Super Short Summary

Inspired by the life of French diplomat and historian Alexis de Tocqueville, Australian author Peter Carey’s historical novel Parrot and Olivier in America follows Olivier de Garmont and his secretary, Parrot, as they come to eighteenth-century America to explore the nation's penal system. With Olivier the product of the French elite, and Parrot coming from a poverty-stricken background, the story illuminates the social divides between the two men as they each set off to find their fate on American shores. The book includes themes of class disparity, crime, and betrayal.