Section 1: pages 3-35 Summary

"Parrot & Olivier in America" by Peter Carey is an intriguing novel about a French nobleman and his English servant immigrating to America. Because of the political discontent in France, Olivier goes to America to study the penal system in the new country, accompanied by his secretary, Parrot. Both men find the opportunity for new lives overseas, but changing who he is proves to be more difficult for Olivier. "Parrot & Olivier in America" is an entertaining novel that explores the challenges that different social classes face in America.

A noble of Myopia, Olivier-Jean-Baptiste de Clarel de Barfleur de Garmont speeds through the gates to enter Chateau de Barfleur, his family home. The Garmont family is tortured by the obscenity and horror of the recent French Revolution, and this is obvious when Olivier finds parcels filled with dead pigeons. Maman is...