The Book You Have To Read

When people say they can't abide the current glut of historical novels, I tell them to try True History of the Kelly Gang. This Australian author spins a Butch and Sundance yarn of roaring violence and astonishing tenderness --it's written as a diarist's legacy to his infant daughter. I found myself rocked in the lyric arms of the dialect, and I fell under the spell of this unreliable narrator -- who did wrong for reasons any human being can understand, if not endorse. It sets you spinning on your own moral compass.