I began reading my first Patrick White novel about three months ago, and i'm finally finished. Hurrah!
I think I made a bad choice about which book of his to read first, seeing as The Vivisector is 600 pages long, and not his most well-known.
BUT it was extremely interesting. He has such a schizoid writing style. At times I couldn't actually understand what he was trying to say. He writes in a very stream of consciousness fashion, with hyper-description. It's often quite visceral.
The plot follows the life of Hurtle Duffield, from age four to his death. He's born into a poor Sydney family - his mother a laundry lady, his father a Bottle-O. Hurtle proves to be a bit of a boy genius, so they decided to sell him to a rich family who can perhaps give him a better future, for 500 pounds. The rest of the novel follows his journey as an artist, and how his devotion to art means he takes on the persona of a "Vivisector", who uses relationships purely as a muse for his art.
The plot is interesting, but at times stumbles along without much purpose. It's one of those books where the gold is in the description, and the vivid portrayal of his inner life as a child is particularly rewarding. The descriptions of the process of painting are also quite arresting, however much imbued with sexual innuendo.
His final relationship is with a teenage girl - a bit of a Lolita-esque character, and therefore quite disturbing! I found it hard to understand the point of her character too - she ends up moving overseas, and becomes a kind of ghost-like figure in his life. She's more of a symbol by the end of the novel.
Anyway, not sure I'll read another PW book anytime soon - it was pretty full on. But definitely worth it.
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