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scarpuccia 's review for:
The Death of the Heart
by Elizabeth Bowen
Death of the Heart is widely considered Elizabeth Bowen's masterpiece. I hadn't previously read any of her work but I didn't quite love this as much as I expected. Perhaps for all its refined sensibility and astutely critical social comedy there simply wasn't quite enough at stake to make it compelling for me.
The concept of home looms large. People either have homes or they don't. Portia, the main character, is a sixteen year old orphan who has lived most of her life in hotels on the continent due to the ignominious nature of her parent's relationship which begins as an extra-marital affair. The novel begins when she is taken in for a year by her much older half-brother and his highly sophisticated and disappointed wife, Anna. Portia only really connects with other homeless people, principally the caddish Eddie, who might or might not be having an affair with Anna. When Anna reads Portia's diary and Portia finds out the façade of middle class proprietary in the household is shattered and everyone begins to feel nakedly exposed.
The characters are all excellently drawn, the writing is often superb but at times the plot felt a bit forced, epitomised by the very stylised unnatural dialogue and the rather unconvincing nature of Portia and Eddie's relationship. I never quite believed Eddie, a handsome twenty three year old who has had a novel published would be attracted to the rather childish sixteen year old Portia. I never understood what relevance it had that he was a published author (especially as there's another published author in the novel). It's a small detail but why could Eddie not have been nineteen and not a published author? On the other hand, Portia's other unsuitable suitor is the elderly Major Brutt who is down on his luck and living in a hotel. He was a fabulous character.
So, not bowled over but there was more than enough I liked to ensure I'll read another Bowen.
The concept of home looms large. People either have homes or they don't. Portia, the main character, is a sixteen year old orphan who has lived most of her life in hotels on the continent due to the ignominious nature of her parent's relationship which begins as an extra-marital affair. The novel begins when she is taken in for a year by her much older half-brother and his highly sophisticated and disappointed wife, Anna. Portia only really connects with other homeless people, principally the caddish Eddie, who might or might not be having an affair with Anna. When Anna reads Portia's diary and Portia finds out the façade of middle class proprietary in the household is shattered and everyone begins to feel nakedly exposed.
The characters are all excellently drawn, the writing is often superb but at times the plot felt a bit forced, epitomised by the very stylised unnatural dialogue and the rather unconvincing nature of Portia and Eddie's relationship. I never quite believed Eddie, a handsome twenty three year old who has had a novel published would be attracted to the rather childish sixteen year old Portia. I never understood what relevance it had that he was a published author (especially as there's another published author in the novel). It's a small detail but why could Eddie not have been nineteen and not a published author? On the other hand, Portia's other unsuitable suitor is the elderly Major Brutt who is down on his luck and living in a hotel. He was a fabulous character.
So, not bowled over but there was more than enough I liked to ensure I'll read another Bowen.