Candice Landau gets lost in the maze…
If only ‘The Quickening Maze’ had been a quickening story. While the novel is certainly a lyrical masterpiece, it lacks the rise and fall of the more common tale. Perhaps this is the case because of how long it takes to wrap one’s head around the many different characters, and the way that they speak and see their world. The stylised viewpoints are reminiscent of William Faulkner’s ‘The Sound and the Fury,’ an ambitious novel in its own right, but that deals closely with only four characters, and is therefore in my opinion, more comprehensible.
In the case of ‘The Quickening Maze,’ I can understand choosing to focus on Alfred Tennyson, John Clare, and Matthew Allen, even Allen’s daughter who is quite involved in the lives of all the poets, but the many other characters that wind their way in and out, are given too much valuable narrative time. So much so that the novel only begins to realize it must finish a mere forty pages before the end. This might not have been as noticeable had Foulds not decided to suddenly revert to summary. In only a few pages we are told what will happen to each of the characters after the novel’s end. Both Alfred Tennyson’s and John Clare’s futures are revealed: one off to a life of prolific fame and fortune, the other to be shut away for the rest of his days. For those of us who know nothing of the real lives of these people, it feels like our right to reading an actual ending is unfairly denied.
On the other hand, one must remember that Adam Foulds is not merely writing a fictional novel. He is also trying to encapsulate a long vanished time and atmosphere based on real characters and events that happened in Epping Forest in the 1800s. This is skilfully done via characters that speak with their own voices and who observe the world around them with bright, interesting descriptions: from ‘rain that stutters’ to ‘names that unfurl like banners’.
I do not dispute Foulds’ grasp of language, he is more than accomplished. I am, however, not sure that stylistically good writing alone is enough to redeem a novel. It seems that in this novel, the story lies most in the unravelling of Dr. Matthew Allen’s life, and the tension that surrounds his daughter who is throughout the narrative in pursuit of a husband, preferably an accomplished poet. As a consequence, the poets who I assume are the main focus seem unnecessary and feel more like a backdrop to the Doctor and his daughter’s life. Still, the biggest irritation, are the obviously unnecessary characters – patients from the mental asylum, and the local idiot boy. Without these constant interruptions the novel would read far more smoothly, and enjoyably.
Having said this, I would still urge any reader who finds the style of ‘The Quickening Maze’ difficult to get into, to persevere. Though characters are for a long time just names, they do develop personality and life, especially as they come to be in conversation and relation with one another. Foulds has also not forgotten the comedy of family life – from jealous brothers, to the wry humour of a daughter’s quest for a husband.
‘The Quickening Maze’ provides the sensation of being in a trance. The style is long and languorous; something that can be immediately picked up in the physical nature of the writing – block paragraphs with little spacing. This is a story and style that is a little more complicated that just a comfortable read. The writing quality is most obviously the novel’s saving grace. It blooms with poetry; and reading, though slow is not without conscious enjoyment.
3/5
‘The Quickening Maze‘ is published by Jonathan Cape/Random House Publishing, retailing at £12.99
