Private, Shout

And it's always possible that you will not get a nice review. So - and that's enraging of course, to get a bad review, you can't talk back, and it's sort of shaming in a way.

- Peter Carey

Bad, Will, Always, Review

Good writing of course requires talent, and no one can teach you to have talent.

- Peter Carey

Talent, Writing, Teach, Requires

Being famous as a writer is like being famous in a village. It's not really any very heady fame.

- Peter Carey

Famous, Like, Very, Heady

I would be the worst person on earth to be called to write an account of someone else's life.

- Peter Carey

Person, Someone, Would, Account

Nostalgia is something we think of as fuzzy. But it's pain. Pain concerning the past.

- Peter Carey

Pain, Nostalgia, Think, Concerning

My father left school at the age of fourteen, so this was a man with no deep experience of formal education.

- Peter Carey

Education, Father, Deep, Fourteen

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