998. The Sea

The Sea
John Banville
2005

Around 195 pages

I wasn't that excited about Shroud, so it was nice to see a return to form here for Banville. Novels named after the sea are always good. This is our final Banville, which means a ranking is order.

1. The Sea

2. The Book of Evidence

3. The Newton Letter

4. The Untouchable

5. Shroud

Max writes about his childhood memories of the Graces, a wealthy middle-class family living in a rented cottage home, the months leading up to the death of his wife, Anna, and his present stay at a cottage home where he has retreated since Anna's death. Personally, I love it when characters are solitary or hiding. I think we all have that fantasy of escaping to a remote cabin somewhere and holing up with a typewriter and 500 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper. Or maybe that's just me.

The structure was all over the place, but I was into it. Banville keeps it tight at 200 pages, so it didn't feel like it was meandering or unfocused. Banville clearly loves language and reading; he's one of those writers that clearly writes for other writers.

It's always admirable when an author departs our List with his or her strongest work; you don't want to be that author whose quality slowly declines over the years. Although I did recommend this to a friend and they found it insufferable, so take of that what you will.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 2013.

UP NEXT: Adjunct: An Undigest by Peter Manson

972. Shroud

Shroud

John Banville
2002

Around 260 pages

Once again, we are entering a series on the second book, we're like the annoying people who come into a movie twenty minutes late. Hopefully John Banville will forgive me for this, and for not liking this book very much. 

Axel Vander, a famous man of letters and recent widower, meets Cass Cleave, a literary researcher who discovers secrets about Vander's past in Antwerp. I guess it's John Banville's version of a love story so it's a little fucked up.

None of Banville's protagonists are particularly likable, but Axel in particular was a nasty piece of work. I guess this was inspired by some real life scandals that took place in the academic circles in the 1980s. I was missing some context there, as much as I wish I was an Oxford professor during that decade. 

Overall, it felt like Banville wanted to do something darker here than his usual fare, and I appreciate that, but it wasn't my favorite plot or resolution. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Banville has said this is one of his favorite novels.

UP NEXT: In the Forest by Edna O'Brien

904. The Untouchable

The Untouchable
John Banville
1997
Around 370 pages

I really like John Banville, although so far I've been unsuccessful in getting anybody in my life into this author. Oh well, maybe I'll have better luck pushing Julian Barnes on my unsuspecting loved ones. 

Basically, this novel is a roman a clef from the point of view of Victor Maskell, an art historian and double agent based on Anthony Blunt. Banville said that the motivation to write the book came from seeing Blunt smile to himself when not aware of being on camera, just before giving a press conference following the announcement by Margaret Thatcher of his role as a Soviet spy. Inspiration comes from the unlikeliest sources.

Even if you don't click with the character of Victor, Banville's prose is always easy and flowing, and can make deeply flawed characters much more bearable than they have any right to be. Personally, I was much more interested in Victor's sexuality before homosexuality was decriminalized than I was in his dealings with the Soviet Union. 

So in the end, the novel feels like if Evelyn Waugh wrote The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The book was added to The New York Times Notable Books list and the Library Journal Best Books list for 1997. 

UP NEXT: American Pastoral by Philip Roth

805. The Book of Evidence

The Book of Evidence
John Banville
1989
Around 225 pages

Atwood, now Banville, and we have Irving coming up! Somewhere in my youth and childhood, I must have done something good.

Freddie Montgomery is our unreliable narrator who tells his life story, recounting the events leading up to his arrest for the murder of a servant girl in one of Ireland's "big houses." Freddie was an Anglo-Irish scientist who, after living abroad for many years, returns to his family home seeking money. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his mother sold the family's collection of paintings, and Freddie attempts to recover them, leading to the eventual murder of a maid.

I'm not familiar with the crime that inspired this novel, although apparently the real life murderer Malcom Edward MacArthur (why do killers always have three names?) attended an interview with Banville at Trinity College after he was paroled. That must have been awkward. 

I really enjoy Banville's prose, even if I've had enough novels that unpack the psychology of men who commit violence against women for a lifetime. So not my favorite Banville, but still a decent read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Banville released a sequel, Ghosts, in 1989.

UP NEXT: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

725. The Newton Letter

The Newton Letter
John Banville

1982
Around 100 pages

Looking at the upcoming novels on our List, we are in for a record-breaking string of bangers. Until Samuel Beckett comes back again of course.

This short novel follows the adventures of a biographer whose current subject is Isaac Newton. I love it when we follow an author who rents a remote cabin to work on their masterpiece. I think all writers have that fantasy, but I'm a little nervous I would get axe murdered if I did that. I was instantly hooked by the first line: "Words fail me." That's writer's block in a nutshell! Although I feel like vice versa is maybe truer.

You can tell that Banville is an avid reader. To me, his works always feel like a pleasant combination of Iris Murdoch, Ford Maddox Ford, and Julian Barnes. And this is an early work, so he's only going to improve.

So happy to have you on the squad John!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Banville said he would advise readers who want to sample his work to start with this novel.

UP NEXT: The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende