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A review by maree_k
The Watch Tower by Elizabeth Harrower
5.0
Written in a time when the term 'domestic violence' didn't exist, and when what happened behind the closed doors of suburban Australian homes stayed there, The Watch Tower is a compelling, fraught exploration of a man's psychological and physical abuse of his young wife and her sister.
Harrower's The Watch Tower is not an easy book to read. There is such tension in the prose that at times I literally had to remind myself to breathe. One scene in particular stands out, where Felix, the husband, makes his much younger wife Laura and her younger sister Clare wait out in the car for him while he drinks in the pub. Then, when he gets in the car he berates and belittles them for about 15 minutes before driving home, drunk and manic, barely avoiding serious accidents. This scene is told from Clare's perspective, and exposes the wall of indifference she has built up to cope with the terror she must endure.
The novel's language is often understated, and the violence is never overt, which only gives it more power. At times the claustrophobic atmosphere created by the prose is almost too much to bear, and I found myself having to take it a paragraph at a time. This is a powerful book, not a pleasant read but one that grips the reader and doesn't let go. The prose is crisp and haunting as it describes the domestic violence cycle as it repeats and intensifies through the narrative.
The Watch Tower is the opposite of a holiday beach read, but it is a powerful novel with superb prose that brilliantly displays and dissects the true psychological horrors of domestic violence. A brilliant book.
Harrower's The Watch Tower is not an easy book to read. There is such tension in the prose that at times I literally had to remind myself to breathe. One scene in particular stands out, where Felix, the husband, makes his much younger wife Laura and her younger sister Clare wait out in the car for him while he drinks in the pub. Then, when he gets in the car he berates and belittles them for about 15 minutes before driving home, drunk and manic, barely avoiding serious accidents. This scene is told from Clare's perspective, and exposes the wall of indifference she has built up to cope with the terror she must endure.
The novel's language is often understated, and the violence is never overt, which only gives it more power. At times the claustrophobic atmosphere created by the prose is almost too much to bear, and I found myself having to take it a paragraph at a time. This is a powerful book, not a pleasant read but one that grips the reader and doesn't let go. The prose is crisp and haunting as it describes the domestic violence cycle as it repeats and intensifies through the narrative.
The Watch Tower is the opposite of a holiday beach read, but it is a powerful novel with superb prose that brilliantly displays and dissects the true psychological horrors of domestic violence. A brilliant book.