I took myself to bed this afternoon and finished The Birthday Present by Barbara Vine.
But back to The Birthday Present. The detached style reminded me more of Rendell than Vine's past novels but actually this novel seems to be quite a departure for the author, writing under any guise. In fact, I think this is what initially gave me pause. If one picks up the book expecting a typical Barbara Vine, or even a typical Ruth Rendell, one is in for a surprise as it is neither. And yet, once I settled into the pace of the book and the voices of its narrators, I found it quite compelling and beautifully written.
It is more of a political analysis than a thriller, and there is really no mystery except for how it will all end up.
Actually I found the book quite compelling and a bit disturbing and unsettling as well. It is not unsettling because of the depths of human depravity and psychology it reveals but more because there really is no great depravity here but just normal human emotions, sometimes pushed beyond normal expectations. In typical Vine fashion, the character one most expects to feel sympathy for is the one that is most despised by the end of it all. And the character who began as the most callous is in the end the most sympathetic.
In the end this is the Vine book that I think will have the most longevity in the memory. After the initial disappointment that it does not fit the expected formula, it may be the one that worms its way most into the consciousness, and the one that most deserves to be re-read.
Comments
3 responses to “The Birthday Present”
Haven’t read Barbara Vine for years, nor much Rendell either, but she/they do have an almost eery, compelling way of sketching a psychological profile — very slowly, incrementally, so convincingly because of the step-by-step care. I sometimes fast-forward to imagine myself retired and reading the long list I never dare make — I wonder will there be those kind of hours when I get there?
I LOVE B Vine, but this book disappointed me. I mean, I read it all in 10 minutes, but it didn’t have the same something as, say, Grasshopper.
Vine’s Birthday Present is the best book she ever wrote. I simply love the concept of the story. In fact, I even bought this as a gift for my mom’s birthday.