Synopsis
A forger and thief sentenced to life imprisonment in a penal colony in Tasmania, William Buelow Gould escapes, only to once again land in prison, where the prison doctor Lempriere utilizes his painting talents to create an illustrated taxonomy of the country's exotic sea creatures, in a novel set in early nineteenth-century Australia. 35,000 first printing.
Reviews
Flanagan (The Sound of One Hand Clapping) has written a Tasmanian version of Rimbaud's Season in Hell, a mesmerizing portrait of human abjection and sometimes elation set in a 19th-century Down Under penal colony. A small-time forger of antiques in contemporary Tasmania finds a mysterious illustrated manuscript that recounts in harrowing detail the rise and fall of a convict state on Sarah Island, off the Tasmanian coast, in the 1830s. The text is penned by William Gould, a forger and thief (and an actual 19th-century convict) shipped from England to a Tasmanian prison run as a private kingdom by the Commandant, a lunatic tyrant in a gold mask rumored to have been a convict himself. The prison world consists of a lower caste of convicts tormented with lengthy floggings, vile food and various mechanical torture devices by a small number of officers and officials. Gould finagles his way into the good graces of the island surgeon, Tobias Achilles Lempriere, a fat fanatic of natural science, who has Gould paint scientific illustrations of fish, with the goal of publishing the definitive ichthyological work on Sarah Island species. In Gould's hands, however, the taxonomy of fish becomes his testimony to the bizarre perversion of Europe's technology and art wrought by the Commandant's mad ambitions. Civilization, in this inverted world, creates moral wilderness; science creates lies. Carefully crafted and allusive, this blazing portrait of Australia's colonial past will surely spread Flanagan's reputation among American readers.
*Starred Review* This gorgeously written novel will bring deserved attention to Flanagan, well known in his native Tasmania for his two previous novels. Here, he tells the story of William Buelow Gould, a convict sent to a penal colony in Van Diemen's Land in the nineteenth century. Gould recounts his life story as he paints the island's native fish, a task given him by the fatuous prison doctor, convinced that such a taxonomic achievement will launch him into British society. As he completes each painting, Gould's story dips into his past, recalling his grim childhood and ill-fated life of crime. Taken from historical accounts of the real-life Gould, Flanagan's novel vividly re-creates the penal colony's conditions and its eccentric cast of characters. Gould's story is framed by the tale of the present-day writer (somewhat of a raconteur himself), who discovers Gould's collection in an antique store and soon becomes obsessed with the multifaceted text. Readers will be similarly entranced with this richly detailed work that calls attention to a major new talent. Brendan Dowling
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Flanagan may very well become Tasmania's man of letters; in this fine follow-up to Death of a River Guide, he again explores the 19th-century world of convicts and colonists from one man's perspective. William Buelow Gould's penchant for thievery may have landed him in prison cells throughout his life, but his talent for painting still lifes a la Audubon always allowed him small improvements in his station. The novel shows Gould providing paintings according to his patron's whims, culminating with his task of creating an illustrated taxonomy of Tasmania's sea life, to be appropriated by prison surgeon and general eccentric Tobias Achilles Lempriere for fame and glory. When misadventure claims the life of Lempriere, Gould fears retribution and arranges a cover-up, but more complex problems rear their heads: Gould's fish are becoming more than just fish, and Gould himself is becoming something other than human. Flanagan's darkly humorous tale is impressive in its ability to cross seamlessly the borders between the realistic and fantastic and carries a wonderful sense of drama and satisfying closure. The unique story is accompanied by the book's novel packaging (unseen at time of review), with each chapter printed in a different color ink and original full-color artwork ostensibly by Gould prefacing each chapter. Highly recommended. Marc Kloszewski, Indiana Free Lib., PA
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