BOOK REVIEWS
I have dispensed with my 'Books of the Year' postings which covered the years 2009 and 2010, and now attempt to review a selection of books that I have read both good and bad, in editions old and new. Much of what I buy is often based on suggestions by others, or some train of thought that makes me think "maybe I should try..." so they are not necessarily all strange/supernatural fiction.
With many small press books costing around £35-£40 each, and some seemingly worthy tomes changing hands on the second hand market for many times that, these reviews may also give the potential purchaser some indication of what they might receive for their money. Needless to say, my opinions should not be given any great value as I bring my own foibles to every review and these may change at any time.
Mario de Sa-Carneiro
(translated by Margaret Jull Costa)
'Lucio's Confession'
Dedalus pb 1993
pp121 £8.99 from the usual sources
Sa-Carneiros (1890-1916) English ouvre consists of two works both of which are odd (and wonderful) fare.
'Lucios Confession' was first published in 1914 but is firmly set in decadent 1890s Paris and Lisbon and owes something to Wildes '... Dorian Gray' and Huysmans 'Against Nature' though not in the ways that one might imagine at first glance. However the themes of the nature of reality, the role of the senses and love are the underpinnings of the book, and these are played out in the strange menage a trois between the Lucio (recently released from prison for a murder he did not commit), the poet Ricardo and the the latters wife, Marta.
Ricardo is a good friend of Lucio but moves from Paris to Lisbon and whilst there (or en route- it is a touch unclear) marries Marta, who is seemingly a woman without a past; or perhaps with a past.
If Marta is an odd fish, then so is Lucio. He 'forgets' or chooses not ask anything of her history, while she seems to exist in her relationship to him, only in the immediate present. Lucio spends much time agonizing over this as their affair develops; what is she hiding, what she do in her hours away from him, is he her only lover and how his actions impact upon his friendship with Ricardo who he begins to suspect must be at least aware of, what is going on. He then begins to suspect that Ricardo is somehow complicit in the affair but his own inhibitions and neuroses prevent him from addressing these issues directly with the other two. This uncertainty and indecisiveness becomes a recipe for disaster as Lucio senses of reality itself begin to unravel and he begins to question the very existence of Marta herself as a human. Needless to say things do not end well.
An obvious subtext is apparent in the reading, even before one discovers that the author committed suicide at the age of 26, two years after the novels publication. The book is certainly the process of an intelligent but troubled mind which gives it its unsettling character.
I felt that the novella was more a way of systemising Sa-Carneiros' internal dialogues and was reminded of Stefan Grabinski, whose own writings do little for me, but which range over a personal landscape of obsessions and symbols. Sa-Carneiros is far darker and intense. This combined with its decadent themes make it a great read and highly recommended.
A word of caution. Whilst the Dedalus website give an almost complete sample chapter here. Many, fans of Jean Lorrains 'Monsieur De Phocas' for example, would enjoy the book for this chapter alone, but it is not really indicative of the style of the novel. It fits, but in an odd way...
