Peter Carey aims high, but falls a little flat Down Under

A Long Way From Home leaves behind it an unmistakable residue of disappointment

Peter Carey has taken a swing at writing the great Australian novel . . . and missed Pic: Getty

FICTION: A Long Way From Home, By Peter Carey, Faber & Faber, €16.45

The Redex Round Australia Reliability Trial was a promotional gimmick sponsored by the manufacturers of Redex oil treatments. It involved circumnavigating Australia – a 10,000-mile trip – in commercially available cars. Anyone could compete, and amateur drivers frequently did.

At the peak of its popularity, in the 1950s, the Redex Trial was a national obsession. People turned out en masse ...