Reviews

Alms For Oblivion Vol I by Simon Raven

whysoserious's review

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SPOILER ALERT JUST TO COVER FOR ANY INFO THAT MAY CONSTITUTE A SPOILER 

What the book is about…

Alms for Oblivion is a series of ten novels, all telling separate stories but at the same time linked together by the characters they have in common: schoolboys and businessmen, writers and soldiers, prostitutes and patient wives, actresses and models. In the first four novels Simon Raven’s wayward band of upper-class anti heroes lurch from debauched parties to rehearsals for nuclear war; from blackmail to murder; from marriage to adultery and back again.

Volume One includes: The Rich Pay Late, Friends in Low Places, The Sabre Squadron and Fielding Gray.

There comes along an artist who blows you away, yet someone who nobody else seems to have heard of. Simon Raven is one of those rare talents who hasn’t reached the lofty heights of literary awards or ‘best novels’ lists yet more than deserves accolades. One can see how he has weaved real life autobiographical elements into the work, informed – at least in part – by his hedonistic lifestyle of drinking, gambling, travelling and socialising far and wide. He draws upon his days in the army and his controversial sexual preferences and subsequent dismissal for homosexual activities. It was alleged that Raven – when written to for money by his then wife – responded with ‘Sorry no money… I suggest eat baby’. It is this dry humour and wit that shines through in these gripping novels.

Raven uses multiple writing styles to excellent effect here. From first person, to third person to teenage diary he incorporates an impressively diverse range of skills. Never does the work get tiring nor does one hope for the end of the final page.

The strength in his piece is the characters. We have an upper-class ‘boys club’, the individuals vying for their own ends and agendas. We see how associations, in the guise of friendships, play a game of human chess in the upper-class world of army and politics. Fielding Gray, for example, has a strong history with Somerset and Morrison for which his deepest secrets are known. These secrets are revealed in volume one but one wonders how these secrets will be used and abused in the coming saga.

On the subject of Fielding, he is one of my favourite characters in this volume though I have absolutely no reason for this. He is self-centred, using other people for his own means and failing to take responsibility for his actions. Yet his repressed sexuality, his desire to love and be loved unconditionally whilst never quite knowing how to go about this is one of the endearing qualities in the flawed army officer. He is frustrating as a young man though the reader soon sees him mature (in reverse order) through his diary writing. Raven paints a vivid picture of a despicable father, a passive-turned-aggressive mother and comparisons to his ‘nicer’ more ‘well-mannered’ contemporaries. I would love to find out how much of this element of his work was based on his own family or whether he brings to life characters spontaneously and without inspiration.

Somerset is a devious little bastard, determined to work his manipulative magic to get ahead. There is something so fundamentally dislikeable about the character that one wants to see him get his comeuppance. The Tucks are hideous creatures, Angela using her sexuality as a tool for digging gold from the older man. It is hard to feel any sympathy or some of the characters here but it is nonetheless compelling.

One character who I fell in love with was Christopher. The simple, innocent young boy who wants love and kindness. He reminds me of someone in real life, someone kind and thoughtful. I won’t spoil but the last novel is heart-breaking in many ways.

Final Thought: My favourite book. Just when you think you can’t find another ‘best’ novel one hits you squarely in the face. Simon Raven is one that needs much more praise and recognition for his gift as a novelist.