Read this when
Oscar and Lucinda
Two misfits, one card table, and a bet to float a glass church up a river. Gambling has never looked so holy, or so dangerous. 🎲
Who it's for
Oscar and Lucinda are both compulsive gamblers, and the novel treats the pull of the bet with unusual seriousness: it is thrilling, it is almost religious, and it wrecks lives.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Peter Carey's 1988 novel follows Oscar Hopkins, an Anglican clergyman from Devon raised by a Plymouth Brethren minister father, and Lucinda Leplastrier, a young Australian heiress from Parramatta who runs a glassworks in Sydney. Meeting on a voyage from England to Australia, they discover a shared attraction to gambling.
Where to find it
In print (Faber / Vintage), in libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. A 1997 film adaptation exists.
Before you start
Heads up: A massacre and a child struck by his father.
Age: Ages 16+
