Sunday, September 28, 2008

Misfortune


Misfortune was the first novel from Wesley Stace, who is also known as 'gangsta-folk' artist John Wesley Harding. As Harding, Stace has released several albums beginning in the late 1980s. At that time, Stace abandoned a PhD he was seeking in order to focus on becoming a full time professional musician. During that time, he wrote a song entitled 'Miss Fortune' about a male baby who is found orphaned by a wealthy man and brought up as a girl. This song served as the genesis for the novel. (For an extensive interview I was fortunate enough to conduct with Stace about his music career and his first novel, go here.)

Misfortune, which is set in the latter part of the nineteenth century, begins just like the song. Lord Lovall discovers the infant in a trash pile and brings him home, and, for reasons of his own, names him Rose and raises him as a girl. Rose lives an idyllic life in the English countryside, surrounded by family and friends, until secondary sexual characteristics begin to manifest themselves and life becomes, as you can imagine, far more complicated. This exploration of gender, identity, different types of love and the quality of love earned almost universal praise when it was released and appeared on many 'Best Of' lists for 2005.

I loved this book for a number of reasons. Firstly, it can be honestly described as 'Dickensian' in its setting, ambition, and sprawl. Characters have names that would have pleased Dickens, and the bizarre interactions between some of them, and the neat ending, are also traits associated with the master. Secondly, while the style is certainly a throwback to the novelists of the nineteenth century, the subject matter most certainly contains a more modern slant. The concept of sexual identity was not completely foreign to the writers of that time, but probably wouldn't have been viewed through the lens of late twentieth century morays as this book is.

Misfortune is a thoroughly entertaining novel. It keeps the reader interested and is ambitious in scope and size, especially for a first novel (albeit one many years in the making). I love big novels wherein a reader can get lost in a familiar, but ultimately fabricated world, and this is one of them.

5 comments:

Elise said...

I got this from BookMooch--and now I can't find it on the list, old or new! I blame you. For making me get it, not for disappearing it from the lists...

Dave said...

Aha! Read the fine print! Not all books reviewed are on the list! Seriously though, I was surprised this one wasn't on there, as it shortlisted many of the awards for the year it appeared. Also, I have perfect confidence that you will enjoy it immensely. Sorry for any confusion.

Elise said...

Damn fine print! I will read it anyway, even though it is long. Maybe it will be on the next version of the list...

Elise said...

I just finished this... fantastic! I kind of want to buy the accompanying CD now. One tiny correction your post: it's set in the first half of the 19th century. Also, did you know that Dickens makes a cameo in the first chapter?

Dave said...

I am so glad you liked it, and your correction (which is correct, by the way) is duly noted. I have yet to read the second novel, which is called By George, but it is on my list.