A Pure Clear Light: A Novel [Paperback]

Madeleine St. John (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2001

At once poignant and humorous, this deliciously devised novel lights on the marriage of Flora and Simon Beaufort just at the moment it goes haplessly awry -- the moment that Simon succumbs to the temptation of his cool, blond accountant and Flora heeds the cry of her reawakened faith. Ultimately, though, neither of them can escape the revelation that lies beyond excuses and candor, at the heart of a phenomenon called love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I haven't got any imagination, as you perfectly well know," says coolly blonde, 30ish accountant Gillian Selkirk to her married lover, Simon Beaufort. She may be the only one who doesn't in this deceptively calm and studiously ironic study of love sacred and profane. After Simon's wife, Flora, lapsed Catholic and mother of three, leaves their pleasant London home and takes the kids on holiday in France, TV director Simon, to his great surprise, falls in love with Gillian. The siren's song of "pure unadulterated sex" proves irresistible to agnostic Simon, though he is determined not to upset the applecart with Flora. Meanwhile, he sets about casting his next film, looking for an actress as brilliant as the "plain" English ones he knows, but with a more voluptuous bodyAa French or Italian, he thinks. As Simon is snared by the temptations of film and flesh, Flora, returned from France but still feeling his absence, is drawn to the local Anglican church. By the time Flora's friend Lydia catches Simon and Gillian together at a Bayswater brasserie, the end of their secret affair is almost an anticlimax. What prevails is Flora's austere yet human yearning for God's love, and her determination that the marital relationship must go on in a life she now considers "transitory." Exploring the tension between worldly and religious love as did Graham Greene in The Power and the Glory and Andr? Gide in Strait Is the Gate, Booker Prize-nominee St. John does produce "a pure clear light" that springs from Flora's spiritual crisis. Her prose is swift and beautifully spare; the dialogue is sharp and witty; yet the tone of the narrative is chilly, like white winter light, more of a hedge against emotional suicide than a life-affirming renewal of love. In a curious way, Flora's need to shape her religious imagination to escape Simon's worldly imagination comes full circle to resemble sexy and candid Gillian, who has no imagination at all. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The latest novel from St. John (Stairway to Paradise) explores an oh-so-British marriage at its crucial turning point. Simon and Flora Beaufort have three perfect children and a comfortable, happy life in London. When Flora takes the children for a month-long vacation in France, Simon stays home to work on his latest film project. At a friend!s dinner party, Simon meets a cool blonde accountant named Gillian Selkirk and is completely drawn to her. As they begin a torrid affair, Flora discovers a new love of her own, in a sense: she is drawn back into her deep religious beliefs. Simon and Flora stray from one another, and things get complicated when Flora!s friend Lydia spots Simon and Gillian getting intimate at a local brasserie. This novel is a quick and witty read, with sharply drawn details. Recommended for public libraries."Beth Gibbs, formerly with P.L. of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Cty., NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; 1st Carroll & Graf Trade Pbk. Ed edition (July 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786708689
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708680
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,835,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Look At The Temporary Nature Of Life, August 8, 2000

By 

Michael Lima (Fresno, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Pure Clear Light (Hardcover)

Deception is both depicted and practiced in A Pure Clear Light. At first glance, the book seems to be about an affair. But, the frequent mention of time and items being "in transit" shows that it's really a look at how people deal with the temporary nature of life. The various ways of dealing with this condition are portrayed through the three main characters. Flora chooses to deal with it by becoming more involved with religion, thereby creating permanence though spirituality. Simon abandons all pretense of fighting temporariness by immersing himself in a transitory relationship. However, his embrace of the "temporary" is nothing compared to Gillian Selkirk. Her cool detachment from any emotional aspect of the relationship, as embodied by her purely sexual definition of the affair and her involvement with other men while the liaison is occurring, marks her as someone who embodies the term "living for the moment."

These characters are very powerful archetypes for conveying the theme. However, the theme also serves to undermine the characters. Since most of them embrace the lack of permanence to a great degree, it is difficult to develop an emotional connection to them. The problem is compounded with the minor characters, who seem to be little more than footnotes. The effect is to make the book seem stark and more than a little cold.

Despite the emotional sparseness of the characters, the book has many attractions. The dialogue is sharp and the narrative has an effective flow. But above all, A Pure Clear Light deserves a recommendation simply on the basis that it's a skillful exploration of an aspect of the human condition. Ultimately, that's what good fiction is supposed to do, even if it needs to practice a little deception to do it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light Reading with Contemplative Undertones, February 12, 2001

By 

Elizabeth Hendry (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Pure Clear Light (Hardcover)

This novel is an enjoyable, light read that will make you think about some rather contemplative ideas. It is the story of a seemingly happily married couple whose marriage breaks down on each end. He has an affair, and she becomes involved in religion, something he as an athieist cannot embrace. The story is told with a light and humorous tone, yet all along St. John makes us think about the temporariness of our lives, how seemingly permanent things can change based on seemingly meaningless events. The characters are humorous, all sort of exaggerations, at times, of people we all know.

If you are looking for something light, but would like to think a bit, I recommend this book. It is entertaining and easy to read, yet still thought provoking.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Overrated, August 16, 2000

By 

M. Anderson (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Pure Clear Light (Hardcover)

I picked up this book because The Wall Street Journal gave it a good review. I'm not sure why. It's a very short 230 pages, and can be read in a couple of hours; it has a very light tone, almost flippant in the handling of the main character's affair. Serious subject, light tone - they don't often go well together, and they don't here. There are issues that are brought up (religion, for instance) that are not explored to the depth they deserve. The author is British, and those unfamiliar with English culture will surely be confused at certain social references (for example, the subject of the parish jumble is mentioned several times). Also, the author has an annoying way of starting chapters with dialogue that is not attributed to specific characters, forcing the reader to backtrack once a character is identified to find who said what. Perhaps I'm too used to the gravity of the Oprah line of novels, because I didn't like the fact that I didn't take anything away from this.