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O Labirinto Vertiginoso (2009)

by Adam Foulds(Favorite Author)

3.16 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Aletheia

review 1: I met Adam Foulds recently at an arts festival in Kuala Lumpur and was lucky enough to do a workshop with him on creating character. I felt a bit ashamed of myself that I hadn't read this book already (especially as I usually read the Booker shortlist, especially as he agreed to read at the event I organised).I thoroughly enjoyed this novel - the writing was gorgeous, particularly rich in details of the natural world, and had me wanting to reread passages. He has recreated a small slice of history around High Beach Asylum in Epping Forest, run by Dr Malcolm Allen. The poet John Clare is incarcerated there, and Alfred Tennyson is renting a cottage close by since his brother Septimus is also a patient. I had never given much thought to the men behind the poetry, but Foulds... more opened a window for me into their lives and I found myself wanting to read beyond his novel to find out more about them. (Honestly, did Tennyson smell?) Foulds has so much sympathy for his characters and does so well depicting their inner lives, including the workings of madness. The narrative, which weaves together the stories of several characters is very well handled.
review 2: I enjoyed reading this book mostly for the beauty of the prose, but also because I found the author managed to cleverly convey a sense of what it might be like to be mad yourself. The way he had characters weaving in and out of reality and combined that seamlessly with the ways the 'sane' characters dealt with the mad ones, both when they were displaying symptoms and when they were not, was very effective. As Epping Forest is just down the road I will also look into the history that is the background of this novel. I will look for more of this author's work. less

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