Customer Reviews

The Essence of the Thing

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In contrast to an American character, who might wallow in self-pity, eat Haagen-Das and plot revenge, Nicola takes the high road when unceremoniously dumped by Jonathan, her live-in lover of five years. Deeply shocked, she maintains her love for him and her belief in herself through the process of finding out what happened, why he's asking her to leave, and accepting the outcome of that process.

Madeleine St. John uses realistic and often witty dialogue between peripheral characters to demonstrate how the break up of two people can have an effect on almost everyone they know. Although she writes with a light touch, she explores the relationship dynamics between four other couples while giving play to the fragility of any love relationship. The Essence of the Thing is a quick and entertaining read, but it could not be described as shallow by any stretch of the imagination.

Madeline St John's "The Essence Of The Thing" tells the story of how Nicola copes in the aftermath of an unexpected breakup with her live-in boyfriend Jonathan. The premise of the plot is so basic in terms of human experience that anybody reading it is going to instantly relate to the personal trauma and the feeling of pain and incomprehension that take hold of Nicola and yes, even Jonathan. The novel's main strengths lie in the honesty and simplicity of St John's writing. Except for those who might dismiss it as a mildly feminist tinged "woman's book" in which the male characters are either cads or morons (not counting the gay Philip), readers might derive casual reading pleasure from this very small book about a commonplace experience of the heart. But as serious literature, it doesn't quite stack up. The insights offered by St John aren't particularly deep or enlightening. Structurally, the novel is also one-dimensional, making no attempt to raise or explore more complex issues on life and love. I am amazed that such a small novel was even considered deserving of a Booker Prize nomination. The selection committee must have seen something special in it which I didn't. Either that or 1997 was a year which spawned a poor crop.

Madeleine St. John has a great ear for dialogue, there's no doubt about it. It's a good thing, too, because "The Essence of the Thing" is carried along primarily on the strength of the characters' dialogue. The novel is a kind of case study of the break-up; when Jonathan unexpectedly ends his relationship with live-in lover Nicola, we see the devastating (and ultimately liberating) effect this has on her. Anger, grief, denial, bargaining and acceptance - yes, all these stages of loss are here, explored in great talky detail. While I can appreciate the quality of the writing - believable and natural dialogue that flows is incredibly hard to do! - the novel's heavy reliance on conversation to explore Nicola's psychological state ultimately cripples it. I was frustrated by the slow pace; I found the short chapters and frequent shifts in time choppy; lengthy conversations without immediately knowing who was speaking or when sometimes confused me; and by the middle of the book, I grew impatient with Nicola's insistence on continuing to love and moon over a man who was clearly a jerk. That said, however, there was something engrossing about the book that kept me reading until the end and I plan to check out more of this author's work.

This book is a compact collection of scenes which take place during the end of a relationship, along with remembrances of earlier times. Ms. St. John has a complete grasp of the ebb and flow of dialogue through which she unerringly creates the clear presence of the characters and situation, capturing both the humour and poignancy which the spoken word sometimes achieves. The context is also one to which most readers will undoubtedly find certain resonance from their own experiences. However, despite the book being thoroughly enjoyable, and inducing great appreciation for the craftsmanship, I was left with only the faintest lingering taste of the story after it was finished. That in itself is not necessarily an unpleasant sensation, but do not read this book with the expectation of wrenching, emotional reverberations.

I agree with a previous reviewer that this novel relies heavily on dialogue, but, contrary to what that reviewer thought, I didn't feel that this detracted from it in any way. I also thought that it relied pretty heavily on emotions, and some of them are depicted so well it's scary. I know the feeling - the sheer horror - of trying to imagine life, a long life full of long days, without the person you love. Nicola's utter despair was completely recognizable for me - she is a character I could empathise with. Granted, it may not be a very deep-probing novel, the characters may not be drawn in too much detail, but it is a novel that manages to convey certain awful feelings, and portray some dreary situations, in a compassionate and realistic way. And that is no minor achievement.

I enjoyed The Women in Black by St John which I read last year, so I thought I would enjoy this. The writing is just as polished and exact and withholding. By that I mean St John doesn't spell everything out - she allows spaces for you to think about what the characters must be feeling. Of course, past of that is because the book is set in England and the English, by nature, are not passionate or demonstrative, But this is a pulling back which I think adds strength to the story.

It all starts when Nicola returns home from a quick trip to buy cigarettes. The man she lives with, whom she loves, with whom there has never been any trouble - well, he calls her into the living room and awkwardly says "..I've decided - that is, I've come to the conclusion - that we should part." And so, over the course of the next 250 pages or so we find out how they came together, a little about their friendships and families, and wonder - will they get back together?

The book is well paced - not an extraneous sentiment or heavy handed attempt to TELL only to SHOW and to come to understand Nicola's decision at the end. It is a wonderfully written, sad, heartbreaking, sometimes funny, look at breaking up. The enormity of what has happened is all there, definitely, but with deft wrods and scenes.

This was shortlisted for the Man Booker - the first book by an Australian woman to have that honour.

Highly recommended.

It can only have been a very, very slow year in the offices of the Booker Prize in 1997. There's no other way to explain why this preternaturally dull and astonishingly constipated novel could have wound up on the Booker short list or on any list, for that matter -- save, perhaps, for the list entitled, "Additional Reasons Why British Women Writers Must Be Compelled to Stop Reading Jane Austen, On Pain of Death, If Necessary." There's no way to write a spoiler for this novel -- unless it would spoil it for you to know that absolutely nothing happens: "Jonathan dumps Nicola. Nicola whinges to her friends. Her friends ride it out. Nicola, who, like every other human being in the same situation, has absolutely no alternative, moves into a new apartment and gets a new job. The End." I mean really; that's it. Along the way, St. John ordered about a dozen stock characters from the Modern Brit Lit warehouse: Stiff Upper Lip Bores - 5; Steel Rod Up their Backsides Parents - 4; Promiscuous London Queen, Xenophile - 1, and so forth. Instead of giving her characters emotional depth or having them respond in any meaningful way to what we are evidently supposed to consider a Serious Life Moment, St. John has them make tea. At least 47 times, which is quite a lot in a book this short. The world view here is so tiny you could fit it onto a postage stamp and still have room to do aerobics. Claustrophobic and painfully, utterly irrelevant. I'd like five hours of my life back, please.

The Essence of the Thing is a very short novel (about 47,000 words), by Madeleine St. John. It was published in 1997 and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. I know nothing about St. John. Apparently she lives in England, but went to Sydney University, so she may be an Australian. I picked up the book on impulse because it looked interesting. And it's a pretty nice novel.

Nicola is a 30ish Londoner living with a lawyer named Jonathan. She fully expects that they will marry, but one day she walks into their flat and Jonathan tells her coldly that he has decided they must part. He seems surprised that she is devastated by this.

The rest of the novel follows her and Jonathan's reaction. Despite her friends' advice, Nicola still feels devastated by the breakup, and still feels in love. But she slowly disconnects. She leaves the flat, which was originally hers but which she can't afford to keep. She moves in first with married friends, then with friends of these friends who have a little girl and a spare room. She applies for a job she has no belief she can get. At the same time Jonathan only slowly tells anyone, despite visiting his parents for a weekend and being given his mother's engagement ring to give to Nicola. He is shown realizing that his shirts aren't magically getting ironed, and that he misses other aspects of Nicola's presence. There are also some very witty scenes with Nicola's various friends -- lots of supple and clever and believable conversation. The final resolution is fairly predictable, though aspects are (wisely) left open ended. As I said, I liked it.

Sometimes I want to read a book that I can finish in one sitting, books that are long enough to allow me to disappear for a few hours in another's life, but don't have to ever have their covers closed until the end. This was one of those books. Beatifully written, succinct, yet filled with rich characterizations, this novel perfectly captures the feeling of being broken up with while also suprisingly giving perspective to the agonies sometimes endured by those doing the deed. Also, it is believable and rooted in everyday life, there is a bit of this story in everyone. Although the subject matter is a bit sad, this book is far from depressing, and is filled with moments of humor and delight. I am not a huge fan of contemporary fiction (often too fantastical or depressing), but books like this one could make me change my mind.

The Essence of the Thing captured the modern relationship between a man and a woman. It explored what happened as the relationship disintegrated, leaving one partner in shocked disbelief and emotional pain. What I loved about the book was that it showed so clearly the idiosyncrasies of the human personality and how the quality you think you love most about a person ends up being the very thing that drives you apart. It leaves you slightly unsettled and thinking. Read it.