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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Across the turbulent years of the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), Troubles - the first of J.G. Farrell's loosely connected Empire trilogy - follows the upper-class British residents of The Majestic, a seaside hotel in County Wexford. The Majestic has, to put it bluntly, seen better days; Farrell paints a marvellous portrait of crumbling decay, the hotel's three hundred rooms mostly empty and mildewing, the swimming pool stagnant, the main courtyard overgrown. There's a touch of Gormenghast to the place, and Farrell is such a talented writer that even though the symbolism is present in every scene it never feels overwrought. The Majestic clearly represents the last disintegrating years of the British Empire itself, the green-eyed orange cats overrunning the upper floors represent the newly ascendant Sinn Fein, and the stiff-upper-lip old Tory who owns the place obstinately refusing to acknowledge the obvious truth that it's falling down around his ears... well, that represents something still quite relevant to those of us well-versed in British politics in 2019. Particularly the way in which he eventually embarks on a sort of Apocalypse Now descent into madness.
Troubles is regularly interspersed with extracts from newspapers - real ones, I assume - discussing the situation not just in Ireland but in other far-flung parts of the Empire like India and Egypt. There is a familiar tone to these extracts: a delusional steady-hand-on-the-tiller attitude, a refusal to acknowledge that other nations and peoples might have interests and desires which differ from England's, and a ridiculously unfounded optimism that borders on delusional. A century later, little has changed. Troubles is a brilliant skewering of the Tory mindset, and a perfect book to read in October 2019, as the British slouch towards either a no-deal Brexit or yet another extension of their Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Troubles is regularly interspersed with extracts from newspapers - real ones, I assume - discussing the situation not just in Ireland but in other far-flung parts of the Empire like India and Egypt. There is a familiar tone to these extracts: a delusional steady-hand-on-the-tiller attitude, a refusal to acknowledge that other nations and peoples might have interests and desires which differ from England's, and a ridiculously unfounded optimism that borders on delusional. A century later, little has changed. Troubles is a brilliant skewering of the Tory mindset, and a perfect book to read in October 2019, as the British slouch towards either a no-deal Brexit or yet another extension of their Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Recommended by my sister.
It took me a while to read this thick novel and I'm glad I saw it through to the end. It's somewhat embarrassing to admit that I have always understood Ireland's Troubles to somehow refer to its potato famine and found out after reading the novel (first) and the John Banville introduction (after) that Troubles really refers to the Irish/British war that started in 1919, right after the first world war. Our protagonist is a British officer who ends up in a dilapidated hotel on the Irish coast to marry a woman he believes he's engaged to. That match doesn't pan out, yet he ends up staying in the hotel for years, and the uprising of Sinn Fein against the British occupiers unfolds before the Major's eyes.
This novel has moments of comedy, but underlying it is sadness, loss, loneliness, and some animal brutality (very hard to take.)
It took me a while to read this thick novel and I'm glad I saw it through to the end. It's somewhat embarrassing to admit that I have always understood Ireland's Troubles to somehow refer to its potato famine and found out after reading the novel (first) and the John Banville introduction (after) that Troubles really refers to the Irish/British war that started in 1919, right after the first world war. Our protagonist is a British officer who ends up in a dilapidated hotel on the Irish coast to marry a woman he believes he's engaged to. That match doesn't pan out, yet he ends up staying in the hotel for years, and the uprising of Sinn Fein against the British occupiers unfolds before the Major's eyes.
This novel has moments of comedy, but underlying it is sadness, loss, loneliness, and some animal brutality (very hard to take.)
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Excellent, detailed, funny allegory of the collapse of the British Empire as seen in Ireland.
This man can make the folly of colonialism brutally clear while also keeping you chuckling as you read. Who else can do that?