Men and Wives by Ivy Compton-Burnett
It’s been a while since I’ve read an Ivy Compton-Burnett novel and reading Men and Wives (the title, which isn’t perfectly reflective, seems intriguingly off — why not Men and Woman or Husbands and Wives?) reminded me how singular and scintillating Compton-Burnett novels can be.
This one is centered around Lord and Lady Halsam and their four children (Matthew, Jeremy, Griselda, and Gregory) and their assorted friends and neighbors — a large cast of 16 characters, all of whom are well-developed and figure in just about every aspect of the plot.
Harriet, Lady Halsam, is an unhappy and difficult woman who doesn’t seem to like anyone, including her husband and children. She decides to kill herself and does not succeed, although the results of her attempt are fatal. This book explores — in Compton-Burnett’s uniquely subverted way — depression, and the evanescence and artificiality of all human relationships, both familial and romantic. One of the characters, Camilla, begins the book married to one man has been engaged to be married to three others by its conclusion.
Odd, smart, funny — a book of many keen pleasures.
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