Engleby

Having survived an adventuresome trip over the bridges and through the woods to Krysia’s house we went. The threesome, folded into the Smartcar, made a bridge party and had a rollicking discussion of Engleby by Sebastian Faulks.

Without delving into Pop-psych, the story unfolded, in an obsessively detailed recount of the early life of a possibly schizophrenic, assuredly obsessive/compulsive, addictive, psychotic- savant, personality disordered young man and his obsession with a fellow co-ed at Cambridge. The psychosis was inherent in the telling of the tale, not unlike Poe’s The Raven, in which we experience, in the repetition of sound and imagery, the protagonists illness.

The story itself is a study in schizophrenia as the two halves are as different as night and day. The first half unfolds with the monotonous, repetitive account of his obsessions including a laundry list of early seventies popular music and an account of continual hazing by his house mates, which ultimately add up to the delusions of a psychopath.

In the second half of the story the protagonist develops, seemingly by happenstance, a successful career as a journalist, which to no one’s surprise is what the author did and the author’s voice and perhaps experiences are too audible.

As always there is the specter of socioeconomic conflict. With reason, some readers felt real empathy and identified strongly with the protagonist.

In consensus it was a valuable read to study the devices which the author uses to portray character and develop plot.

As ever, the food was delicious and thank you to everyone who participated.

The next meeting will be held on the 9th of March at the home of Isobel Dodds, during which we will discuss The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal. The books for the following months were chosen and will be April: Disgrace by J M. Coetzee, and for something totally different in May: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

We look forward to seeing you there.