Reviews of Oscar & Lucy
I loved this book, as much for musings on memory as for the memories of Oscar. I was a student in Psychology at University of Melbourne in the 1960s. Oscar was my third year tutor. He terrified and fascinated me just as the author of this book was terrified and fascinated. But even if you have no links at all to the main characters of this memoir, you'll enjoy it for the wonderful writing, the psychological insights and the fascinating and true story of Oscar's wartime exploits.
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This is a fascinating book. Part biography, part autobiography, it is packed with interesting stories, facts, and observations about history, psychology, and the history of psychology. It is beautifully written, easy to read, and humorous. The narrative keeps a very decent pace which completely holds the attention. I enjoyed this book very much. I learned a lot. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in psychology, history, spying, Australian post war immigration, the rebuilding of post-war Europe, or in the various universities included in the story. I also recommend it to anyone who just likes a good read and has a general curiosity for genuinely interesting stuff.
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‘Revelatory’ doesn’t even come close for this reader. This book documents the discovery of personal and national secrets on a grand scale. Still more satisfying is that this is one eminent researcher applying his gifts to investigate the life and work of another.
Especially inrtiguing for me is that I am a former student from Kennedy’s own Psychology Department in the University of Dundee. Thus I found this intensely private man transformed on the page from an elder statesman of his field to a tentative yet dedicated young man trusting to fate to realise his aspirations. Times being as they were he also had to accommodate to the whims of senior academic figures. Since I have come to know him as a senior figure himself I can report he no longer demonstrates this characteristic.
His respect for those who went before him is palpable and he writes with understanding and compassion about the protagonists. He is tough on himself and his own decisions and gives huge credit for those who taught and employed him. After a lifetime as a professional writer Kennedy’s prose is elegant and easy to read. I bounded through the book in a few hours often open mouthed at what it contained.
This book will appeal to those interested in History of Science, Psychology, the ‘life scientific’, local history, the relationship between academics and WWII (and of course former and current Psychology students of the University of Dundee).
As for me? I am touched not only by what I have discovered about Kennedy as a person, educator and academic but also by the history of the department in which I studied. I walk taller as a result.
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It can be said of few books that really "I couldn't put it down", but it can of this one. Full of wit and charm, it will be of particular interest to anyone interested in the history of psychology, cryptography, or the art of car parking, but really it will be enjoyed by everyone.
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I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I wanted to see why it has the title it carries. The answer is not disappointing: the Oscar in the title is not the fictional character in the book Lucy, even if that character was influenced by him. The Lucy in the title is also not the character in the book Lucy, but the book itself (although I noticed a reference to a shadowy "Lucy" spy ring in it) - Kennedy felt compelled to put the book Lucy aside in the middle of writing it in order to research the life of Oscar Oeser, an extraordinary man who had kept silent about his role in some of the biggest events in history; a man who had also been disliked by many people who had no idea what he had done and no idea how much he had directly helped them. This is a touching tribute to that brilliant man who played by the rules and kept secrets secret while others did not. It's also a behind-the-scenes insight into the mind of a fine writer and some of the influences on his work, influences which fed into Lucy and which, judging by clues on Kennedy's website, are heavily influencing his next book, Alex.
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Not a romance as the title might imply .The story is rather about the author’s synchronous attempts to unearth the back story of Oscar, an unsung hero, who was at one time his elusive boss in academia. It is told in a very accessible intimate way to you the reader and passes through some of the ‘extraordinary’ events of the second world war .Full of interesting information about the politics of developing psychology as a discipline, about Bletchley Park and the attempt to reconstruct a post- Nazi Germany. Not easy to put down.
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"Recommended .... it's a fabulous little book" Read the rest of the review by Jill Murphy in The Bookbag
There is newspaper coverage of the book in the Scotsman and Herald.
There is also a University of Dundee press release (index - October 15th) and a news item on the School of Psychology website.