EIGHT SHORT REVIEWS

MASTER GEORGIE by BERYL BAINBRIDGE (1998)
This is a very skillfully executed portrait of a Victorian physician/amateur photographer, through the eyes of three narrators. The first one, Georgie's adopted sister, worships him without reservation, excusing all his faults. The second narrator is a street urchin, who reveals other aspects of George, including his in-the-closet homosexuality. The third, George's pompous brother-in-law, provides the most factual information, but even he never quite figures George out.

The action begins with a father's death in a whore house and ends on the battlefield of the Crimean War. In addition to painting a portrait of a complex man, the novel provides a historical look at Victorian England. It is admirable for its craftsmanship, but it is not particularly interesting to read. It won several literary awards in England.


LUCIA IN LONDON and MAPP AND LUCIA by E.F. BENSON (1927, 1931)
These chronicle the further misadventures of the social climber Lucia, which began in Queen Lucia, which I reviewed in November. In Lucia in London, she inherits some money and relocates from her small village to London for "the season." Starting from scratch, she works to conquer and lead London society, as she had done in her previous location. The funniest bit here is the agonizing of the man who has always been her faithful apostle. Since her husband has died he is afraid he is expected to marry her, and he doesn't want to.

In Mapp and Lucia, Lucia rents a summer home in a seaside village and endeavors to become the leader of a new batch of characters. The only problem is that they already have a leader, Mrs. Mapp, who will not give up her position without a fight. The two concoct various wily plots to undercut each other, all the while smiling and vowing their enduring regard and friendship. In the most outrageous of the situations, they are swept away to sea together on a tabletop.

These are extremely funny books which would translate marvelously into a television situation comedy. Pure entertainment. Oh, wait, I just googled it and found that the books have been made into TV series, twice, by BBC.


MISS LONELYHEARTS and THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by NATHANAEL WEST (1933, 1939)
Warning: Do not read these books if you are the tiniest bit depressed already. They will do you in.

Miss Lonelyhearts chronicles the angst suffered by a writer of an advice column in New York City in the 1930s. He tries to find a way to escape the suffering he reads of in the letters sent to him, always as he is mocked by his cynical editor. This novella has a killer ending -- literally.

The setting of The Day of the Locust is Hollywood, where the protagonist is an aspiring set and costume designer. He is surrounded by emptiness of soul and failed ambitions in a world where everything and everybody has a false front. The novel, like Miss Lonelyhearts, ends in mayhem and death.

I suppose everyone was a little depressed in the 1930s, given the sad state of the economy. Books like these wouldn't have helped. These are critically lauded but certainly not much fun to read.


PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA by RODDY DOYLE (1993)
This deceptively simple novel is narrated entirely in stream-of-consciousness style through the voice of a ten-year-old boy in the 1960s in Ireland. Told in snippets and vignettes, the story begins with humorous escapades but gradually turns tragic as the boy witnesses the disintegration of the marriage of his parents.

The remarkable thing about this book is the coherence of the narrative voice. The reader can completely believe it to be written by a prepubescent boy trying to cope with adult issues. Though it clearly reflects a specific time and place, the issues of family strife it presents are universal. The title is particularly heartbreaking, because, as it turns out, the joke is on Paddy. His carefree childhood is over.

I recommend this novel. It won England's Booker Award in 1993.


TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN by JOHN GREEN (2017)
This is a Young Adult novel which I bought for my granddaughter for Christmas, by the author of the wildly popular The Fault In Our Stars. The subject of this one is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it is almost as tragic as Fault, which dealt with cancer death. It helps in appreciating the book to know that Green himself suffers from OCD. The depictions of the thought spirals which drive OCD are thus very believable.

From the viewpoint of an adult reader, I think the book weak in some aspects. As in all John Green's books (I have read them all, since he is my granddaughter's favorite author.), the dialogue seems less like that of real teenagers and more like the imaginings of a grown up who wishes he had talked that way when younger. These teens are all quick and witty and have a great deal of knowledge about a variety of subjects. Few teens are so articulate and intelligent. Also, the incidental plot device of the mysterious disappearance of one of the teen's fathers seems weak and unnecessary.

However, for teenagers, this novel is excellent. It promotes empathy for those who are "different," and that is always a good thing. I imagine that adults who are dealing with someone with OCD would also find it helpful.


EMPHYRIO by JACK VANCE (1969)
This is old-school science fiction adventure, written in the '60s. Its protagonist is a young wood carver on a planet operated as a semi-feudalistic welfare society. The inhabitants are mostly artisans who make hand crafted goods, sold only to the government Lords, who export them and return to the artisans a barely livable dole. He is vaguely dissatisfied with his lot in life and becomes fascinated by the legend of the hero Emphyrio, who purportedly led a long-past revolution.

Emphyrio is a short book which actually reads more like the outline for a longer novel. We get the main events but none of the details which make a novel rich. For example, one sentence reads, "There was more gunfire, but the crowd was within and many horrible deeds occurred." That's it. No horrible deeds described. The revolution, which the protagonist predictably leads, occurs in a few pages and is illogical and anticlimactic.

Not recommended, even for sci-fi fans.