Scott, on his "Axis Two" weblog, wasn't entirely engaged by Keneally's The Commonwealth of Thieves: "His strength and his devil lie in the details. Almost all of this book is an inclusive re-telling of the Australian saga, replete with names and motivations and sordid affairs. Frankly, it draws on the patience of the reader. Not enough thought goes into the implications of the Australian experiment for British social policy or even for the Empire itself." Which reads to me like he was looking for something in the book that Keneally never intended to include.
Megan, in Pennsylvannia, has a look at Schindler's List, which is part of her Man Booker Prize reading challenge. "While at times physically painful to read, Keneally's narration lays bare the Holocaust for readers and leaves no doubt as to Schindler's heroism despite his moral failings. Schindler's List is a slow and difficult read, with countless heart-breaking stories and more names and titles to keep track of than one can reasonably retain."
amNY.com lists The Great Shame by Tom Keneally as one of the "Top 10 Books about Ireland and the Irish". Keneally finds himself in the company of Shaw, Joyce, Yeats and Flann O'Brien.
