The Redex Reliability Trial, an insanely brutal and ambitious road race around Australia that took place every year from the 1950s through to the end of the 90s, serves as the backdrop for Peter Carey’s equally ambitious new novel. Irene and Titch Bobs enlist their neighbour, Willie Bachhuber as navigator and take off in a Holden sponsored car determined to make their name and ensure their future. As the narration alternates between ‘Mrs Bobs’ and Willie, the trio make their way around the ancient continent whose tragic history is revealed along with their own. By turns hilarious and tragic, Carey’s prose fizzes as always. A Long Way From Home is a rollicking good read
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