The prospect of several long train journeys, with preparedness for possible delays, sent us out in search of some reading material. By coincidence, my own choice ‘Shy Creatures’ by Claire Chambers and my husband’s ‘Hope: A Tragedy’ by Shalom Auslander both contain characters who are in hiding from the world.
However, the two novels, which we read avidly, could not have been more different in tone, style, structure and genre.
William in ‘Shy Creatures’ is imprisoned by his unworldly and misguided aunts, in an attempt to protect him from what they imagine will be the dire consequences of his contact with society. The reasons for this are revealed gradually in the reverse chronological story of his life from childhood. His story is interconnected with the viewpoint of Helen one of the two therapists, who are also lovers, responsible for his treatment in a mental hospital after he is found as a damaged adult. Themes of childhood innocence, families and trust are explored in the context of the 1960s setting. For readers like us who were brought up in that period, the social attitudes and values of the time are a reminder of how much has changed. The presentation of childhood longing, loneliness and disappointment I found most powerful and poignant and I was glad that the story for most of the characters offered hope of something positive in their lives.
y contrast, the notion of hope is an excruciating experience for Kugel, the ‘hero’ of ‘Hope: a Tragedy’. The hilariously miserabilist Kugel is tortured by doubt, fear and the pressure of family obligations and guilt, as he searches for the meaning of life and a fitting epitaph for his gravestone. His discovery of an ancient hidden occupant in the attic of his newly purchased old farmhouse, sets him on a course of disastrous decisions with painful and outrageous consequences. His expressions of despair, religious conflict and his existential crises are mostly highly comedic. However, there are also so some uncomfortable and revealing truths in Kugel’s reflections on contemporary western societies.
Train delays are not so tedious if one can escape into an absorbing book!
