Ultra delish! ( )

I think my biggest sticking point with this book was the writing style: aiming for plain and uncomplicated, it ended up with tortured tenses. Another would be the wandering point-of-view—whilst I have nothing against third-person omniscient narration as such, I find, as I get older, I'm getting more intolerant of the narration floating from one point-of-view character to next unless it gives the impression of being very well thought out. This book, I'm afraid, didn't.

The afterword puts in a good argument for the successful deceptions the book plays on the reader too eager to feel cleverer than the poor hapless protagonist: many of the characters are not quite what they seem at the first glance. The trouble is, most of them appear to be rather unlikeable no matter what, and if I don't care about them, I also fail to care about the deceptions. ( )

A double bind with this one: if you don't read the excellent afterword by Andrew Solomon, the book seems repetitive and poorly constructed: do we really need a scene of a woman throwing herself on a bed in tears to be followed by ten pages explaining how unhappy she is? This type of thing happens throughout the novel.
If, on the other hand, you do read the afterword, which makes a decent case for Blackwood's writing, you know the ending which makes the book unbearable. So, although I didn't enjoy it much, maybe other people will if they know that the flatness and simplicity of the characters, and the repetition and so on are there for a reason which, with a little thought, you can understand after finding out what happens at the end. Or, if you're lazy like me, by reading the Afterword. But for god's sake, don't read it, or the blurb on the back, before you read the book.
Anyway, if you like 19th century drawing room drama, or, in a completely different key, Henry James' psychologising, you'll get something out of this. And if you're interested in formal experiments which don't batter you over the head, you'll get a kick out of the Afterword. ( )

This book was an uncomfortable and unpleasant read. I was irritated not knowing what would happen so I finished it. The book was well-done though – the character portraits were lively and vivid, some characters having an almost Dickensian fervor. The depiction of Nadine’s conflicted, unhappy relationship with her mother was nuanced and realistic. Also, the end was interesting – providing a different look at the events and leaving some things ambiguous. I guess I just don’t like reading about an old woman being swindled and I found Corrigan repulsive instead of charming but bad news. I really enjoyed Blackwood’s other book published by NYRB, Great Granny Webster, which had similarly imaginative monomaniacs but not the annoyances of Corrigan, so I would recommend that one instead.

Devina Blunt is a widow with one married daughter, Nadine, a nice house, generous trusts, and a caring if somewhat vulgar housekeeper, Mrs. Murphy. She is still unhappy after the death of her husband and finds it hard to relate to Nadine so is susceptible to Corrigan, who comes rolling up to her house in a wheelchair one day asking for donations to charity. In a short time, Corrigan is making himself comfortable at her house and getting money from her under the pretext that it is for the hospital that treated him. Nadine tries to stay out of her mother’s business but becomes increasingly worried when it seems that Mrs. Blunt, Mrs. Murphy and her friend Sabrina have fallen under Corrigan’s spell.

One starts the book having some idea what it is about, so everything that Corrigan does is seen as a lie. His behavior is typical of a con man – trying to drive away Mrs. Murphy and Nadine, for example. Mrs. Blunt seems to be the perfect victim – old and lonely, very naïve (knows nothing about money, can’t drive, afraid even to go to the bank), trusting and afraid of insulting Corrigan. Reading their conversations was quite uncomfortable, not just because of all the ploys Corrigan uses to get money but because he clearly feels the need to have himself thought to be generous as well as modest. He’s also way too intense, constantly getting in Mrs. Blunt’s space and making all sorts of personal comments even when they barely know each other. Watching Mrs. Blunt put up with all of Corrigan’s annoying behavior was unpleasant.

Nadine is constantly frustrated with her mother acting as though her life is over after her husband’s death and her passivity combined with clear unhappiness. I sympathized with her, even though she was supposed to be the stick in the mud, because it’s hard to watch when people have problems or emotional issues yet make no effort to change it. Blackwood’s depiction of Nadine’s complex array of emotions regarding her mother was the best part of the book. A mix of irritation, guilt, love and resentment in the end makes her avoid Mrs. Blunt. Nadine appears to be the perfect wife and mother but she’s actually something of a cliché – the unhappy housewife with a callous husband she doesn’t love. The arrival of Corrigan inspires her mother to get out and have a purpose and Nadine doesn’t greet this change happily. Mrs. Blunt’s transformation is perhaps also tired – unhappy woman learns to live again when a new man enters her life – though the fact that it’s a swindler makes it somewhat different. Blackwood poses the idea that Corrigan does Mrs. Blunt more good than harm and she provides supporting evidence. Besides Mrs. Blunt, it also seems that Corrigan inspires Sabrina, a model who always chooses horrible men, to go back to school and even provides some impetus for Nadine to change her life. But I still couldn’t stand him. ( )