Customer Reviews

Observatory Mansions

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Observatory Mansions" is an excellent first novel by Edward Carey, that explores some of the most fundamental issues a person can deal with. At the center of the novel, the reader finds Francis Orme, the narrator, and resident of `Observatory Mansions', which is the subdivided remains of his ancestral home. Alongside Francis live characters that are so bizarre that one would consider them cartoonish if it wasn't for their heartbreaking psychoses. To reveal their mental disturbances, both collective and individual, would give away much of the plot, but it is sufficient to say that the element that holds them together is the "self-institutionalization" that they have inflicted on themselves and each other.

On the surface, Francis is the most outwardly normal of the cast of characters, although this isn't saying much. He wears gloves as a literal representation of the mental barriers he has placed between himself and the world. He collects what is in essence garbage, because he sees it as having been loved, and therefore uses it as a proxy for real love. However, his carefully constructed world, and those of his apartment-mates, come crumbling down with the arrival of a more spiritually rooted resident.

I think this is where a lot of the other reviewers have a complaint with this novel. I have yet to see a critique of the authors prose, which is reminiscent of Saramago's "All the Names", and I have seen no argument with his characterizations, which are superb. Rather, I think readers are disturbed because this book is about the power of the human spirit, and its ability to mend itself. Not all of the characters ride off into the sunset, but they don't all wither and die either. It is in this range of outcomes that Carey most effectively considers his core subject. The negative reviews of the ending I have seen put me in mind of the reaction one gets to the 21st chapter of "A Clockwork Orange" in which Alex is starting to weary of his brutal life. To paraphrase Burgess, what is the point in examining the human condition if it always ends in misery? That's not life.

"Observatory Mansions" although a caricature, is life. It is sad and bizarre, but it is also hopeful and uplifting, and that's life. Carey has written an excellent novel, and I expect further greatness from him in the future.

A psychiatrist could make a career doing case studies on the characters in this strange, wonderful book.

To know the story line, read the Amazon description. To know the real story, you have to live it. Unlike any book I have ever read, I was astounded at the author's ability to keep the characters "in character" throughout the book. Sustaining their personae while advancing the story shows an unusual talent.

While you can sometimes see what's coming you don't want to - it's far better to just let it happen. Carey even made the book the right length - long enough to develop the story without added filler to reach a certain length.

I will be looking forward to reading more from Edward Carey!

Wow. Finishing this book I am overwhelmed and awed that this is Carey's first novel. Very unique characters and situations and writing style. In many places you can see Carey's theatre background with the dialog reading more like a play without punctuation and the book's plot is more in scenes and acts than chapters, but it really works well for this story - it's about life (and all life's a play!) or the lack of life of this group of misfit characters. I really like the way Carey draws the reader in little by little -- reavealing just enough about one character to shock you, to move you, to keep you reading .... and then switches to another character. It's a book that I'm going to keep thinking about long after the reading of it. Yes, these are disturbed characters, but who among us can't recognize themselves in one or more of them? Anyone who collects anything must wonder where is the line that separates my collecting from the bizarre collecting of Francis Orne? I read a lot of books, and I love a book that keeps me guessing right up to the end, and this one definitely does. Bravo, Mr. Carey!

Oberservatory Mansions is in a class all by itself. In fact, I can think of only few other novels of such quality, ingenuity and effect. It captivates you from the first page and never disappoints you. Its filled with sad characters but the story somehow never saddens you. The writing style is superb. Could possibly make an excellent movie only if Carey was in charge if every aspect.

Brilliant is the only word to describe it.

Carey, Edward
Observatory Mansions
Random House Canada, 2000
356 pages

Somewhere in urban Britain, Observatory Mansions is a tenement which was once an impressive country estate. Over time, the city has not only encroached upon it, but has surrounded it. Now it is a mostly empty, decrepit building waiting for the demolisher's wrecking ball. Meanwhile, however, it is home to Francis Orme and his aged parents, members of the wealthy and respected family once owners of Observatory Mansions and the lands around it.

Converted into an apartment block some time ago, it has never been a desired place for anyone to live except the very needy and the very eccentric, and as it deteriorates, a succession of bizarre characters passes through the place: a woman who has adopted the behaviour of a lost dog, a lascivious porter who hisses and badgers the tenants over misdemeanors against cleanliness, a woman whose real world unfolds behind the TV screen.

Told in the first person by Francis Orme, we learn very quickly that he is probably the most off beat of all the characters. He wears white cotton gloves at all times, is a meticulous collector of memorabilia of love - objects which meant a lot to people, mostly stolen by him - and makes his living busking, standing motionless on an abandoned plinth in the vicinity of Observatory Mansions and moving only to acknowledge coins dropping into his can by blowing soap bubbles at the donors.

Edward Carey is a playwright and freelance illustrator and his drawings of the faces of some of the characters of the "mansion" add to the surreal quality of the text. His narrator, an obsessive/compulsive collector and maker of lists and rules, turns out to be the perfect spokesperson for the people of the world whom time has left behind. I would be hesitant to put a theme to the novel - Carey's first - but I was struck mostly by the struggle for meaning in each characters attempts to survive on a shifting sea they barely recognize.

The dust jacket, incidentally, is wonderfully done. All hand drawn and printed, it is of a piece with the books contents, an achievement only the best book designers can rightfully claim.

****

Decidedly off-beat story populated by enthrallingly bizarre characters. This book is very human and peculiarly English, or Englishly peculiar. You realize that no matter how impersonal a city becomes, it never stops being a home, and people's eccentricities grow to fill the vestiges of remaining open space.

So I happened to pick this book up at work because I was lacking something to read before I went to bed. Lets cut to the chase and say that I didnt make it to bed at the planned hour. I stayed up and read the whole thing in one sitting. It has been a long time since I read such a refreshing, brillant novel. Carey has breathed life into the reclusive world of those possessing the ability to turn their backs on the rest of humanity. Anna Tap enbodies a vision of the outside world that turns their existance upside down. With such memorable characters as Twenty-Dog Woman, Peter Bugg, Porter,Claire Higg, and of course Frances Orme, this novel will stay with you long after you read the last word. Take it from a voracious reader like myself, debut novels dont get much better than this. Bravo Carey! I look forward to future novels.

I originally picked up Observatory Mansions because I was in the mood for a strange and spooky read. What I got met both of those criteria and so much more.

Observatory Mansions, as previous reviewers have summarized, revolves around the life of Francis Orme and his ancestral home, Observatory Mansions. Throughout his 37 years, Francis has seen Observatory Mansions lose its grandeur, change its name and be divided into flats. And the inhabitants of those flats are as unique as the history of the building and Francis himself. While the population of Observatory Mansions has stayed static for many years, Anna Tap moves in and upsets the balance.

Through first-person narrative, a "history" of Observatory Mansions written by Francis, flashbacks and insightful characterization, Carey writes a memorably story that proves difficult to forget. Although, it's so remarkable, you're unlikely to want to.

Edward Carey is truly a novelist with talent. His experience as a playwright has helped him take a unique approach to novel writing. Let's hope he continues his career as a novelist.

Certainly, this book is exceptionally creative. Moreover, the main character, Francis, is probably none like you've read before. The character development is impeccable. The location, mostly is Observatory Mansions, and we are able to dive deeply into the history of it's inhabitants and formal inhabitants. But it's more than that. We wonder why the people are the way they are, and what made them become so out of the ordinary. And then, a person who seems quite normal enters the equation and mixes everything up. I don't want to give away the plot, I just want to say this has a beautiful mix of humor, sadness, complexity, and judgement. You will find that it is one of the better books you've read this year.

quirky. endearing. kind.

a blurb on the cover of the book compared it to a gothic horror novel. that comparison coupled with the description on the back of the book intrigued me to say the least.

i began to read skeptically, wondering what kind of story this would turn out to be. my skepticism wore off quickly, though, as i was drawn into the lives of the strange inhabitants of the observatory mansions. little by little more is revealed about the residents until their oddities become almost just like your oddities. almost.

this is one of the most creative stories i have read in a long time. i think that the strangeness of the story and the somewhat odd way of telling it, while i found it intriguing and endearing, may put some readers off.

carey captures the homebody in the most vivid of ways in this book. after reading it, people will seem more and less strange to your eyes which have been filled with the tragedies of all the residents of observatory mansions.