The Lighthouse by Alison Moore

This thread is for reviews and discussion of The Lighthouse by Alison Moore, which was selected for the 2012 Booker Prize longlist.

I have read The Lighthouse , and wrote copious notes as I read it. Even so, to fully understand the novel, especially the very ambiguous ending, I'm going to do a re - read before I attempt a review.

A very well written, intriguing novel.

Here is my review of The Lighthouse by Alison Moore.

The long- listed Booker novel The Lighthouse begins with this epigraph:

she became a tall lighthouse sending out kindly beams which some took for a welcome instead of warnings against the rocks - Muriel Spark , " The Curtain Blown by the Breeze"

And so begins a fascinating and somewhat challenging read, full of symbolism and ambiguity.

At first glance it appears to be a tale of the mundane details of the middle- aged , recently separated man named " Futh". We never learn if " Futh " is his first or last name, he is simply" Futh" and an easily forgettable man. Futh appears to be somewhat slow witted, having not learned to drive until he was middle aged, and someone who has great difficulty with a map and organizing his life. He is also socially awkward, having no one to serve as his best man at his own wedding except for his father.

The lighthouse exists for Futh's father as physical, technological interest; whereas for Futh, the lighthouse is a perfume container that many years ago belonged to Futh's mother. Futh's mother left her husband and Futh when Futh was but a 10 year old because she was " bored". He carries the silver lighthouse with him at all times, mainly a memory of his mother, but also somewhat of a talisman.

At beginning of the story, Futh is traveling to Germany to re- walk a holiday that he took with his father shortly after his mother left. During his "circular" walk he hopes to close some old wounds and try to come to terms with his life as a child , and his recent separation from his wife. Futh stays at inn named " Hellhaus" , which in English, " translates to" bright house" or " light house", but one can easily understand its other meaning. Hellhaus is owned and run by a rather dysfunctional couple, Bernard and Ester.

Fragrances and smells play an important role in the story. In fact, years ago Futh worked in the of manufacturing artificial odors. Futh takes in much of the world through this sense. The first fellow that he meets in the story causes Futh to note " the smell of the mans supper coming through his mouth." The smell of violets, cigarette smoke and less understandably , oranges, evoke memories and thoughts of the women in Futh's life, most especially that of his mother. Camphor is a smell most often associated with men.

Parallel to Futh's circular walk runs a story about the wife who helps run the Hellhaus Inn . I found it intriguing that her name was "Ester" rather than the more familiar spelling, "Esther." Like all of the men and woman in the story , she is emotionally damaged. Both she and a older female neighbour of Futh's keep Venus Fly trap plants - female plants which eat moths and flies.

This novella of about 180 pages is spare and elegic , but full of ambiguity and symbolism. The denouement was sudden, startling and ambiguous, so much so that I immediately re- read the book and came away with both more understanding and more questions. A brilliantly written book , one which I feel certain will make it to the Booker Short List.

4. 5 stars.

Great review of The Lighthouse, Deb! I've read several good comments about this novel, and I'm eager to get to it next month.

I just finished The Lighthouse, and I agree with Deb that it is an excellent novel. I hope it makes the short list.

I covet this book :(
Hmmm, I wonder if the Book Depository is still offering me that 10% that I spotted in my emails the other day.....

Vancouverdeb - great review. You have summed up the atmosphere, symbolism and double-entendres perfectly.

At some point in the novel I wondered if Futh was autistic, his emotions were so blunted and his interests so over focused.

7 - I too wondered if Futh was autistic too. I am not sure that we have the answer. I also thought that the that Futh took in information - mainly by smell - was one of the clues - I agree with you that he may be autistic.

>7 kiwidoc:,8 Great observations, Karen & Deb! I hadn't thought of this, but I agree with both of you.

hm, I hadnt thought of Futh perhaps being on the Autistic Spectrum either. But I dont think he was, I reckon he was just a bit odd and insular.
What is with his name though? It is very odd, and niggled at me a little bit.

10 - I agree re. the name Futh. I spent a bit of time thinking about the name and wondering if there was meaning to it or symbolism or something!!

For anyone wondering about the name, she thought of the sound first - she was after a nothingy name - a name you would hear and then immediately have to say "What?" - as it fit perfectly with the forgettable misfit character she was building. She thought of Futh and then found it was a real german surname, which was perfect.

>13 dan.norcott: oh! Thanks for that, it makes a lot off sense. I enjoy learning things like that about a book.

No worries. Good podcast here too from Granta:

http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Granta-Audio-Alison-Moore

@15- I really enjoyed the podcast featuriing Alison Moore. Really interesting! Thanks for the link!

I have puzzled over the name "Futh" . Since The Lighthouse is so abundantly studded with symbolism, it is likely that the author has a motivated choice for this particular name.

The similarity of "futh" to "moth" is significant, and clearly suggested in the novel.

Both to Germans and English-speakers, the name "Futh" would be a bit difficult to pronouns, and mispronunciation would result into something like "fuss" which in English suggests neurotic behaviour, while in German "Fuss" means "foot". In the novel, Futh sets out to go hiking in Germany, and as he is not so fit, it does cause him a lot of pain and blistering of his feet. But to be honest, I do not see much more in the "significance" of this for the meaning on the novel.

The name "Futh" does not seem very common in Germany, and I do feel the fact that the novel suggest so strongly to look at Germany as Futh's ancestral homeland. The other connection to Germany is that it is the origin of the silver lighthouse casket, and I feel that the fact that the edition of the perfume can be specifically dated to a particular year, viz 1908 or 1911 must bear some significance.

Dralle advertised that Illusion was the most costly perfume in America and "that a single drop goes further and keeps the fragrance longer than many that are apparently less expensive" and that "The woman who uses Dralle's finds herself in company with the most exclusive in Europe as well as in America. Dralle's is accepted as one pf the secrets of the society woman's charms".

The perfume came in a 3ml cut glass vial with an elongated dauber housed in a turned and polished 2 piece wooden case resembling a stylized lighthouse. There was also a rare very detailed lighthouse case made up of silverplated metal.

Source

And:


Dralle: Established by Georg Dralle (1852 to 1895) in Hamburg, in 1880's; his brother Dr Eduard Dralle took over the business on Georg's death; sons Emil, Georg and Julius join business later

Fragrance Brand Year Notes
Lilionese Dralle 1852

Eau de Cologne Dralle 1889

Augusta-Victoria-
Veilchen Dralle 1894

Pyrola Dralle 1894

Parfum Violettina Dralle 1900

Illusion Dralle 1908 Presented in a tall octagonal bottle packaged in a box designed like a lighthouse.

Dralle Dralle 1909 A parfum

LilAC Dralle 1911

Lily of the Valley Dralle 1911 Alternative spelling - German - Maiglochen

Narcissus Dralle 1911

Nelky Dralle 1911

Wistardia Dralle 1911

Dralle’s Illusion - Lilac Dralle 1911

Dralle’s Illusion - Maiglockche Dralle 1911

Dralle’s Illusion - Muguet Dralle 1911

Dralle’s Illusion - Rose Dralle 1911

Dralle’s Illusion - Veilchen Dralle 1911

Dralle’s Illusion - Violet Dralle 1911

Mustapha Pacha Kamel Dralle 1919 Named after the then dictator of Turkey

Source

The significance of the date suggests that 1908 or 1911 was the year Futh's Great Grandfather bought the casket of Dralle's Illusion for his wife as a present.

Further significance lies in the fact that a similar casket is among Ester's family possessions, and while Ester's family bought the wooden casket, Futh's family was supposedly better off to afford the rare, silver-plated deluxe edition.

I have only been able to trace one historical reference for the name "Futh". Karl Futh (1879 in Britsch; † unbekannt) was a German policeman. In 1932, i.e. before Hitler became a significant factor in 1933, Karl Futh joined the NSDAP or Nazi party. In 1934, Futh was promoted to the gestapa joining the ranks of the top-5 highest ranking officials in what was later to become the Gestapo-Central Command. However, Karl Futh retired in 1937.

160. The lighthouse
Finished reading: 23 December 2013



The lighthouse by Alison Moore is a short, mysterious novel. The story told in the novel is clear, and the symbolism in the novel is functional and connects elements in the intricate plot. But the novel is literally studded with symbolism and references, and not all those references add up. It is as if the author is guiding and misleading the reader at the same time.

The main character, Futh, sets out to on a hiking tour of a week in Germany. His motive is to get away from his situation at home, with his wife packing, as she is leaving him. Germany is Futh''s ancestral homeland. His fitness condition does not seem optimal, but he is sure he can make it, which suggests that Futh is a rather average type of person. On the ferry, he meets a Dutchman, and is persuaded to give this man a ride to his hometown in Utrecht. Less than a week later, this man has already forgotten most about Futh, and cannot quite recall his name, which he barely recalls as moth, or something unremarkable as that.

People do not seem to like Futh. The Dutchman's mother is very rude to him, and wants him to move on; she won't have him staying. Later on, at the hotel, the hotelier eyes Futh with suspicion and refuses him his breakfast. The rude behavior of these people to Furth remains puzzling and unexplained, although the hotelier is later found to be an extremely jealous husband. The hotel's name, Hellhouse suggests that not all is well, but the German name can also be simply translated as "light house"

A clear theme in the novel are broken up marriages. Futh's parent have divorced. A scene from Futh's youth, picnicking in the dunes comes back and again, always ending with his mother telling his father that he is so boring. The reiteration of this scene and repetition of this sentence are like the revolving light of a lighthouse. A signal of impending shipwreck, i.e. the wreckage of the marriage.

Boredom and violence are observed in other marriages as well. As in The London train, the novel describes various domestic horrors and dysfunctional marriages. Futh's parents, Futh's own wife, some of his friends, and clearly, but not known to Futh, the marriage between hotelier Bernard and his young wife, Ester.

The story creates the sense that the coming together of Futh and Ester is determined by destiny. Futh seems to have what Ester is missing (i.e. the letter "H"), and they are close as the letters "E" and "F" in the alphabet. In Futh's luggage, Ester, who is a bit of a kleptomaniac, finds a small silver casket that hold a small vial of perfume. The silver casket is modeled as a lighthouse. Ester already has one, made of wood, which makes a complementary set with the silver deluxe edition that she finds in Futh's lugage.

The perfume bottles are engraved with the brand name Dralle's Illusion, a luxury brand that was popular during the first four decades of the Twentieth Century. Each year, Hamburg-based Dralle released a new fragrance on the market. Thus, Dralle's Illusion Veilchen (Violets), can be exactly dated as marketed and sold in 1908.



Ester moves the small glass vial from the wooden lighthouse casket to the silver casket. The readers already knows that as a young boy Futh had broken the glass vial in the silver lighthouse casket that belonged to his mother, spilling the perfume, the essence of violets over his hands. It was probably this experience that set Futh on a career in fragrances. For many years, Futh worked in the manufacturing of artificial flavours and fragrances, and his olfactory sense is very highly developed. The smell of violets ties him to his mother, but there are various other smells that remind him of his youth as well, such as stewed apples or oranges. The attentive reader will have noticed that Ester's name misses the letter "h", and that an "ester" is an artificial fragrance, usually fruity, such as apples, etc.

Another clue which seems to tie Ester and Futh together is that both Ester and Futh's neighbour keep a Venus Fly trap plant, which catches and kills moths and flies. Ester also has a moth collection. She catches the moths as they fly to the light of the lamp. What both lights and fragrances have in common is that they may attract and repel. The light of the lamp attracts moths to their deaths, while the light of the lighthouse should warn and repel ships, signal sailors to stay away from the coast, although ponderous young Futh has often wondered why so many shipwrecks occur near the lighthouse, as if the sailors misread the signal, and come to the lighthouse rather than go. The fragrance of flowers and fruit is attractive, while the smell of camphor is a repellant, for instance to preserve keep moths out of the wardrobe.

Alison Moore's novel The Lighthouse most of the over-abundant clues add up to a coherent picture. However, a few pieces of the puzzle seemingly do not fit. It is not entirely clear why Futh's background is so strongly linked to Germany, and why Futh's Great Uncle, Ernst Futh seemed so anxious to get the lighthouse casket back. Although the novel does not mention its dimensions, the Dralle's silver lighthouses are small and even the silver ones are of no great value, although Futh's failure to give the casket to his uncle seems to be the cause of shame. Originally, the casket belonged to Futh's Great Grand Father, but Futh's father took it when he went to England and gave it to his wife. Uncle Ernst's insistence on the recovery of the item seems irrational, unless he might be a collector striving to complete a collection.

Still, the lighthouse does connect all the men in the Futh family, as the Great Grandfather must have selected the item for purchase, Futh's father pocketed the item when he went to England, and Futh carries it around with him as a reminder of his mother. Incidentally, both Futh and his father are deserted by their wives, which strongly suggests a sense of impotence in the male line of the Futh family. While the lighthouse can be seen as a potent phallic symbol, the Dralle's Illusion silver lighthouse casket is tiny, just a few milimeters.

It is obvious that Futh has a very strong mother fixation, which originates from the age of five or six, when he broke the vial of perfume. Futh's Oedipus complex may further explain his neurosis, the fixation on fragrances, and his general inability to adapt to his environment, change existing life patterns and develop a more rounded personality.

The Lighthouse is Alison Moore's debut novel, and caused quite a sensation in its year of publication as it was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2012. The novel could do with a bit more subtlety, and less symbolism. Nonetheless, The Lighthouse is a towering achievement of a clearly very promising new author.