Set in Brighton in 1940, Alison
MacLeod's novel Unexploded has a pleasingly persuasive period
cadence. The style is oddly formal, point of view shunts between
characters, an omniscient narrator drops us into different
character's heads and experiences without warning, and MacLeod has an
unfashionable fondness for adverbs, all of which combine to situate
the novel precisely in its time. MacLeod is at her best deftly
undermining our expectations of the characters. No-one is quite as
they seem and the novel's title, suggestive of the combustible
energies between the characters, suggests the care with which they
have to conduct their relationships.
The novel is not simply a period piece
though. It deals with themes that are absolutely contemporary:
allegiance, race, cultural misunderstanding, and terror. It suggests
that what remained unexploded after the second world war, remains a
persistent threat. And it achieves this with rather more grace and
elegance than the tale it uses as a vehicle, for the story itself
suffers at times from a curious ennui, notably during the Virginia
Woolf lecture. It is a shame that this moment didn't quite come off
as the character of Evelyn owes much to Woolf's writing, and it was a
nice acknowledgement of that to have Woolf make a cameo appearance.
Notwithstanding minor quibbles, MacLeod
has a distinct and original voice. She writes with powerful intensity
about relationships and desire, most vividly of all the tragic desire
to be loved which so often in this novel goes awry, with devastating
consequences.
Unexploded is a novel to be admired for
its intricate plotting, its psychological acuity and above all for
the elegance with which MacLeod intersplices the devastating into the
mundane, such that neither lose their impact.
No comments:
Post a Comment