Then why didn't I love it? The beautiful words and images just washed over me, leaving almost no impression at all. I think the key issue for me was Banville totally failed to make me feel emotionally invested. The main character is a boring man - he even admits it himself!
... the congeries of affects, inclinations, received ideas, class tics, that my birth and upbringing had bestowed on me in place of a personality. In place of, yes. I never had a personality, not in the way that others have, or think they have. I was always a distinct no-one...And I have to say the "big reveal" at the end, was a yawn. The fact that it involved a character who was almost never described or discussed made it feel like a bad mystery novel - how were we supposed to know that person was whodunnit when the author never talked about them!
At least for me, beautiful prose alone ultimately falls flat. I need some more personality.
I felt much the same way you did. To me it seemed like a "good" novel that never really caught fire. Blah.
ReplyDeleteI've not read this but I get the picture you painted: promising much and failing to deliver.
ReplyDeleteThis book is one of those 'emperor's new clothes' type Booker nominees if you ask me. A lot of critics seem to go into chin-stroking ecstasy about it, in much the same way that film critics rhapsodise about obscure Ukranian black-and-white movies. In actual fact, this book is very, very dull and should not be read by anybody who has a viable alternative. This book should be taken into the sea and held under the waves until it can't do any more harm.
ReplyDelete