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A review by martinjcusworth
The Outward Room by Millen Brand
4.0
This is a beautifully told story that manages to wrap the reader up. The storyline is simple and sparing, as is the quality of the prose. Brand's style encouraged me to care deeply about the characters' plights - without barraging me with the thick descriptions that would make me feel it were all being shoved down my throat.
In some respects, though, this novel is a real curate's egg. It operates using a stream of consciousness that feels clunky when set against the attempts of (later) writers. The situation at the beginning of the book is interesting in itself, but is let down just a little by a sluggish start. That said, soon there is a touching scene in the hospital, a perilous journey, near destitution and then a fortuitous meeting with a stranger. As this unfolds, so too does the beauty and enjoyability of this largely now-forgotten novel.
As Peter Cameron points out in his brilliant afterward, a book of this quality simply does not deserve to be forgotten. I recommend The Outward Room highly.
(The electronic format of the book, though, is riddled with typesetting mistakes.)
In some respects, though, this novel is a real curate's egg. It operates using a stream of consciousness that feels clunky when set against the attempts of (later) writers. The situation at the beginning of the book is interesting in itself, but is let down just a little by a sluggish start. That said, soon there is a touching scene in the hospital, a perilous journey, near destitution and then a fortuitous meeting with a stranger. As this unfolds, so too does the beauty and enjoyability of this largely now-forgotten novel.
As Peter Cameron points out in his brilliant afterward, a book of this quality simply does not deserve to be forgotten. I recommend The Outward Room highly.
(The electronic format of the book, though, is riddled with typesetting mistakes.)