Mortal Love, by Elizabeth Hand
Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand
I'm not going to beat around the bush. I absolutely devoured Mortal Love. Elizabeth Hand has long been my favorite author, and even when I read work from her that I didn't care for, I could never deny that it was exquisitely written. This novel was no exception.
I'll have to say that at first, it was a little confusing, because each chapter introduced a new protagonist. Technically, there are three, as the synopsis mentioned-- Radborne Comstock, an American in England who will one day be a famous painter (early 1900's); Daniel Rowlands, an American journalist in London (present-day), and Val Comstock, Radborne's grandson, an artist (present-day).
Whereas Radborne's narration tends to be on the dry side, there are many other personalities in his timeline that keep the tale interesting. Historical personages like Algernon Swinburne and Lady Wilde (as in Oscar's mum) weave in and out of the story intermittently, pushing the plot forward. Radborne's storyline displaces him to an asylum in Cornwall at the request of an enigmatic Dr. Learmont, and there he meets two patients who are also painters. One of these painters in Jacobus Candell, based on the Victorian mad painter, Richard Dadd. The other is Evienne Upstone, a woman who is curiously familiar to him, and who is a crux of obsession for the many artists surrounding her. In modern times, Val finds one of Radborne's paintings and is driven to the edge of insanity by the mere sight of it. The other storyline involves Daniel Rowlands' similar obsession with Larkin Meade, a woman who strangely possesses paintings and texts that have been presumed lost for ages.
To be fair, it takes a few chapters for the ball to get rolling-- you initially have so many characters thrown at you that it takes supreme concentration to keep them all sorted out-- in addition to the three protagonists, there is a whole host of important supporting characters of which to keep track. Though, to Hand's credit, each of these minor characters is distinct and whole unto himself or herself-- there is not a two-dimensional personality in sight. At any rate, I spent a certain portion of the novel's outset wondering just how and when these storylines would ever come together.
As the novel gained momentum and we learn that Larkin Meade may be one and the same with the Pre-Raphaelite muse, Evienne Upstone, I found that everything is indeed linked. Here, Hand displays her finest gift-- her ability to steep our mundane world in an ethereal magic. While there are elements of the fantastic present always, Mortal Love always straddles the line between fantasy and reality. Never are we told for certain what Larkin actually is, but we get hints-- faerie tales and King Orfeo, the myth of Bloduedd, muse to rock god and painter alike. La Belle Dame Sans Merci. She is a blending of all of these things, improbable, but all the more startlingly beautiful in her inability to be compartmentalized, defined, constrained.
Stealing scenes are characters like Juda Trent, a mysterious androgyne who seems to know much more about Larkin than any mortal should know. In that role, I could picture none other than Tilda Swinton-- they have the same feral beauty, the same devastating intelligence. Balthazar Warnick from Hand's earlier novels, Waking the Moon and Black Light has a brief cameo, and Charlotte "Lit" Moylan gets a brief mention.
The only problem I had with the novel overall was the pacing. The reader experiences all three timelines simultaneously, and this is a disservice to Radborne's tale. Atmospheric and lovely though it may be, the reader knows more than Radborne regarding his mystery woman's identity, and it's as though we're waiting for him to play catch-up. Though his section does introduce strong artistic themes, it does plod a bit in comparison to the other threads. The other pacing issue is that everything wraps up very quickly after the slow work of juggling several storylines. Perhaps due to this sudden conclusion, the novel doesn't quite end seamlessly-- I certainly have lingering questions here and there. How did Juda come to this world? Why has s/he appointed herself/himself Larkin's watcher? At what point does Radborne go mad, and what was the phantom troupe that passed him on the moor? Are both Learmonts the same person, as well? What exactly is Val's true parentage? How are we to completely buy Val's essential role in the ending given our limited knowledge of him?
However, for the most part, I was satisfied, if a little dazzled by the richness of the writing. The themes are common ones-- the relationship of the artist to art, the relationship of artist to muse, the feverish obsession of unadorned desire, the wish to leave a lasting print behind when we leave this world. However common, they are exquisitely rendered here. I felt as though I were slowly plucking the petals off a cherry blossom as the pages turned, and the imagery was so lush that it was as though I was experiencing the novel with all five of my senses. The period sections were amazingly detailed-- perfectly capturing the allure and decay of the Decadents. There was raw, rich sensuality spilled on every page. This is the hallmark of great writing.
2006 Book Log:: http://sihaya09.livejournal.com/439937.html
Synopsis:: "Elizabeth Hand explores the theme of artistic inspiration and its dangerous devolvement into obsession and madness through three interwoven narrative threads in this superb dark fantasy novel. In late Victorian England, American painter Radborne Comstock makes the acquaintance of Evienne Upstone, a model who's inspired members of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and driven painter Jacobus Candell completely insane. More than half a century later, Radborne's grandson Valentine ends up institutionalized after viewing intensely erotic paintings that his grandfather produced under Evienne's spell. His experiences echo those of Daniel Rowlands, an American writer in contemporary London whose research into the legend of Tristan and Iseult brings him into contact with Larkin Meade, a fey lover whose passion leaves him physically and emotionally deranged."
I'm not going to beat around the bush. I absolutely devoured Mortal Love. Elizabeth Hand has long been my favorite author, and even when I read work from her that I didn't care for, I could never deny that it was exquisitely written. This novel was no exception.
I'll have to say that at first, it was a little confusing, because each chapter introduced a new protagonist. Technically, there are three, as the synopsis mentioned-- Radborne Comstock, an American in England who will one day be a famous painter (early 1900's); Daniel Rowlands, an American journalist in London (present-day), and Val Comstock, Radborne's grandson, an artist (present-day).
Whereas Radborne's narration tends to be on the dry side, there are many other personalities in his timeline that keep the tale interesting. Historical personages like Algernon Swinburne and Lady Wilde (as in Oscar's mum) weave in and out of the story intermittently, pushing the plot forward. Radborne's storyline displaces him to an asylum in Cornwall at the request of an enigmatic Dr. Learmont, and there he meets two patients who are also painters. One of these painters in Jacobus Candell, based on the Victorian mad painter, Richard Dadd. The other is Evienne Upstone, a woman who is curiously familiar to him, and who is a crux of obsession for the many artists surrounding her. In modern times, Val finds one of Radborne's paintings and is driven to the edge of insanity by the mere sight of it. The other storyline involves Daniel Rowlands' similar obsession with Larkin Meade, a woman who strangely possesses paintings and texts that have been presumed lost for ages.
To be fair, it takes a few chapters for the ball to get rolling-- you initially have so many characters thrown at you that it takes supreme concentration to keep them all sorted out-- in addition to the three protagonists, there is a whole host of important supporting characters of which to keep track. Though, to Hand's credit, each of these minor characters is distinct and whole unto himself or herself-- there is not a two-dimensional personality in sight. At any rate, I spent a certain portion of the novel's outset wondering just how and when these storylines would ever come together.
As the novel gained momentum and we learn that Larkin Meade may be one and the same with the Pre-Raphaelite muse, Evienne Upstone, I found that everything is indeed linked. Here, Hand displays her finest gift-- her ability to steep our mundane world in an ethereal magic. While there are elements of the fantastic present always, Mortal Love always straddles the line between fantasy and reality. Never are we told for certain what Larkin actually is, but we get hints-- faerie tales and King Orfeo, the myth of Bloduedd, muse to rock god and painter alike. La Belle Dame Sans Merci. She is a blending of all of these things, improbable, but all the more startlingly beautiful in her inability to be compartmentalized, defined, constrained.
Stealing scenes are characters like Juda Trent, a mysterious androgyne who seems to know much more about Larkin than any mortal should know. In that role, I could picture none other than Tilda Swinton-- they have the same feral beauty, the same devastating intelligence. Balthazar Warnick from Hand's earlier novels, Waking the Moon and Black Light has a brief cameo, and Charlotte "Lit" Moylan gets a brief mention.
The only problem I had with the novel overall was the pacing. The reader experiences all three timelines simultaneously, and this is a disservice to Radborne's tale. Atmospheric and lovely though it may be, the reader knows more than Radborne regarding his mystery woman's identity, and it's as though we're waiting for him to play catch-up. Though his section does introduce strong artistic themes, it does plod a bit in comparison to the other threads. The other pacing issue is that everything wraps up very quickly after the slow work of juggling several storylines. Perhaps due to this sudden conclusion, the novel doesn't quite end seamlessly-- I certainly have lingering questions here and there. How did Juda come to this world? Why has s/he appointed herself/himself Larkin's watcher? At what point does Radborne go mad, and what was the phantom troupe that passed him on the moor? Are both Learmonts the same person, as well? What exactly is Val's true parentage? How are we to completely buy Val's essential role in the ending given our limited knowledge of him?
However, for the most part, I was satisfied, if a little dazzled by the richness of the writing. The themes are common ones-- the relationship of the artist to art, the relationship of artist to muse, the feverish obsession of unadorned desire, the wish to leave a lasting print behind when we leave this world. However common, they are exquisitely rendered here. I felt as though I were slowly plucking the petals off a cherry blossom as the pages turned, and the imagery was so lush that it was as though I was experiencing the novel with all five of my senses. The period sections were amazingly detailed-- perfectly capturing the allure and decay of the Decadents. There was raw, rich sensuality spilled on every page. This is the hallmark of great writing.
2006 Book Log:: http://sihaya09.livejournal.com/439937.html