Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
Peter Carey's most recent book was received with mixed reviews, inspite of being short-listed for this year's Booker. The most common criticism was of the Olivier portion of the narration. I mostly agree with that assessment: Olivier is an irritating individual! However, Carey does a great job of the nuances of class stratification through this character and I think it was a necessary part of the goals of this book.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars