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A review by kjboldon
Good Behaviour by Molly Keane
dark
medium-paced
5.0
Aroon St Charles asks, "what could be more delicious than a baby rabbit? Especially after it has been forced through a fine sieve and whizzed for ten minutes in a Moulinex blender."
Brace yourself. I thought this book would be an English drama. Instead, it's a slow-burn horror story that starts with Aroon caring for her invalid mother in a very peculiar way. The story then detours into her childhood, then backtracks further into the history of a governess named Mrs Brock. This book is all show, no tell. Aroon is a wilfully obtuse narrator, constantly showing us through abstraction and omission what she can't herself acknowledge. In the end, it comes down to that truism, hurt people hurt people. And so very many people get hurt.
This is a dark portrait of the declining gentry in Ireland between the wars. Fascinating, but not for those who need sparks of joy. There is humor here sometimes, but truly, no hope.
Brace yourself. I thought this book would be an English drama. Instead, it's a slow-burn horror story that starts with Aroon caring for her invalid mother in a very peculiar way. The story then detours into her childhood, then backtracks further into the history of a governess named Mrs Brock. This book is all show, no tell. Aroon is a wilfully obtuse narrator, constantly showing us through abstraction and omission what she can't herself acknowledge. In the end, it comes down to that truism, hurt people hurt people. And so very many people get hurt.
This is a dark portrait of the declining gentry in Ireland between the wars. Fascinating, but not for those who need sparks of joy. There is humor here sometimes, but truly, no hope.