Alfred A. Knopf -- hcNew York -- ©2005 -- 195pp
ISBN: 0-307-26311-8
Man Booker Prize Winner
A man returns to a sea-side home to reflect on life, death, and love after the death of his wife.
I enjoyed this novel more than Banville's The Eclipse, but a little Banville goes a long way for me. The melancholy of Banville's writing and themes wears thin, and I find myslef emotionly exhausted simply from trying to stay energized while reading his work.
The weaving of the reflections the narrator recreates, is well done and much easier to follow than it was in the previous novel I read. But when a narrator tells a story by way of a thread which ultimately leads back his reflections after the death of his wife, even the most exciting of times (a young boy's glance up the skirt of his heart's desire [the mother of a friend]) comes across painfully reflective and curious rather than dangerous and exciting. This is that melancholy that becomes the mood throughout.
I won't be venturing in to Banville territory anytime too soon. I need more than reflection in the books I read.
I hesitantly recommend this book. It is well written and offers some nice insights to a life, but it does seem to be paced in a very monotonous way.
