An Englishwoman arrives in Guyana to do some research on
the travels of Evelyn Waugh in the region. She encounters Chofy, an Amerindian
whose family gave Waugh shelter. Yet the truth is hard to discern, hidden by an
epic story of forbidden love... 'The Ventriloquist's Tale' won the Whitbread
First Novel Award, and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. It's not difficult
to see why, since this is a stunning read. Of the several excellent novels I
have read this year, this one stands out as being the most consistent. It
promises to deliver much, and does not fail to meet these high expectations.
Pauline Melville has produced a highly brilliant debut novel.
As befitting a tale by a ventriloquist, many voices are imitated, but
imitated is too poor a word, for each voice is vibrant, alive, and wholly
convincing. I read the novel mostly in one day, and I now feel bereft that I
have finished it, and a poor wordsmith in comparison with Melville. It seems
contrary, but my block has been caused by the mighty flowing narrative of this
novel, the tides of which turn this way and that, in such a way that it is hard
to describe, except to say that it is beautiful. This is the novel at its best:
'The Ventriloquist's Tale' could not work in any other medium, not least
because it contains so many rich stories.
Kevin
Mahoney
Lisez cette page en français avec
Babelfish Lesen
diese Seite auf Deutsch mit
Babelfish
