Ever so often (well not so often even) you will chance upon a great book that you never knew existing. That is the beauty of shopping at second hand book shops. You can’t go there searching for a certain book or a certain author, there’s no guarantee you’ll find it, but what you do find is an assortment like no other. Its like a magic box, you never know what you will get. This Christmas I had the good fortune of finding myself at one such place. Its located in Nehru Place in New delhi, for all of you who care to know, and its run by this delightful old man with whom I had wonderful conversation on topics ranging from books to art. He recommended me two books that I might never had purchased myself, the first is the Hotel du Lac and the second is Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchet which I will be reviewing in a while. I would recommend anyone who wishes a good read to visit this place because both of them were incredible.
Hotel du Lac is a very different sort of book than the sort I usually read and I was a little apprehensive to say the least when I first began it, being already informed it is a love story. I admit I forced myself to trudge through the initial chapters, not because of any fault of the writer but my own inherent disregard of Romantic stories, and was slightly hesitant even to accept the characters lest I grew fond of them. But as I made it past my initial pessimism I found myself quite enjoying the company of the residents of the Hotel du Lac.
The story in itself is a very simple one and would have fallen quite flat in less capable hands. The Booker Prize of 1984 is a testimony to this statement. It is of a middle aged woman, Edith, a writer, who has found herself in banished (self-imposed) to the hotel du lac – a less reputed holiday get away that believed in serving only a limited clientele of only the highest social distinctions. The reason for her exile does not seem quite evident till about half way through where it is revealed that she is in hiding after having her heart broken by a married man, her lover, and she is here to get away from the pain, to finish her current novel and most importantly, protect him from further embarrassment.
And though Edith is the main protagonist in this tale, the true star of the story is a certain Mrs. Pusey (yes, that’s her name and stop snickering). She is an embodiment of everything perverse in the upper classes. She is presumptuous, self indulgent and narcissistic and refuses to acknowledge anyone else’s importance other than her own. She is countered by another intriguing lady – Monica, a more a younger and less successful version of herself (perhaps the reason why they resent each other so much) who is on sabbatical after having embarrassed her husband more than once. She makes her gold digger tendencies easily perceptible.
The story in the end is less about love but about the fallacies that the concept of love presents. Edith, a woman torn by the love of a man whom she can never have, someone who used her a side dish for the better of her life, Mrs. Pusey for whom love means no more than the act of looking into a mirror and Monica who has fallen head over heels for the deep pockets of her man and believes in leeching it as much as possible. All this is brought to the forefront by the arguably, undeterminable character of Mr. Neville - a smart, middle aged gentleman with the charisma, charm and a bank account that all women desire. He tries over and over again to convince Edith of the futility of love and asks her to embrace his views of objectivism and utility. I will not disclose you the ending but it will suffice to say that it’s a clash of ideas of the two, of whether love is a bond or is it a treaty to signed, stamped and executed to meet social requirements.
The story in itself opens up a worthy debate for us who might still believe in the hope of a perfect loves and old age spent in the cheerful company of soul mates. Is it worth waiting for the one even though we might not ever find them? Or is it better to settle for the one that offers the most stability and security even though the sentiments may not be in line? It’s a pertinent question when you think about it because in the end almost most of us will end up having to compromise on our choice, love is not in each one’s destiny but is not the pursuit of it worth the risk? Whatever be your choice, this masterclass in the English language will whet your appetite.
Verdict: Seconds Please
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