The Kingmaker's Daughter
Length Of Time In Possession : 1 week
I am a huge fan of the royal dynasty historical novels by Philippa Gregory. I have read all her Tudor Court novels except The Other Queen and in 2010, prior to the advent of this blog, read the the first two of her 'Cousins War' novels The White Queen and The Red Queen.
I adored The White Queen and though I liked The Red Queen slightly less largely due to a dislike of Margaret Beaufort as a character, was still really 'into' Gregory's novels. I saw Gregory speak at World Book Night, we had to leave as the next session was starting, and she was surrounded but I whispered 'I love her' as I went by!
I hadn't yet got round to either the prequel 'The Lady Of The Rivers' or the next in sequence 'The Kingmaker's Daughter'. The BBC is currently showing an exceptionally high quality adaptation combining the 3 novels in sequence (excluding the prequel) and I felt I HAD to get the third book read before I saw the series in full. I am glad I did because I read it in between watching episodes 1 and 2 and episode 2 contains a lot of content directly from The Kingmaker's Daughter.
What I particularly like about these novels from Gregory is that though history marks the achievement of the men, in all of these historical novels events are seen through the eyes of women, and generally in the case of the Cousins War women whose fates and destinies were largely decided by their fathers, husbands and sons.
Though Elizabeth Woodville 'The White Queen' makes her own destiny, Margaret Beaufort is regularly left trapped by decisions taken out of her hands. This novel brings us Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl Of Warwick. Warwick becomes a mortal enemy of the Queen when following their marriage he loses the ability to puppeteer his cousin King Edward IV and rule through him.
As he plots against kings, earning the title "Kingmaker" Anne and her elder sister Isobel become merely pawns in his general masterminding, if unable to take the throne in his own right, to take it through his blood, his descendants. Their fortunes change like the weather, as their decisions are made for them and they are forced into hard and unpleasant situations beyond their control.
Elizabeth Woodville is the heroine of The White Queen, but in this the alternate perspective of her enemies, she is the antagonist, which is really interesting. Anne and Isobel, are terrified of Elizabeth, believing her (rightly) to be a witch, and more than that, a witch who has directly cursed them both.
Anne Neville is beautifully realised and the novel is a full on pageturner, which genuinely makes you feel and root for Anne despite your prior loyalty to Elizabeth, which is a genuine skill from any writer to be able to present two sides of argument really well. Anne just desperately wants to fulfill her beloved father's dream, and pays a heavy price.
Despite not 'loving' The Red Queen' Philippa Gregory has me fully back on board with this one and I can't wait for The White Princess due out this year, and to catch up with 'Lady Of The Rivers' and 'The Other Queen'
Verdict : Awesome 10/10
Destination : Pass to my friend
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Monday, 1 July 2013
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Book #16 A Place Of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
A Place Of Greater Safety
Length Of Time In Possession : 9 months
A Place Of Greater Safety is the third Hilary Mantel book I have read following the first two books of her yet to be completed Tudor trilogy Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, like those books it is also a historical epic.
The story focuses on Camille Desmoulins, Georges-Jacques Danton and Maximilien Robespierre, three men who went on to become famous and infamous for the roles as the architects of the French Revolution.
The story begins in their childhoods with Camille and Robespierre meeting at school and Camille befriending Danton in his early years in chambers. The intellect and idealism of these three led to a meeting of minds which destroyed the French establishment and led to the beginnings of the France we know today.
If you know your history of the French Revolution at all, you'll know what became of these three young men you are introduced to as they grew up, but this hardly matters in terms of reading a story whose outcome is already set in stone. You come to look at them as more than just history, a set of ideals, by being introduced to their childhoods and their wives and their friendships you come to see them as rounded human beings.
These are tragic men the architects not just of France but ultimately of their own fates.
The narrative is detailed, phenomenally researched, and the prose and dialogue are often very witty. At one point Desmoulins father thinks of him as "the kind of son you pay to stay away". Danton and Desmoulins are philanderers not above trying it on with each others wives, while Robespierre is the Incorruptible buttoned down, asexual, cold, initially belittled as the Candle Of Arras to another mans Torch, the Incorruptible grows more sinister the more he grows in political stature.
The book took me longer to read than my usual average. At times I felt bogged down and confused by the ever changing political world of these men (Girondin, Jacobin, Brissotist) where friends become foes in a heartbeat. I think this is deliberate in many ways as it thereby reflects the way things changed from moment to moment for the protagonists themselves, one minute the lauded speaker to the gathered Convention, the next fleeing for their lives to England or the provincial towns from whence they came.
This kind of wearying tension, this heightened state of alert can be felt in the novel, and though at times not much is said of the blood of the Guillotine running through Parisian streets, the psychological impact of the blood on their hands is palpable.
What was frustrating for me was that as I reached the end I realised that the novel was only going to cover the conclusion of two of these characters fates, and the third arrived as a postscript following the books close and I felt somehow cheated and I wanted the breakdown of the events that followed the point at which the novel closed.
It seems somehow odd to begin a novel with 3 young boys and yet not give a detailed conclusion to all three threads at the end.
Yet I really did like this novel, and would recommend it, particularly if you are interested in this time period.
Destination : ebook storage
8/10
Length Of Time In Possession : 9 months
A Place Of Greater Safety is the third Hilary Mantel book I have read following the first two books of her yet to be completed Tudor trilogy Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, like those books it is also a historical epic.
The story focuses on Camille Desmoulins, Georges-Jacques Danton and Maximilien Robespierre, three men who went on to become famous and infamous for the roles as the architects of the French Revolution.
The story begins in their childhoods with Camille and Robespierre meeting at school and Camille befriending Danton in his early years in chambers. The intellect and idealism of these three led to a meeting of minds which destroyed the French establishment and led to the beginnings of the France we know today.
If you know your history of the French Revolution at all, you'll know what became of these three young men you are introduced to as they grew up, but this hardly matters in terms of reading a story whose outcome is already set in stone. You come to look at them as more than just history, a set of ideals, by being introduced to their childhoods and their wives and their friendships you come to see them as rounded human beings.
These are tragic men the architects not just of France but ultimately of their own fates.
The narrative is detailed, phenomenally researched, and the prose and dialogue are often very witty. At one point Desmoulins father thinks of him as "the kind of son you pay to stay away". Danton and Desmoulins are philanderers not above trying it on with each others wives, while Robespierre is the Incorruptible buttoned down, asexual, cold, initially belittled as the Candle Of Arras to another mans Torch, the Incorruptible grows more sinister the more he grows in political stature.
The book took me longer to read than my usual average. At times I felt bogged down and confused by the ever changing political world of these men (Girondin, Jacobin, Brissotist) where friends become foes in a heartbeat. I think this is deliberate in many ways as it thereby reflects the way things changed from moment to moment for the protagonists themselves, one minute the lauded speaker to the gathered Convention, the next fleeing for their lives to England or the provincial towns from whence they came.
This kind of wearying tension, this heightened state of alert can be felt in the novel, and though at times not much is said of the blood of the Guillotine running through Parisian streets, the psychological impact of the blood on their hands is palpable.
What was frustrating for me was that as I reached the end I realised that the novel was only going to cover the conclusion of two of these characters fates, and the third arrived as a postscript following the books close and I felt somehow cheated and I wanted the breakdown of the events that followed the point at which the novel closed.
It seems somehow odd to begin a novel with 3 young boys and yet not give a detailed conclusion to all three threads at the end.
Yet I really did like this novel, and would recommend it, particularly if you are interested in this time period.
Destination : ebook storage
8/10
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Book #11 The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett
The Pillars Of The Earth
Length Of Time In Possession : 10 months
If I could summarise The Pillars Of The Earth plot wise in one sentence, that sentence would be
It is set so long ago that I had little knowledge of its history, beginning post the Battle Of Hastings and taking place entirely in the 1100's under Norman rule. I liked the fact that this place in history was totally unknown to me, it has not often been written about, unlike other areas of history like World War 2, or the Tudors both of which have been somewhat overmined.
With its element of human drama there comes a certain level of ridiculousness and soap opera moments; relationships that occur too quickly, relationships that are thwarted in silly ways or in one case a hazardous, lengthy, journey with a newborn baby including two treks over the Pyrenees on horseback that is pulled off quite easily and without incident. Despite this the characters are very easy to like, care about and enjoy.
The other flaw comes from the direction of the two main villains of the piece Waleran Bigod and William Hamleigh. The machinations of these two foes and their various attempts to thwart Phillip and friends become repetitive in style and approach "Damn that pesky monk"
This problem feels very minor though as it doesn't impede the overall entertainment factor of the book which is historical fiction at its best. 8/10
Destination : ebook storage
Length Of Time In Possession : 10 months
If I could summarise The Pillars Of The Earth plot wise in one sentence, that sentence would be
"A monk attempts to build a cathedral"but in many ways this belies the novel, and makes it sound simplistic and dull of which it is neither. It is over 1,000 pages long yet I read it very quickly. It moves along at quite some pace. Though the goal to build the cathedral is the central task, the novel also focuses on the lives of those caught up in the process. Firstly there's Philip the monk, whose intelligence outwits every attempt to thwart him, Tom Builder whose lifelong dream has been to build a cathedral and his children, as well as Aliona and Richard the orphaned children of a displaced earl.
It is set so long ago that I had little knowledge of its history, beginning post the Battle Of Hastings and taking place entirely in the 1100's under Norman rule. I liked the fact that this place in history was totally unknown to me, it has not often been written about, unlike other areas of history like World War 2, or the Tudors both of which have been somewhat overmined.
With its element of human drama there comes a certain level of ridiculousness and soap opera moments; relationships that occur too quickly, relationships that are thwarted in silly ways or in one case a hazardous, lengthy, journey with a newborn baby including two treks over the Pyrenees on horseback that is pulled off quite easily and without incident. Despite this the characters are very easy to like, care about and enjoy.
The other flaw comes from the direction of the two main villains of the piece Waleran Bigod and William Hamleigh. The machinations of these two foes and their various attempts to thwart Phillip and friends become repetitive in style and approach "Damn that pesky monk"
This problem feels very minor though as it doesn't impede the overall entertainment factor of the book which is historical fiction at its best. 8/10
Destination : ebook storage
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Book #98 Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Day After Night
Day After Night covers a period of history not often covered by fiction. Though there are plenty of books about the Holocaust, I do not know of many which cover the decision of many Holocaust survivors to travel to Jewish homeland Israel/Zion to be repatriated. There is, I am told Exodus by Leon Uris, a monster hit in the 1950s, but I have not read it and so this book was my first brush with this period.
The novel focuses on four women Zorah, Leonie, Tedi, and Shayndel who all survived the persecution of their race in different circumstances and are all seeking a new start. Thrown together at British detention centre Atlit, tentative bonds begin to form between the broken and distrustful women.
It is so so hard not to compare this book to The Red Tent, the Diamant novel I read last month. Where the prose in that novel is lyrical and beautiful, Day and Night is far plainer and less engaging. It is hard to feel involved with the women at times, and I hate to say it but at times they bored me, which feels like a terrible thing to say given the subject matter.
There are little pockets of greatness here and there, particularly in the way in which the women's dealings with Lotte are described, and the individuality of each woman's origin, but something about it feels like more of a history lesson than a story, less character than simply archetype, like its purpose is solely informative. For this reason it is a bit colourless as a novel, yet as the fates of each character were rounded up, I did shed a tear so I was definitely moved at the end.
Unlike the Red Tent though it is not a book which lights up your mind and imagination. At best I would consider it a 5 or 6/10
Day After Night covers a period of history not often covered by fiction. Though there are plenty of books about the Holocaust, I do not know of many which cover the decision of many Holocaust survivors to travel to Jewish homeland Israel/Zion to be repatriated. There is, I am told Exodus by Leon Uris, a monster hit in the 1950s, but I have not read it and so this book was my first brush with this period.
The novel focuses on four women Zorah, Leonie, Tedi, and Shayndel who all survived the persecution of their race in different circumstances and are all seeking a new start. Thrown together at British detention centre Atlit, tentative bonds begin to form between the broken and distrustful women.
It is so so hard not to compare this book to The Red Tent, the Diamant novel I read last month. Where the prose in that novel is lyrical and beautiful, Day and Night is far plainer and less engaging. It is hard to feel involved with the women at times, and I hate to say it but at times they bored me, which feels like a terrible thing to say given the subject matter.
There are little pockets of greatness here and there, particularly in the way in which the women's dealings with Lotte are described, and the individuality of each woman's origin, but something about it feels like more of a history lesson than a story, less character than simply archetype, like its purpose is solely informative. For this reason it is a bit colourless as a novel, yet as the fates of each character were rounded up, I did shed a tear so I was definitely moved at the end.
Unlike the Red Tent though it is not a book which lights up your mind and imagination. At best I would consider it a 5 or 6/10
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Book #45 Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Bring Up The Bodies
Bring Up The Bodies is of course the sequel to Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall, charting the career and life of senior Tudor court advisor Thomas Cromwell.
We return to his story exactly where we left off at the titular Wolf Hall where Henry VIII is first introduced to future third wife Jane Seymour. One of the many great things about Wolf Hall was that they arrived there in the last sentence, and you finally know why it is called Wolf Hall in the first place.
I adored Wolf Hall and thought it was one of the most well written and enjoyable Booker Prize winners in years. Therefore it gives me tremendous pleasure to say that Bring Up The Bodies is equally good. The exquisite prose and turn of phrase follow on seamlessly from the first book and it wasn't hard at all for me to totally re-enter that universe despite not having brushed up on a re-read of Wolf Hall beforehand.
I enjoy stories of the Tudor court and have read all of Philippa Gregory's Tudor novels, and watched the laughably bad Showtime series on BBC2. Mantel's novels are a much classier affair however, and by taking the character of Thomas Cromwell, a lesser explored and perhaps enigmatic figure gives a fresh eye on a well told tale. Where Wolf Hall chartered the downfalls of Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon respectively, Bring Up The Bodies brings us the downfall of Anne Boleyn, a well documented fall from grace. Anne Boleyn herself remains enigmatic - were the stories about her true or was she much more sinned against than sinning?
This book doesn't offer those answers only Thomas Cromwell's motives: political alliances, satisfying the King's capricious nature by any means necessary, and more interestingly, payback for his personal vendettas. He makes for an intriguing, clever, and foreboding individual which is just what one wants from a protagonist.
It is again, beautifully written and beautifully researched, and I was delighted to hear that there will be a third novel, which history buffs will know will cover the disaster that befalls Thomas Cromwell as Henry's favoured man when Henry finds that he mislikes fourth bride Anne Of Cleeves. I for one can't wait! 10/10
Bring Up The Bodies is of course the sequel to Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall, charting the career and life of senior Tudor court advisor Thomas Cromwell.
We return to his story exactly where we left off at the titular Wolf Hall where Henry VIII is first introduced to future third wife Jane Seymour. One of the many great things about Wolf Hall was that they arrived there in the last sentence, and you finally know why it is called Wolf Hall in the first place.
I adored Wolf Hall and thought it was one of the most well written and enjoyable Booker Prize winners in years. Therefore it gives me tremendous pleasure to say that Bring Up The Bodies is equally good. The exquisite prose and turn of phrase follow on seamlessly from the first book and it wasn't hard at all for me to totally re-enter that universe despite not having brushed up on a re-read of Wolf Hall beforehand.
I enjoy stories of the Tudor court and have read all of Philippa Gregory's Tudor novels, and watched the laughably bad Showtime series on BBC2. Mantel's novels are a much classier affair however, and by taking the character of Thomas Cromwell, a lesser explored and perhaps enigmatic figure gives a fresh eye on a well told tale. Where Wolf Hall chartered the downfalls of Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon respectively, Bring Up The Bodies brings us the downfall of Anne Boleyn, a well documented fall from grace. Anne Boleyn herself remains enigmatic - were the stories about her true or was she much more sinned against than sinning?
This book doesn't offer those answers only Thomas Cromwell's motives: political alliances, satisfying the King's capricious nature by any means necessary, and more interestingly, payback for his personal vendettas. He makes for an intriguing, clever, and foreboding individual which is just what one wants from a protagonist.
It is again, beautifully written and beautifully researched, and I was delighted to hear that there will be a third novel, which history buffs will know will cover the disaster that befalls Thomas Cromwell as Henry's favoured man when Henry finds that he mislikes fourth bride Anne Of Cleeves. I for one can't wait! 10/10
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Book #6 Far To Go by Alison Pick
Far To Go
Far To Go tells the story of the Bauer family, there is a connection to the true life story of the family of Alison Pick who escaped Czechoslovakia for Canada during the war. In this, it bears some similarity to Anne Michaels Fugitive Pieces which I read at the end of last year.
In Far To Go, the Jewish Bauer family find their lives both metaphorically and literally under threat as German aggression begins to absorb Czechoslovakia into its borders. Pavel Bauer who has lived a secular life does not really believe it will happen to him, but begins to identify with and explore his Jewish heritage when it comes under threat. Initially, he is unwilling to part with his precious son Pepik but as the threat of the Holocaust marches closer, he begins to consider to try placing his son on the Kindertransport, the initiative of a British man who saved the lives of many Jewish children.
Far To Go was longlisted last year for the Man Booker Prize last year but didn't make it to the shortlist and though it is not a bad book and is eminently readable, it is flawed and its potential is wasted I can see why it wasn't shortlisted.
The Kindertransport is a really different angle to take on the stories of the Second World War and would make an involving book. Unfortunately this isn't that book, the bulk of this book concerns Pepik's nanny Martha, her loyalty or in my opinion lack thereof to the Bauer family. It also covers the well trod ground of the encroaching fear and sudden oppression of Jewish communities in Nazi Occupied Europe.
Both Pepik and first cousin Tomas make it out of Europe on the Kindertransport but little to nothing is made of that experience and what that was like for children. In fact the first page of the book informs us that Tomas reached a family in the UK, he is never referred to in the novel again, and Pepik's experience is completely truncated. It just seems like a totally missed chance. Towards the end of the book it becomes all about main character Lisa's research, and how the story was pieced together as best she could from her research. In fact though the title Far To Go implies the journey and the front cover is of a child with a suitcase the novel is barely about the Kindertransport at all. And thats the disappointment. I think I would like to read a novel that is actually about that experience.
I also disliked the manner in which Martha is painted as a heroine of sorts at the end, when in point of fact she wasn't and ultimately sabotaged the safety of her beloved Pepik and Pavel.
So, yes, this novel whilst a very readable very well written book is a pretty big disappointment and though somewhat based on the Pick family experience is lacking in terms of anything new to say. It's still worth a read but if you wanted to read a novel about that era and asked me for a recommendation, I would recommend Markus Zusak's The Book Thief among others and this novel would not spring to mind instantly 7/10
Far To Go tells the story of the Bauer family, there is a connection to the true life story of the family of Alison Pick who escaped Czechoslovakia for Canada during the war. In this, it bears some similarity to Anne Michaels Fugitive Pieces which I read at the end of last year.
In Far To Go, the Jewish Bauer family find their lives both metaphorically and literally under threat as German aggression begins to absorb Czechoslovakia into its borders. Pavel Bauer who has lived a secular life does not really believe it will happen to him, but begins to identify with and explore his Jewish heritage when it comes under threat. Initially, he is unwilling to part with his precious son Pepik but as the threat of the Holocaust marches closer, he begins to consider to try placing his son on the Kindertransport, the initiative of a British man who saved the lives of many Jewish children.
Far To Go was longlisted last year for the Man Booker Prize last year but didn't make it to the shortlist and though it is not a bad book and is eminently readable, it is flawed and its potential is wasted I can see why it wasn't shortlisted.
The Kindertransport is a really different angle to take on the stories of the Second World War and would make an involving book. Unfortunately this isn't that book, the bulk of this book concerns Pepik's nanny Martha, her loyalty or in my opinion lack thereof to the Bauer family. It also covers the well trod ground of the encroaching fear and sudden oppression of Jewish communities in Nazi Occupied Europe.
Both Pepik and first cousin Tomas make it out of Europe on the Kindertransport but little to nothing is made of that experience and what that was like for children. In fact the first page of the book informs us that Tomas reached a family in the UK, he is never referred to in the novel again, and Pepik's experience is completely truncated. It just seems like a totally missed chance. Towards the end of the book it becomes all about main character Lisa's research, and how the story was pieced together as best she could from her research. In fact though the title Far To Go implies the journey and the front cover is of a child with a suitcase the novel is barely about the Kindertransport at all. And thats the disappointment. I think I would like to read a novel that is actually about that experience.
I also disliked the manner in which Martha is painted as a heroine of sorts at the end, when in point of fact she wasn't and ultimately sabotaged the safety of her beloved Pepik and Pavel.
So, yes, this novel whilst a very readable very well written book is a pretty big disappointment and though somewhat based on the Pick family experience is lacking in terms of anything new to say. It's still worth a read but if you wanted to read a novel about that era and asked me for a recommendation, I would recommend Markus Zusak's The Book Thief among others and this novel would not spring to mind instantly 7/10
Friday, 20 May 2011
Book #38 The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
The Interpretation of Murder
Personally, I feel like the Crime genre is in a bit of a slump and nothing new has come out of it in a while. Authors seem to try and make their crime novel stand out by writing increasingly graphic, distasteful crimes or by making the investigator individually eccentric in some manner. By in large though they follow similar patterns.
Rubenfeld, (a Yale University lecturer with a first novel) puts his 'new take' on a crime thriller by making the main character psychoanalyst and society gentleman Stratham Younger, a disciple of Freud. He also places the novel in 1909 the year of Freud's first and only visit to America, thereby making Freud and Jung, historical people, fictional characters. There is of course a modern trend for this now, taking a well known person (long dead) and fictionalising them. It often leaves me wondering how fair it is, whether I would like a fictional and probably inaccurate depiction of myself bearing my name in some future novel, and which living people from this century will be subject to this treatment in our grand-children's time.
The twist with the focus on the psychoanalysis side of things is that Younger with Freud as a mentor begins to analyse a young woman who has been victim of an appalling crime using the tricks of their trade to get her to remember what happened. Younger's story is told in the first person, whilst the second strand, focusing on the ongoing investigation being run by a detective and a coroner is done in the third.
The book is a bit cobbled together, a bit too many ingredients in the recipe. A crime, the famous man and his famous visit, a couple of lacklustre love stories, a few thinly sketched similar villains, several twists and a quite over the top denouement, which strikes you as rather theatrical and camp.
In addition you've got all the sexual deviance, which after the original crime just seems to be there for sheer titillation, the presence of Freud and therefore his sexual theories providing a handy excuse for its presence. It also had that certain crime cliche of the Agatha Christie era, "a sinister Chinaman" How dated.
I was reading the review of some other book on Amazon, and one reviewer described it as being on 'the Richard and Judy list of shame'. This book too, was a Richard and Judy selection. What I think the reviewer meant was that although Richard and Judy do not choose low-brow fiction nor do they choose high-brow fiction meaning that their selections tend to fall in the middle, neither one thing nor the other. A little original perhaps, but also not too challenging, not too offensive and a little bland.
Consequently the writing reflects this.
There are some interesting points, the various facts about the thoughts on psychiatry in that era, the impact of Freud on American culture and Younger's curious obsession with Hamlet, but all in all it's messy. It has a sequel 'The Death Instinct' which I picked up quite accidentally a few weeks ago, because I had an opportunity for a 3 for 2 and it was the nearest thing to hand. I'm not really sure if I'll bother with it though, it's a bit of a "won't get those hours back" scenario.
5 or 6/10
Personally, I feel like the Crime genre is in a bit of a slump and nothing new has come out of it in a while. Authors seem to try and make their crime novel stand out by writing increasingly graphic, distasteful crimes or by making the investigator individually eccentric in some manner. By in large though they follow similar patterns.
Rubenfeld, (a Yale University lecturer with a first novel) puts his 'new take' on a crime thriller by making the main character psychoanalyst and society gentleman Stratham Younger, a disciple of Freud. He also places the novel in 1909 the year of Freud's first and only visit to America, thereby making Freud and Jung, historical people, fictional characters. There is of course a modern trend for this now, taking a well known person (long dead) and fictionalising them. It often leaves me wondering how fair it is, whether I would like a fictional and probably inaccurate depiction of myself bearing my name in some future novel, and which living people from this century will be subject to this treatment in our grand-children's time.
The twist with the focus on the psychoanalysis side of things is that Younger with Freud as a mentor begins to analyse a young woman who has been victim of an appalling crime using the tricks of their trade to get her to remember what happened. Younger's story is told in the first person, whilst the second strand, focusing on the ongoing investigation being run by a detective and a coroner is done in the third.
The book is a bit cobbled together, a bit too many ingredients in the recipe. A crime, the famous man and his famous visit, a couple of lacklustre love stories, a few thinly sketched similar villains, several twists and a quite over the top denouement, which strikes you as rather theatrical and camp.
In addition you've got all the sexual deviance, which after the original crime just seems to be there for sheer titillation, the presence of Freud and therefore his sexual theories providing a handy excuse for its presence. It also had that certain crime cliche of the Agatha Christie era, "a sinister Chinaman" How dated.
I was reading the review of some other book on Amazon, and one reviewer described it as being on 'the Richard and Judy list of shame'. This book too, was a Richard and Judy selection. What I think the reviewer meant was that although Richard and Judy do not choose low-brow fiction nor do they choose high-brow fiction meaning that their selections tend to fall in the middle, neither one thing nor the other. A little original perhaps, but also not too challenging, not too offensive and a little bland.
Consequently the writing reflects this.
There are some interesting points, the various facts about the thoughts on psychiatry in that era, the impact of Freud on American culture and Younger's curious obsession with Hamlet, but all in all it's messy. It has a sequel 'The Death Instinct' which I picked up quite accidentally a few weeks ago, because I had an opportunity for a 3 for 2 and it was the nearest thing to hand. I'm not really sure if I'll bother with it though, it's a bit of a "won't get those hours back" scenario.
5 or 6/10
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