Customer Reviews

Hussein: An Entertainment

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O'Brian was one of my favorite writers of English prose. But every master has to start somewhere and not all starts are worth the preservation. I think this 'entertainment' is a demonstration why 'selected works' are usually preferable to 'complete works', unless one wants to make a living out of studying somebody's life work.
O'B wrote this when he was a student in Dublin in the 30s. He had no own first hand knowledge of the subject, but knew his Kipling and Arabian Nights etc very well. On that basis he fabulated an unoriginal story, which is far from charmless, but far from worthwhile too.
Actually I did like the first few chapters on the mahouts' lives quite a bit.
P.S. I have learned since that POB may not have been a student in Dublin after all, this may have been part of his active imagination or of his strategy to confuse his public.

"Hussein" is a wonderful old-fashioned adventure story that will delight teenage readers as well as adults who have kept an open mind, a sense of humor and the improbable, and curiosity about an alien culture. O'Brian wrote this book under his real name (he was English not Irish) long before he began to write his Aubrey/Maturin novels. "Hussein" already shows his talent as a story-teller. He calls his tale "an entertainment" because he fabulated it largely based on his readings about India. "Hussein" is a romantic rags-to-riches story that runs coherently from Hussein's boyhood in a family of elephant handlers through his years as a fugitive until his unexpected fortune as a young man.

As a new devotee of the author's later work ( the Aubrey and Maturin series) it is sheer pleasure to read O'Brian's first published work. It reveals the early wit and budding appetite for detail and character development he later hones to such perfection in the Commander series. As a novel, or more properly "an entertainment," this work stands nicely on it's own, sans the author's later reputation. The background for the story is exotic East India at the historically pivotal time of its British occupation. The plot lovingly chronicles Hussein's (our hero) journey through youth to adulthood intertwined with a love story as sweet as ripe mangoes. Possibly O'Brian's own biographical story is mirrored here but we are not privy to that by his admission. A fine fast paced read even with the slightly halting style, as the writer discovers his craft. This aspect is endearing rather than off putting, as it blends so well with the young hero's discoveries. In his adventures Hussein proves to be wise beyond his years, learns to keep his head in some very bizarre situations as he respectfully, if somewhat un-orthodoxically attempts to honor his family tradition, that of mahoot to a decidedly unusual elephant. A most excellent "entertainment".

I have read several of Patrick O'Brien's naval stories, which are simply outstanding. I was curious to see this, one of his earliest writings, from dozens of decades ago. Also, being an elephant lover, the topic sounded interesting.

The book is quite good. It reminds me a bit of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Hussein is a book of fictional tales about a boy who becomes an elephant mahout (rider/trainer) and has many adventures in India. It gives you a good taste of the early 20th century Indian culture, and is quite entertaining. Each chapter is pretty much a different story, and could be read by anyone from age twelve and up, I would guess. I thought about recommending it as good stories to read children, but a couple of the chapters include killing and violence and deceit by the young man Hussein, so it is not exactly a children's role model.

Still, adults will like it. I found most of the stories to be believable and interesting, but it is not the equal of O'Brien's later works. As a first publication it is a great book, but not the five star quality that his later works achieved.