Learwife - J R Thorp

 

Somehow I think Shakespeare would heartily approve of this novel. It is erudite and literate. It is expansive and poetic. The prose actually demands that you read great swathes of it aloud for it is full of consonants that roll around your tongue giving meaning and illumination to the thoughts and feelings of that most mysterious of queens, King Lear‘s wife.

I suppose the big question is whether you need to be familiar with Shakespeare’s play to benefit fully from this book. I guess not. It’s a long time since I read the play and I didn't feel in any way disadvantaged.  For the narrator, who is not named until the concluding pages, is ignorant of the action that takes place within the play. she exists outside of that. It is the characters, Lear, the daughters, Kent and the Fool that figure in ‘our’ narrative, rather than the events of the play.

In some ways the novel could be an extended monologue of almost Shakespearean proportions as Learwife expresses the depths of her emotion at the treatment and the life she’s been forced to lead since Lear exiled her to a nunnery. All of her energies and reason are dedicated to trying to understand what happened and why.

This is a book I took many days to read not because I didn't enjoy it, quite the reverse, I was astounded by the depth and quality of the writing and the need to savour the experience. At times it seems that the plot or sequence of events were secondary to the writing itself so the book can be experienced on different levels. There is a story, of course there is! It seems to feed off some of the conundrums explored in Shakespeare’s play but the narrative also abounds with the most palpable and potent imagery. The Bard was never far from my thoughts, I have to admit, and indeed, in the concluding passages I found myself thinking of Ophelia.

It is at heart a feminist novel, I feel, the ‘action’ takes place in a nunnery and the dynamics between all the women is explored and examined, particularly with the choice that Learwife has to make after an exceptional event disrupts the equilibrium of the order.

We never stray far from historical fiction as Learwife recounts her life as Queen, her two marriages, her children and what might have led to the exiled state she finds herself in. The portrayal is solid and believable.

But mostly I think it falls into the literary fiction genre. It’s complex writing, breathtaking in places. My only negative thought is that it might be over long. I can see that readers who prefer a character or plot driven narrative might find it slow. But over all as a debut novel I was mightily impressed and I wouldn't be surprised to see this on some award long or shortlists in the future.
My thanks to Canongate books for a gifted proof.