My Life as a Fake - Peter Carey

The editors of literary magazines, while conceiving of themselves as priests, actually travel like brush salesmen, always making sure they have a sample of their wares packed along with socks and underwear, and it was not at all eccentric of me to bring several issues of "The Modern Review" to Malaysia. One of these had a very fine translation of Stefan George, which I expected a reader of Rilke would admire and so the following morning, at half past six, I wrapped it in some pretty paper and set off back to Jalan Campbell. I had no notion of how this half-mile walk was going to change my life. If I had only stayed in bed, I would not be where I am today, struggling in a web of mystery that I doubt I ever shall untangle.

Suspense and intrigue in an exotic locale make this an enjoyable book. It is very well written with a quick pace that keeps the reader engaged. I am not a big fan of mysteries, but enjoy a well-written one. Throughout the book, I kept second-guessing myself about which character was telling the truth. But the truth as described by two main characters is fascinating in both accounts. While I wanted to know what really happened some years earlier, I almost didn't care because both of the two explanations being offered were fascinating.

Carey does a great job of using the locale of Indonesia and introduces many strange and unusual settings and situations. At times, the story seemed to meander a little too far from the main drama, but didn't detract too much from an excellent book.