Sunday, March 20, 2011

Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer by Russell Hoban


Review

Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer is an interesting novel and the first Russell Hoban I have ever read. The cover of the book dragged me in first of all, although I freely admit it did sit on my bookshelf for a week gathering dust (damn you Star Wars Novels), it is an image that doesn't encapsulate the plot but more the emotions of the protagonist.

If anyone has ever seen the fantastic 'Bedazzled' by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, not that dreadful remake with the loathsome Liz Hurley and wonderful Brendan Fraser, then this book follows along similar lines and themes.

Jonathan is a flawed unlikeable character who indulges his own misery and finds himself at Piccadilly tube station drunk and alone; pitied by passers-by. As he drifts in and out of his misery and alcohol fuelled musings a mysterious character comes up and offers him a seat at the Opera later that evening. What follows is a story that seems supernatural but quickly becomes a thriller with twists and turns on every page. What we believe to be the story, the reality for all these characters, can change in a sentence as this plot gallops along. The main point that Hoban seems to be getting at with this novel is that you like to think that you are in control of your life and destiny but you're not really. It is only when you accept that your life is not in your power to control that you gain some control over your own destiny.

The characters in this novel are heavily flawed, there is no hero. There are victims. A stronger victim takes advantage of a weaker victim and so on and so forth until we get a pyramid of victimisation. That isn't to say the book doesn't have its moments of comedy or light-heartedness, it is just that it can be seen as gallows or dark humour. 

London in the Book

London in Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer can be seen as a character within the book, during the day it seems quiet and nurturing but when the night comes the darkness descends and the horror of the book truly begins. The majority of the locations within this novel are found in the Earls Court area of London with occasional forays into the artistic West End of the city.

Below you will find a map and list of the locations and links to some of the places to give you an idea of what they look like.




Locations in Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer: Piccadilly Tube Station, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Belgravia, Eaton Place, Earls Court Rd, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Nevern Place, Kenway Rd, National Gallery, Penywern Rd, Grays Inn Rd, Chancery Lane, Lord Jim Hotel, Edgware Road, Notting Hill, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Wimbledon, Fulham Broadway, Moore Park Road, Eel Brook Common, Harwood Rd, Bedford Square, Great Russell Street, Trafalgar Square, Waterloo, British MuseumPurcell Room, Hungerford Bridge, Embankment, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Festival Hall.

Overall this book is brilliant and provides so many great moments and characters, not to mention a wealth of brilliant locations to explore in London. I highly recommend this book and urge you to go out and read it!




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