Join the Gang (True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey
Date:	14/11/04 (1014 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fascinating, Descriptive, Creative

Disadvantages: Sometimes difficult to read

“I lost my own father at 12yr of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in Hell if I speak false.”

And so the story of Ned Kelly begins...

Born in 1855 in a remote section of the Australian colony of Victoria, Ned Kelly was raised in a life of hardship. As the son of an Irish convict, life was particularly harsh and never pleasant for young Ned and his family. At the time, the ruling class despised the Irish immigrants and both the police and the justice system were thoroughly corrupt.

Forced to live in hovels, the Irish struggled to put as little as bread on their plates, let alone make a decent living. Conspiracy and unfair persecution were rife and the Kelly family were harassed, cheated, slandered and lied to by the authorities at every available opportunity.

These unfortunate circumstances and the constant injustice acted as a catalyst in pushing Kelly into a life of crime and severe violence, subsequently creating the controversial and notorious Australian outlaw that almost everyone is familiar with.

The True History of the Kelly Gang takes Ned Kellys story and brings it to life although despite the title, it isn’t actually the true tale. Peter Carey describes it as being “98% made up but really respects the 2% that we know”. Carey has remained faithful to the few known facts and then used his imagination to fill in the empty spaces. To be honest though, it isn’t the story itself that is so captivating...it’s the way in which it is delivered.

The book is constructed as a fictional series of ‘personal accounts’ which have been found, each one handscrawled on assorted stained and tattered papers, including stolen bank stationery. These heartfelt pieces of writing are said to have been penned by the legend himself for the baby daughter that he will never see. A true confession to be read by his child as justification for all of his exploits and a detailed version of events, making sure that she always knows the truth about her father rather than having to rely on folk tales and rumours.

The contents and condition of each manuscript is provided as a preface to each chapter making the concept more believable. If you think about it long enough, the very idea of Kelly writing his memoirs seems pretty absurd but just don’t think about it too much. Let yourself listen to the voice of Ned Kelly and enjoy it instead!

As the book is written as a 1st person narrative, you need to imagine that Kelly is actually narrating the tale. Carey has done remarkably well in capturing the unique voice of Kelly. Text is presented in a very simple manner but told in a language that you would expect of the uneducated bushranger and is inspired by a letter actually written by Kelly that was found in 2000. Regional dialect of the era is utilised along with poor grammar and structure. Sentences often run together with little or no punctuation. In fact the book contains no commas at all until the final concluding paragraphs!

Dialogue is not marked either making it a challenge to distinguish speech. The lack of conventional punctuation can prove to be a little difficult, but only initially. Within a few pages, the language goes unnoticed as you get caught up in the rhythm of its prose. The words flow with the immediacy of a speaking voice.

My only criticism of this approach is that it can lead to concentration of the words rather than their meaning. But on the other hand, momentary confusion causes you to slow down and take your time in an attempt to fully absorb what he is saying, sometimes even reading over sentences a second time to clarify the words.

I think the overall style adds authenticity and certainly gives the novel its originality. As does the censoring of swear words which makes perfect sense given the fact that Kelly was writing the narrative for his daughter. His consideration for his reader results in the expletive studded dialogue being cleaned up by replacing “rough expressions” with “adjectival” or mere dashes. Again, this causes the story to be moderately hard to read at first but you soon become accustomed to the quaint ommitance of strong language.

The opening paragraph of the book (which I have used at the start of my review) immediately creates a sense of trust and a feeling of realism is established.
“...and will contain no single lie may I burn in hell if I speak false.”
This openness takes the reader straight to the heart of Kelly. A crucial connection to the main character is made at this time - a connection that remains intact throughout the entire novel. As the reader, you constantly believe that this is a voice dedicated to honesty. To me, the story felt so real that I forgot it was fiction!

The story begins during Ned Kellys childhood which is very important as it is clear to see that his experiences shaped his life and developed his personality. The most significant event at this time is the jailing of his father, leaving young Ned shouldering responsibility for his family by the age of 12. From that moment on his main aim is to win his mothers love and approval but she doesn’t return the affection and sends the reluctant Ned to work as an apprentice to the famous bushranger, Harry Power. The idea being to toughen him up and teach him the art and skills of outlawing.

On his return, Ned is increasingly ambitious, very protective of his family and has an incredible sense of loyalty towards them. It is this loyalty within his family that proves crucial and leads to his constant tangles with the law as he finds himself forced into making impossible decisions to save and protect his kin.

You get right into the state of mind of Kelly, essential in explaining and understanding why his actions occurred. You can feel his emotions and sense his hopelessness but it’s his strength, resilience and optimism that make his tones fascinating and even inspiring to an extent.

The story continues to trace his life, his attempts to stay on the right side of the law and eventually, the formation of the notorious Kelly Gang. Numerous hasty decisions have some horrible repercussions and minor crimes progress into large scale robbery and ultimately murder.

As the reader tracks Kellys inner feelings and motivation we are faced with a dilemma - should we sympathise with the outlaw or condemn him?

The precise nature of Kellys lawlessness is central to Careys book. Most of his crimes are seen as reactions against a cruel and unjust system being enacted against immigrants. The reader is given the strong impression that Ned and his gang were driven to their violence by a need to safeguard their own livelihoods and protect their families from the unfairness of their persecutors. It provides a better understanding of the gang, making it hard to believe that they were a group of no good hoodlums.

Kelly decried the ill treatment of the poor and bravely came to their defence. It is these actions that caused the wealthy to see him as a rogue and a brute whilst the common folk appreciated his efforts and thought of him as a hero.

In the True History of the Kelly Gang, he may not always be a likeable person but he is most certainly portrayed as a sympathetic character who always had the best intentions, even though he became embroiled in an existence of crime and violence. Kelly undoubtedly considered his reckless behaviour as wholly justified. He prided himself on taking back what he felt he deserved and getting revenge on those who used him and abused the poor....but only resorting to extreme actions when completely necessary.

Circumstances in the book succeed in arousing the readers empathy and outrage but it’s not all doom and gloom. The novel merely uses the intriguing tale of Ned Kelly as a basis and then delves into the many other aspects of his life, creating a huge contrast as details of fighting and murder weave into his personal life and the development of a tender love story, which provides relief from the occasional heaviness.

These parts in particular are written with a certain amount of grace and sincerity. Immaculately observed description of the Australian outback is vivid and textured providing captivating imagery. His dominant language contains both charm and wit and is almost poetic at times. Carey has adopted quite a lyrical descriptive style which really helps to make Kelly emerge as a man of much depth, compassion and intelligence - a completely different dimension to the folk hero.

Because of Kellys portrayal in a caring and heroic light, this book (which went on to become the 2001 Booker prize winner) caused controversy in Australia where the historical figure is still hated by many but remains an intrinsic part of their culture.

Carey has taken the simple story of the Kelly Gang and given it a creative twist by telling it from the perspective of Ned himself, making it both effective and enjoyable. His representation has created a book that contains all the elements and excitement of a great action adventure novel; marvellous characterisation, tragedy, comedy, beautifully descriptive prose, a touch of romance and the ability to transport the reader to another era. The result is an exhilarating and engrossing read.

Before reading this book, I confess that I didn’t really know anything about the man or his reputation, apart from having a vision of him in his easily recognisabe and now iconic suit of armour, which incidentally doesn’t play a part in the story until the very end! This proves that anyone can read the book - it is not necessary for you to know any details of his life before hand but it may mean that your opinion of him (like mine) is painted purely by the insight that is offered within its pages. It shows that the story of Ned Kelly may be a lot more complex than originally thought. Carey sensitively reveals him to be an unfortunate victim of circumstance whose criminal deeds were motivated by desperation.

Is this the truth? I suppose we’ll never know.






Published by Faber and Faber

ISBN: 0-571-19216-5 (hardback), 0-571-20408-2 (paperback)

Hardback cover price: £16.99 (but I bought my copy for £4 from a music store)

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