Works of art - understood dismissed

‘A review’…….

 

My grandmother had a favourite saying, “Oh would to God that we could see ourselves as others see us”.   She did not think of applying that sentiment to herself.   She was a vicar’s wife and as such, she presided over the women of the parish and considered herself to have an important position in the parish, holding such posts as president of the Mothers’ Union and Women’s Institute and duties such as church organist.   She constantly reminded people that, “You must remember my position you know”. 

 

The parish was a small, hard-working mining community on the Cannock Chase governed by the hooters of three pits calling the menfolk to work in shifts.  The women looked after the home and ensured that the tin bath was ready in the kitchen when the men returned.  The terraced hovels called home lacked facilities and home entertainments but they were spick and span.   It was the church that provided the community’s entertainment, and social life was spent organising it and savouring it thus securing the importance of the vicar’s wife.

 

Beneath that outwardly ‘perfect world’ no one would have realised that the Vicar’s wife was mentally abused and down trodden to an extent that would eventually lead to her demise.  Her pride, naïve innocence, duty and dedication to church doctrine were the causes of her failure to appreciate her own desperate situation.   She was the embodiment of the ‘Suffering Servant’  in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.  She had little appreciation of the real world outside the church.  The only language she understood was that of the bible.  She had no knowledge of Anglo Saxon words or expletives.  She had no such conversation or understanding of such language and never read a book other than the bible and that would be to an audience or congregation.   She never even had a malicious or rebellious thought.  Such an occurrence would have been beaten out of her.

 

As such she had no feelings.   Numb; she would not have understood what happened beneath the perfect world outside the church or the vicarage and that was not entirely uncommon.   So when the seventeen year old church warden’s daughter and garden fete beauty queen, the apple of the Vicar’s eye, became pregnant there was shock, horror, indignation and condemnation in the village community, much to the amusement of the Vicar’s son.    A Sunday School teacher, she had been held up to him as a paragon of virtue.   Shortly after that the Vicar left the parish, to the immense relief of the Church Warden.

 

‘Beneath the Perfect World’ is a book that my parents would not have been able to digest and would have totally disapproved of for no other reason than the explicit sexual detail.  That alone would have obliterated any understanding of the plot or the tensions and intensions of the players.  In their eyes it would not have been conceivable that Christian souls could have schemed and plotted the way they did.  That a cartel within the church could conspire to commit murder or any heinous crime would not have been possible; but can it be denied that it has never happened within the closed community of the church?   Such things would be denied; swept under the carpet; concealed and refuted.  The ‘evil that men do lives after them’; things unacceptable to ‘church going society’ have been uncomfortably exposed.  Attitudes have changed.  Modern literature pervades society in many forms including communication and the media.   To understand this is to understand the book.   It was designed to shock and yet it is nothing new.   As a historian and psychologist the author of ‘Beneath the Perfect World’ will have understood this.  Moreover her detailed knowledge of the location of the story together with her detailed knowledge of the technicalities of cycling provides the glue which binds a compelling story together.  Such a combination has provided a classic novel.

 

In my view the book is a creative work of art as good as classic nude paintings or pieces of sculpture which have always been the subject of intellectual debate and analysis.   Without the graphic detail, the book would be like the statue of David without his penis.   What would be the more shocking?   What does it say about society?  Who is to decide what is to be concealed?  Who would be offended; 1^st century Greek or Romans, Medieval Society or Modern society?  Is it barbaric?

 

Works of Art stimulate debate amongst intellectual appreciation societies some of which is understood and some dismissed by those who do not understand.   What-ever is the case the understanding observer can judge and ask themselves, ‘Could I have been so creative, understanding, constructive or imaginative?’  Or did it breach the boundaries of my tolerance.

 

That, for the reader, is the subject of his debate………

The dread - when your parents read your novel

On the phone to Dad last night. He's been reading my book and yes, he's waded through the swearing, the drugs and the sex. Mum, he tells me can't bring herself to read it. I breathe a sigh of relief, then hear her in the background saying, "You can't expect to read a novel these days without that kind of stuff in it." So is Dad assuming she's more prudish than she?

I've been in contact with a lot of writers who say they've had to bite the bullet when writing the salacious scenes. Can what Mum and Dad think really have such an impact on someone's creativity. I suppose it's all there when I was writing Alan's character. The omnipresence of his mother and domineering ex-partner impede his personal development. Catherine, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to be brought up by a liberal minded father who never got in the way of her doing anything. That's why she's so baffled when her mother tries to control her.

There's always sides to yourself you'd never wish to show your parents. Does this mean you have to tone down your novel?

Do we need another hero?

With the resurgence of vampire fiction, not that it was out for long, emphasis is being placed on incorporating mythical elements in fiction. These elements are even used in marketing and journalism to attract attention. Whilst 'Beneath the Perfect World' was going under the scrutiny of science fiction writer Sonny Whitelaw, I was criticised for not making my protagonist, Alan Bell, heroic enough. My editor didn't even like him because he is fallible and occasionally shows weakness. Whilst writing, I was at odds with writing a character who was real yet heroic at the same time. A hero in the traditional or Homeric sense is one who acts in the interest of good, resisting temptation whilst fighting off demons. Alan had created his own demons and overcome them, making him a tragic hero with a fatal flaw. To stay true to the rubric of heroism, I would have had to kill him off. That would have disappointed the readers who did like him. Why like him if he's flawed? Despite his short-comings, he has a compassionate and sensitive side which ultimately forces him to do what he feels is right. Despite pressures and being surrounded by people who wreak havoc on his life, he still stands up for himself and manages to pull through despite taking some hard knocks. Modern heroes are faced with dilemmas that force them to choose between right and wrong. Alan has already gone down the wrong path. 'Beneath the Perfect World' therefore begs the question, can a reformed character be a hero?