Synopses & Reviews
In this dark, suspenseful, and seriously
funny novel, two-time Booker winner Peter Carey takes us to the place
where the cyber underworld collides with international politics. When
Gaby Baillieux, Australia’s most formidable hacker, releases the Angel
Worm virus into her country’s prison system, cell doors are opened and
inmates walk free. Since those prisons use American software, the doors
in thousands of jails in the United States are opened as well. Is this
an accident — or a declaration of cyber war? Does it have anything to do
with the largely forgotten Battle of Brisbane between American and
Australian forces in 1942? Or with the CIA-influenced coup in Australia
in 1975?
Disgraced writer Felix Moore — known to himself as “our
sole remaining left-wing journalist” — is determined to write Gaby’s
biography in order to find the answers that could save her, his career,
and perhaps his country. But how to get Gaby — on the run, scared,
confused, and angry — to cooperate?
Review
“Nestled inside this brisk cyber caper is an aesthetically daring
character study. . . . Carey imbues [the hacker’s] immersion in the
world of coding and the Internet with a palpable, engrossing sense of
joy and discovery.” The New Yorker
Review
“Peter Carey is no mean stylist. . . . His pages will always yield their
pleasures. . . . You can pick any page at random and locate an energy
that never seems to flag.” The New York Times Book Review
Review
“Carey is a master craftsman. . . . [Amnesia is] a work with the power to vibrate after we’ve closed the covers.” The Plain Dealer
Review
“A rollicking tour-de-force.” The Boston Globe
About the Author
Peter Carey is the author of twelve previous novels and has twice
received the Booker Prize. His other honors include the Commonwealth
Writers’ Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Born in Australia,
he has lived in New York City for more than twenty-five years.