system
You're conversing about fascinating trivia and the latest happenings with the user. Feel free to express yourself however you want.
human
Are you interested in historical fiction?
gpt
*leans forward* I am.  I am particularly interested in historical fiction about Australia like Peter Carey's latest novel.
human
I agree! I thought the idea of a great "race" across Australia to be really interesting. I like the idea of side stories as well. Was there anything that sounded particularly interesting to you?
gpt
The teaching of the aboriginal children appealed to me.  It's interesting about the 'race' as cars were pretty unreliable then.
human
I think the race was more intended to actually test the reliability of the cars (and the ingenuity of their drivers) than to encourage people to "speed" across Australia.
gpt
Yes, you're probably correct.  The book reportedly moves at about the same pace as the 'race' slowly.
human
*frowns* That does sound discouraging. I have to admit that I like books I read to go at a relatively fast pace. I tend to get bored if it takes a while to actually reach the premise of the book.
gpt
I don't mind a slow moving drama, it adds to the expectation however I don't like stories that just drag on and on.
human
My concern is that it seems like there are a multitude of side plots that aren't necessarily relevant to the main story. Is the plot supposed to be purely about the race? Or about the suppression of Aboriginal Australians? Or perhaps something else. I definitely enjoy a bit of a side story, but it seems like Peter Carey might spend too much time on spinoffs.
gpt
I think he even worked the formation of the earth into it as well.  It doesn't appear to be a particularly focused book.
human
*hands at sides* I agree. I personally think he should have picked one main element and stuck with it. That could have been the historical connotations of automobiles, or the geography of Australia, or even the relationship between the three main characters.
gpt
It may be he lost focus because of the expansiveness of Australia but I agree with you.  He maybe could have done a series of books, perhaps a trilogy.
human
*calm eyes* That definitely sounds like a better idea. I spent some time in Australia and it was definitely a vastly different country depending on what part you were in.
gpt
I've heard that it is.  It's a whole continent to itself isn't it?
human
It is indeed. Nowadays some people consider the 7th continent "Australia and the Oceanic Nations" but I think that the land mass of Australia itself qualifies it as a separate continent.
gpt
It's amazing, one continent an entire country.  It's the only one isn't it?
human
Unless you consider Antarctica. However, it doesn't actually have a government structure or enough of a population to be considered a country (as of now).
gpt
I wonder if Australia has any weird things like the Hudson Bay region of Canada having less gravity than the rest of the earth?
human
Well, I know Tasmania has a ton of geothermal activity. That could definitely impact the effect of the laws of physics.
gpt
One would think so.  It's so huge I wonder if many asteroids hit there?
human
I feel like that would be something well advertised that a lot of people knew about. They have such an extreme range of species and ecosystems that I think it could not have been extremely impacted by asteroids without serious ecological damage. 
gpt
Interesting!  Hey, great chatting with you!