Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Picador (1998), QPD softcover, 268 pages
Description
The Fifth Duke of Portland was known as The Underground Man. This fictionalized story of the last six months of his life is told through his notebooks and the accounts of those who knew him. The Duke built a series of tunnels beneath his home and a series of dumb waiters to carry him around.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
Through a fictional journal, Jackson constructs a portrait of William John Cavendish-Bentinck-Scott, fifth Duke of Portland (d. 1879), a prodigious eccentric best known for the elaborate network of tunnels he built beneath his estate. The duke is portrayed as a repressed hypochondriac, an old man
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morbidly curious about the workings of his body and mind. During the months encompassed by the novel, he grows increasingly obsessed with the fleeting bits of memory that intrude upon his ruminations and hint at some horrific, long-buried secret. A prime example of the psychological bent of the contemporary British neo-Gothic novel, this first novel from a British filmmaker and teacher of creative writing explores the darker fringes of consciousness. A subdued, though peculiarly compelling, tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member sanddancer
This book is the story of an eccentric Duke, loosely based on the real life fifth Duke of Portland William John Cavendish Bentinck-Scott. Incredibly introverted, he had enough money to indulge his obsessions, most famously commissioning a series of tunnels underneath his estate that allowed him to
The story is mainly told through a series of the Duke's diary entries, so for most of the book we see things through the Duke's eyes. Despite the humour of the Duke's crazy schemes and wild ideas. the book is tinged with sadness as you can feel the Duke's isolation and descent into madness. His diary entries are also interspersed with accounts from servants and locals who came into contact with the Duke, and this presents a more troubled pictured.
This was a strange book. I enjoyed it in parts, but somehow felt that it benefit from re-reading so that I fully appreciate it.
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move around with minimal contact with the outside population.The story is mainly told through a series of the Duke's diary entries, so for most of the book we see things through the Duke's eyes. Despite the humour of the Duke's crazy schemes and wild ideas. the book is tinged with sadness as you can feel the Duke's isolation and descent into madness. His diary entries are also interspersed with accounts from servants and locals who came into contact with the Duke, and this presents a more troubled pictured.
This was a strange book. I enjoyed it in parts, but somehow felt that it benefit from re-reading so that I fully appreciate it.
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LibraryThing member jesskr
Frankly I found this book rather boring.
LibraryThing member ckmbrowne
A quirky little tale that was engaging for a quick read, but I don't think I'd ever go back to it again. I liked the characterisation and felt genuine empathy towards the Duke, but the story didn't have any real emotional impact for me.
LibraryThing member isabelx
A charming, strange and sad story, based on the life of the eccentric fifth Duke of Portland.
LibraryThing member Sally604
I love this book. If you want to read fiction but are sick to death of family-saga type stories, this is your antidote. Deeply strange and very entertaining, this book tells a story that you haven't heard before.
LibraryThing member ropie
I was very impressed with the written style of The Underground Man and I like an 'unusual' novel in contrast to the mundanities of 90% of what's available. This story certainly made an impact but I felt the Duke's ideas and plans when he was coherently scheming were more interesting than his later
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ravings. Very convincingly written and quite funny in places, but also very sad, ultimately I found the eccentricities of the Duke giving way to a Roald Dahl-esque horror ending a bit of a cliché. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Not my kind of book - I can't stand neurotics like Woody Allen, for example - but somehow this just charmed me. I empathized just enough with the mad Duke's wild theories and his hypochondria to find him likable, even adorable. The funny bits were truly so, and the 'plot' was much more helpful than
Certainly not for everyone, but if you're interested enough to be reading these reviews, I recommend you give it a go. Otoh, I'm not sure whether or not I'm interested in more by the author (this is his debut). They'll probably be too *L*iterary for me. (We'll see.)
ETA: I must have gotten distracted - I forgot the book darts!
It is my opinion that the finest of threads connects the spirit with the vacated body, the latter acting as an anchor, and that down this line come the vibrations of the spirit's starry gallivanting, which the dormant body perceives as dreams. Thus when we sleep we go kite-flying, yet we are both flyer and the kite."
"The only thing to cast some light on an otherwise dismal day was the... map [which I had hung] on the wall right beside my bed. Now *there* is order, *there* is sense, *there* is reason. There is observation put to use."
And I like the idea of using a towel to give oneself a dry-rub, aka an 'Aberdeen bath.' Sounds like it would be invigorating and exfoliating."
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I've found to be the case in other Booker prize candidates. Certainly not for everyone, but if you're interested enough to be reading these reviews, I recommend you give it a go. Otoh, I'm not sure whether or not I'm interested in more by the author (this is his debut). They'll probably be too *L*iterary for me. (We'll see.)
ETA: I must have gotten distracted - I forgot the book darts!
It is my opinion that the finest of threads connects the spirit with the vacated body, the latter acting as an anchor, and that down this line come the vibrations of the spirit's starry gallivanting, which the dormant body perceives as dreams. Thus when we sleep we go kite-flying, yet we are both flyer and the kite."
"The only thing to cast some light on an otherwise dismal day was the... map [which I had hung] on the wall right beside my bed. Now *there* is order, *there* is sense, *there* is reason. There is observation put to use."
And I like the idea of using a towel to give oneself a dry-rub, aka an 'Aberdeen bath.' Sounds like it would be invigorating and exfoliating."
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Booker Prize (Longlist — 1997)
Costa Book Awards (Shortlist — First Novel — 1997)
Language
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
7.56 inches
ISBN
0330349562 / 9780330349567