Customer Reviews

The Catastrophist

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Bennett's novel was a fascinating read immediately following Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible--the same setting, a completely different perspective, two excellent novels (read both). Bennett's casting of the end of a relationship, amid the destruction of a nation is a compelling story. The story of the protagonist's sorrow over the loss of his lover, and the story of the equally short and catastrophic independence of the Congo are superbly blended. The prose sings in this novel and although Bennett contends that, ...there is no such thing as a change in people... this is exactly contradicted by the story here. One wants to read this book and then talk about it--it is emotionally charged and goes to the heart of the issue of whether we ever really do connect with other people as the author portends his main character never had until middle aged and under extreme duress. One who found Cold Mountain intriguing, will also be captivated by The Catastrophist.

Ronan Bennett's "Catastrophist" grips you from the outset. Who are these characters stranded on the banks of the Sankuru river in December 1960 and what is their involvement in the life and arrest of Patrice Lamumba? Why is this "a story of failure"? Bennett sucks you into the lives of the main protagonists in a style that is crisp and direct. Gillespie's cynicism and and resignation is set in contrast to the idealism and dynamism of Inez. Both are flawed. And the Belgian Congo is flawed. I never felt I was being given a treatise on the political history of the Congo but ended up being as intrigued by the story of its conflict as by the the fate of Bennett's characters. He has managed a considerable achievement in marrying a story of deep personal sensitivity and searching with one of the Congo's despairing lurch for normal life. And maybe it's about all our lives. This is a great book.

On June 30, 1960, the Congo was emancipated from Belgium. African nationalist leader Patrice Emery Lumumba became the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo when it declared its independence - the long awaited "Depanda" had arrived! In October 1958 Lumumba had founded the Congolese National Movement (Mouvement National Congolais; MNC), the first nationwide Congolese political party. Forced out of office during a period of violent political upheaval in September 1960, he was assassinated in January 1961.

During the Congo's turbulent beginning many countries intervened in its political affairs. "They used: fear of communism, economic collapse, civil war, and protection of European citizens living in the Congo to back themselves for intervening." And the expatriate community, living in luxury, sipping sundowners at poolside, did not appreciate their world, their comfortable lives slipping out of their control.

At the time, the Congo was the biggest and richest country in central Africa, one with huge strategic importance - not only to the Belgians, but to the US. Katanga Province, the size of Britain, remains one of the richest areas in all Africa if not the richest. "The mines of the Union Miniere and Forminiere provided the world with eight per cent of its copper, sixty per cent of its uranium, seventy-three per cent of its cobalt, eighty per cent of its industrial diamonds. Katanga has gold, silver, tin, zinc, manganese, columbium, cadmium, tungsten, tantalum: its supplies will never be exhausted." This was the land of Unilever, Brufina, Union Miniere and the Banque Empain, companies which were not about to let their holdings slip away easily.

Into this tumultuous, politically charged setting wanders James Gillespie, a disaffected Irish/English writer, author of a few well received novels and a contributor to various periodicals. He arrives in Leopoldsville with the intent of pursuing a waning relationship with Ines Sabiani, his fiery, radical Italian girlfriend with whom he is deeply in love. Gillespie's arrival in the Congo represents a major emotional commitment for him. Ines is a journalist with her country's communist newspaper L'Unita. She is as passionate about the cause of Independence and about the charismatic leader, Lumumba, as James is indifferent, or as he would say, "objective." And he is a skeptic, a pessimist. Part of the problem between the two lovers is that James is never on anyone's side. He insists, "I see all sides. My craft demands it." He is against intolerance, dogma, illiberalism. But he is for nothing. In?s invests herself emotionally as well as professionally in that which she believes. Her affair with James is doomed before Gillespie sets foot on African soil - just as Patrice Lumumba's government is doomed before he takes office. At one point In?s tells Gillespie that, "Dante wrote that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality." She accuses him of being a "catastrofista," a "catastrophist," one who believes "that no problem is small. Nothing can be fixed; it is always the end."

As James becomes caught up in the historical movement, colonial injustice and the chaotic brutality that accompanies it, he is finally forced to take sides...and action.

Although well written, I did have some difficulty with author Ronan Bennett's style. It made for ponderous reading at times. I am fascinated by this period in Africa, especially the politics, and by the character of Patrice Lumumba in particular, so I had personal incentive to persevere. "The Catastrophist" reminds me of Graham Greene's "The Quiet American." Both novels deal with the chaotic end of colonialism, have journalists as protagonists and idealistic, if Machiavellian, CIA operatives fomenting intrigue and even more violence. The colonialists in both novels, the Belgians here, the French in Vietnam in Greene's work, act paternalistically and condescendingly towards the "natives" and don't really take the independence movements seriously.

"The Catastrophist was short-listed for the 1998 Whitbread Novel Award.
JANA

The Catastrophist makes an interesting counterpoint to Giles Foden's The Last King of Scotland. Both books examine the deterioration of colonial rule and the ensuing chaos in central Africa from an outsider's perspective and with some studied distance in voice and tone. Bennett, however, mixes in an uncrossable gulf between love and ideology that makes The Catastrophist a more challenging, and more rewarding read. The main character's reaction to the situation in Africa is frequently compared to his dismissive tone about the turmoil in Ulster, and this connection led me to often stop reading and spend a few minutes pondering just what brought the character to such a flip attitude about his homeland and how that would alter his perception of Africa. The only criticism that I can level at this book is the reliance on a European voice-it seems that the African voice is almost entirely lost, and that is certainly a failing in a book at least half about the political turmoil in Belgian Congo.

Bennett's American debut is fascinating for its historical context (that being what drew me to the novel in the first place), and also for the richness of its characters and plot. The Belgian Congo is vividly portrayed, and stocked with a wide range of characters -- from Gillespie and Ines to Stipe, de Scheut and Auguste -- who "stay with you" long after you've finished the book. Bennett's concern with the role of writers in political causes is very interesting, particularly within the context of his own experiences as a Belfast youth and, subsequently, a London journalist. Plot-wise, he succeeds in cranking up the suspense so that, by the final chapters, you'll find it hard to put the book down. Overall, "The Catastrophist" is an ambitious novel which will leave the reader satisfied.

I read this novel when it was released. It stayed with me like almost no other novel ever has, hence my decision to review it. Simply put, it was excellent. Ronan Bennett told his story with sensitivity for the political climate, and a keen insight into human relationships. I echo the sentiments of another reviewer in that this is a thinking person's novel. Bennett's writing style is awesome. Those not interested in the content but partial to spectacular penmanship should still read this novel. They will not be disappointed.

Ronan Bennett has written a landmark novel. On the surface, "The Catastrophist" appears to be treading well worn grounds occupied by illustrious writers like V S Naipaul and Chinua Achebe, but this Whitbread Prize shortlisted novel is no second rate hack job. Its premise may seem all too familiar - a white journalist exorcising her colonialist guilt on foreign soil - but what differentiates this wonderfully compelling novel from others I've read is the fresh perspective it lends to the subject. For once, it's the man (James) who suffers...and for the love of a woman (Ines), who has more serious matters on her mind than thoughts of domestic bliss and love. The male/female role reversal is strangely effective and though it took some getting used to initially, there was nothing that seemed false or didn't ring true. Told exclusively from James' perspective, you ride on his emotional waves and judge his relationship with the other characters accordingly. I found myself disliking Ines for her selfishness, then admiring her courage and vascillating in my opinion of her. The flashback to James' childhood in Ireland is also deeply poignant and explanatory. Ronan Bennett's writing is truly awesome, beautifully judged and always compelling. "The Catastrophist" is both a thriller and a love story. Read either way, it's a towering achievement and an unconditional success. The struggle and emotional tug-of-war between James and Ines parallel that between the freedom fighters and the Belgian colonialists in Congo. A great read and highly recommended.

I'm surprised to see it hasn't been released in the US yet, but this is a very well written novel. Not light - the prose is quite intense, and one is often forced to read very slowly. Characterisation is good, and the story is sound. The only problem is that it is not by an African and as such it misses out on the nuances which would be available to one born on the continent. There is only so much that can be gleaned in a trip from the UK. Still, this is the time for more novels of Africa, even if we Africans can't be bothered to write them.

Ronan Bennet has written an Irish classic. It is not Joyce's "Ulysses" nor does it even remotely resemble "Angela's Ashes". There is no famine or sectarian violence but rather the heart and soul of the Irish diaspora. The famine and troubles of Ireland are evident in the narrator's soul as his internecine relationship with his Communist lover spins wildly out of control. The historical background of the Congolese civil war provides a palpable feel to the book. His search and pursuit of his lover into Patrice Lumamba's Congo is not contrived. I would recommend this book to anyone and I hope that Ronan Bennet writes another soon.

An Irish author, his Italian lover, an American spy, and a host of African revolutionaries compromise an unlikely cast of characters that Bennet amazingly manages to make believable, even compelling.

This is a story of love lost, art vs. politics, trust and betrayal, all superimposed on the backdrop of Patrice Lumumba's struggle in the Belgian Congo. The reader can't help but be drawn in by the hopelessness of the protagonist's pursuit of his lost lover. The characters are complex, flawed, and realistic.

This is a bleak novel of self destruction and situations out of control. The protagonist is intentionally apolitical (which causes the rift with his former lover) but his story mirrors the political conflict that surrounds him.

A masterful, well researched, thoughtful novel. A love story and a political novel all at once, which manages never to be pretentious or preachy. Excellent!