Status
Available
Description
James, an Irish writer travels to the Congo in pursuit of a beautiful Italian woman. What follows tells us of the flow of their passion and the swift collapse of a colonial regime during the 1960s.
User reviews
LibraryThing member kaionvin
I pick up novels for any old reason: pretty cover, it's popular, it's on sale, it's Tuesday and it's there. However, over time and some experience, namely, not wanting to waste time when I've got a bookcase of to-be-reads, I've developed a couple of rules to determine books to never read:
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- Books with titles that go: Male's Occupation's Female Relative. (Too many, but includes Memory Keeper's Daughter)
And reading The Catastrophist added one new subsection of books I'll not read anymore, books of the novel genre I'll call:
- White-person-comes-to-an-exotic-country-and-happens-to-witness-a-revolution. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Heart of Darkness and The Poisonwood Bible.)
I'm sure the voice of a male, white, middle-aged Irish writer (and sometimes journalist) in the 1960s was difficult for male, white, middle-aged writer Irish author Ronan Bennett of the 1990s to assume. I'm sure having long stretches of his book all about how much sex said protagonist was or wasn't having with his hot younger Italian girlfriend is supposed to make the writing "literary". I'm sure having the protagonist have no stake in the political proceedings is supposed to make him an objective observer of the Congolese Revolution.
But NO, just no. I'm sick of the exoticism; I'm sick of the 'first-world'-Caucaso-centrizing of stories that are not Caucaso-centric; I'm sick of self-conscious literary posturing. So thank you, The Catastrophist, for helping me figure out that I don't want to read anything of this genre anymore, you get a shiny extra half star.
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Philosophical novels with flowery praise on the cover. (They no doubt have ridiculously thin plots, obnoxious symbols, or will make me want to hurl. See: Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Alchemist, Life of Pi, Sophie's World)- Books with titles that go: Male's Occupation's Female Relative. (Too many, but includes Memory Keeper's Daughter)
And reading The Catastrophist added one new subsection of books I'll not read anymore, books of the novel genre I'll call:
- White-person-comes-to-an-exotic-country-and-happens-to-witness-a-revolution. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Heart of Darkness and The Poisonwood Bible.)
I'm sure the voice of a male, white, middle-aged Irish writer (and sometimes journalist) in the 1960s was difficult for male, white, middle-aged writer Irish author Ronan Bennett of the 1990s to assume. I'm sure having long stretches of his book all about how much sex said protagonist was or wasn't having with his hot younger Italian girlfriend is supposed to make the writing "literary". I'm sure having the protagonist have no stake in the political proceedings is supposed to make him an objective observer of the Congolese Revolution.
But NO, just no. I'm sick of the exoticism; I'm sick of the 'first-world'-Caucaso-centrizing of stories that are not Caucaso-centric; I'm sick of self-conscious literary posturing. So thank you, The Catastrophist, for helping me figure out that I don't want to read anything of this genre anymore, you get a shiny extra half star.
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LibraryThing member addbj
Intensely erotic with acute psychological insight, the political thriller is set in the days leading up to independence in Belgian Congo in the early 1960s. James Gillespie, an Irish journalist, follows his Italian lover to Leopoldsville. As he tries to persuade her to return to Britain to continue
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their affair, the independence crisis unfolds inexorably around them. Written in a quietly confident style. Excellent Show Less
LibraryThing member PilgrimJess
The book is set in late 1959 early 1960 in Belgian Congo which is lurching towards catastrophic independence "Depanda" when the narrator Irish/English author James Gillespie flies into Leopoldville to be reunited with his Italian lover Ines Sabiana, a journalist with L'Unita. And it was a
Ines, despite being a journalist is passionate about independence and seems to have decided Communist leanings whereas James is indifferent or as he prefers 'objective' preferring to observe rather than really engage. James also becomes friendly with American Stipe who works for their consulate in some undefined capacity but the assumption that it is CIA or something of that ilk. This drives the two lovers apart and so James is left forlorn and desperate for things to revert to the way things were before. However, it seems IMHO a relationship based merely on sex rather than anything deeper.
In many respects this is what I find wrong with this book. I just never felt that James and in particular Ines never really rang true. In fact Ines seemed more like the dreams of a desperate middle aged man with her easy ability to orgasm and inability to have children. Both are writers of sorts but both use words in different ways. Ines uses her journalistic reports to promote her political zeal whereas James uses words as a barrier to hide from the events that are transpiring around him. Ultimately he is forced to face reality and take sides.
On the whole I liked the author's writing style with some fairly stereotypical minor characters and he gives a reasonable account of the madness taking place in the country both before and after independence, although personally I would have preferred a little more. Certainly I feel that the outside world and particularly Belgium come out of it very badly, being portrayed as 'fiddling whilst Rome burnt' beforehand and callously indifferent afterwards. Much the same can probably be said about the UN. However, there was certainly implied, actually it was openly stated at one point, bias within that Britain would have handled the situation better. Perhaps we would have but that is probably more to wider experience, ie more colonies vying for independence, rather than anything else.
I recently read 'A Sunday by the Pool in Kigali' and thoroughly enjoyed that. This was an enjoyable read but not up to that standard. That said if I spot any more of Ronan Bennett's books I will not shy away from picking them up.
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catastrophe. Before independence the highest ranked black administrator was a mere clerk and the highest ranked black soldier was a NCO. When Belgium suddenly decides to give the Congo independence in six months there is no smooth handover of power instead all the whites jump ship and the country, despite being probably the most mineral rich country in Africa is left bankrupt. When Patrice Lumumba, the leader of the biggest political group and a unionist,is voted into power he makes the ill-judged decision to give all public workers, other than the Army, a large pay rise and is promptly overthrown in a coup by Joseph Mobutu. This leads to disintegration of the country with widespread petty and systematic brutality on both political and tribal grounds. Into this political vacuum steps the vying superpowers USSR and America to further muddy the waters.Ines, despite being a journalist is passionate about independence and seems to have decided Communist leanings whereas James is indifferent or as he prefers 'objective' preferring to observe rather than really engage. James also becomes friendly with American Stipe who works for their consulate in some undefined capacity but the assumption that it is CIA or something of that ilk. This drives the two lovers apart and so James is left forlorn and desperate for things to revert to the way things were before. However, it seems IMHO a relationship based merely on sex rather than anything deeper.
In many respects this is what I find wrong with this book. I just never felt that James and in particular Ines never really rang true. In fact Ines seemed more like the dreams of a desperate middle aged man with her easy ability to orgasm and inability to have children. Both are writers of sorts but both use words in different ways. Ines uses her journalistic reports to promote her political zeal whereas James uses words as a barrier to hide from the events that are transpiring around him. Ultimately he is forced to face reality and take sides.
On the whole I liked the author's writing style with some fairly stereotypical minor characters and he gives a reasonable account of the madness taking place in the country both before and after independence, although personally I would have preferred a little more. Certainly I feel that the outside world and particularly Belgium come out of it very badly, being portrayed as 'fiddling whilst Rome burnt' beforehand and callously indifferent afterwards. Much the same can probably be said about the UN. However, there was certainly implied, actually it was openly stated at one point, bias within that Britain would have handled the situation better. Perhaps we would have but that is probably more to wider experience, ie more colonies vying for independence, rather than anything else.
I recently read 'A Sunday by the Pool in Kigali' and thoroughly enjoyed that. This was an enjoyable read but not up to that standard. That said if I spot any more of Ronan Bennett's books I will not shy away from picking them up.
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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
The underlying theme of this political thriller is the mistiming of love. One is already more ready than the other to give into the insecurities of love...until they are not. Compared over and over to Graham Greene, Bennett's Catastrophist is character driven and full of political intrigue. Irish
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novelist James Gillespie tells the story of his journey to the Belgian Congo to follow his Italian girlfriend, Ines. As an ambitious journalist, she is covering the Congolese struggle for independence. Once the passion of her life, now she has little time or patience for James. Meanwhile, his romantic pendulum has swung in the other direction, clinging to a newfound adoration obsession for Ines. I found their relationship to be shallow and self-serving. But, no matter. James gets caught up in the politics and befriends all the wrong people, pushing Ines further away. When she takes up with another man, it appears all hope is lost for reconciliation with James...and yet, James is blindly willing to go to unbelievably remarkable lengths to show his devotion. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2000)
Costa Book Awards (Shortlist — Novel — 1998)