It is not often that I buy a book in hardback. I find them too bulky and less enjoyable to read. Penny often makes fun of the way that I read books - I look back over what I have read; look at the front cover; look at the back cover; skim the pages of the book and then finally revert back to reading the thing. These actions are made harder through the medium of the hardback novel. That being said, such is my enjoyment of the large majority of de Bernieres' novels, I bought this as soon as it became available and subjected myself to the torment and trials of reading a hardback novel.
De Bernieres' novel focuses on the McCosh family and their immediate neighbours during the First World War and the immediate aftermath. Like Iskander in 'Birds Without Wings' and Doctor Iannis in 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin,' de Bernieres' novel has a strong paternal presence in Hamilton McCosh. Mr. McCosh, his wife and four daughters all have to adapt to life during the First World War and watch helplessly as the conflict impacts on their loved ones throughout and in the months and years afterwards. Nobody seems to be unaffected by the War, whether it is the snobbish Mrs. McCosh or the kindly maid Millicent.
Like the other two of the author's epic novels, there is an array of narrators and mediums through whom the story is told. Letters and poems add a flexibility to the novel which makes his works more interesting and enjoyable. Unlike the other two novels, he does not give such weight to the historical goings on, which I found to be a relief as at times the previous two novels were so weighed down by chapters about Attaturk and the Second World War. One reviewer said that historical novels should only need to fleetingly mention goings on, whilst de Bernieres wrote himself in 'Captain Corelli' that 'history ought to be made up of the stories of ordinary people only.' In this novel he seems to have found a happy medium where his mentions of history are only written about where necessary.
The 'ordinariness' of the people involved in the novel could be one cause for criticism: the family, whilst often relying on McCosh speculating in stocks and shares whilst at the same time hoping that his inventions are successful in order to pay debts, are undoubtedly a successful family. The house seems to be large and they have a maid and a cook. An annoyance of mine with writers is when they stereotype the way in which people speak. The Londoners in the novel miss off the final consonant of their words, the Irish people say 'fecking Jaysus' and the poshos speak perfectly, of course. I think that most of the reading public should have enough nous about them to work out how people speak themselves.
The positives of this novel far outweigh the negatives. Through the characters of Hamilton McCosh and Daniel, de Bernieres once again has two kindly men who don't flaunt their qualities; whilst in Mary and Mrs. McCosh we have two female characters who struggle through their religious beliefs and grief to eventually make wise decisions. The excellent cameo of Daniel's mother towards the end of the novel yet again sees de Bernieres use his novel as a portal for marital advice which compares a good marriage to a good wine. A fine comparison.
Key quotations
'Marriage is like a wine,' she said, 'Sometimes it can only be drunk very young, and then it goes bad and gets worse and worse. Sometimes when it is young it's horrible, affreux! And then the years pass and it becomes wonderful, and perhaps you don't even notice and then you realise that at last the wine has become beautiful and you are happy. Sometimes a wine must be left alone and sometimes it must be blended and tasted and changed a little. And sometimes someone must come along and turn every bottle over, many times.'
Other thoughts
- One curiosity of the novel is de Bernieres odd insistence in saying that Character X did Y 'as was the custom in those days.' Why did he need to do that? We know he is writing about 'those days' and it just reads rather oddly. For such a skilled writer I find it utterly unnecessary.
- This is a huge return to form for de Bernieres after the disappointment of 'The Partisan's daughter' which was absolute dross. His debut trilogy is superb though and does not get the credit it deserves. Have you read 'The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts'? Make it a priority if not.
