Hangover Square: A Story of Darkest Earl's Court (Penguin Modern Classics)

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I once wrote a review for this one and I thought the best way to describe this novel would be by calling it ‘A diary of obsession’ because simply that was the first thing that came to my mind at the time. Today I’m not so sure because it feels like more than that. Certainly obsession plays an important part in it, but isn’t it also about other things? About what happens with the person obsessed? Does it not also explore what happens with the person who is the object of obsession? Doesn’t it propose some interesting question? It certainly does and it got me thinking at the time. Who is the real victim? What are dynamics of such a relationship and how do they affect the persons involved? Moreover, the question of other people comes in. Our protagonist and the girl he is head over heels with are not the only characters in this novel. The American composer Stephen Sondheim has cited Bernard Herrmann's score for Hangover Square as a major influence on his musical Sweeney Todd. [7] Reception [ edit ] And in a display of what may be God-given strength he then buries himself and them. This isn’t to say that we should regard Bone as a Miltonic hero. The whole point is that, unlike Samson, Bone is not exceptional. Hamilton’s regard for his protagonist, while genuine, has a sardonic edge to it. To be sure, as Empson would have said, a question hovers over Samson’s final act: was it justifiable or a vain-glorious gesture. Did he save or damn himself? But this isn’t what Hamilton has in mind.

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For want of anything better to say about this quite remarkable classic of pre-war English literature I shall quote Keith Waterhouse, "you can almost smell the gin." In the year preceding Chamberlain's declaration of war George Harvey Bone is loafing about Earl's Court, mooning over a complete bitch and driving himself to an alcoholic rage. Hamilton is famous for his use of slang and conversational tone and ability to evoke his chosen location, notably the London pub, and I certainly wouldn't find myself disagreeing with that assessment. Hamilton's ability to write believably from both aspects of a schizophrenic personality is the most enjoyable and impressive aspect for me, the final chapters causing a torrent of conflicting emotional reactions. You can’t say that he’s forgotten. And in some ways, he’s more ubiquitous than ever – the much-used phrase “gaslighting” derives from the subtly destructive mind-games conducted by husband against wife in his 1938 thriller (played by Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman in the subsequent film). Now the first book in his great trilogy about 1930s Soho and its environs – Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky – has been adapted by the award-winning choreographer Matthew Bourne for a show - The Midnight Bell - that is touring the UK until late November. However, when George is having his dead moods he doesn’t just switch off, he becomes a whole other person. Even he hasn’t realised that he has a split personality. And this other George Bone is a more decisive and angrier individual, and has geared his mind towards nothing else but killing Netta Longdon. Hangover Square' opens with a thrilling (even if medically dubious) description of a schizophrenic episode. It's just one of the many that will get much worse as the novel progresses. To achieve a great dissociative effect Hamilton had to resort to constant repetitions when describing those episodes and while annoying at first, eventually they become a hypnotising drumbeat.

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Parts of the story are unfortunately autobiographical. Hamilton himself was an alcoholic, turning to drink after becoming disfigured in a car accident. J.B. Priestley described him "as an unhappy man who needed whiskey like a car needed petrol." He was also known to have been a stalker of the actress Geraldine Fitzgerald and the character of Netta is said to be based on her. The time line of the story is a bit relative, yet it fits the novel. You read fist chapter and then after a few chapters you see another "first chapter" and before you start saying ‘wtf’ just remember that you kind of have to connect some things for yourself. More than once in the novel, you will have some connecting to do. However, it is not difficult to do it. Set principally in Earls Court and Brighton on the eve of WWII and first published in 1941 the book captures I feel (before my time though!) the smells, sights and sounds of the time; in particular British drinking culture – as the title might imply! You probably won’t love him ( I would be surprised if you did) but you will have to admit that as a character he is pretty credible. Not banal. Not pathetic. Even if what he does is pathetic, you will be able to see more to it. That’s what good writing is about. Those subtle dimensions that matter so much and yet are so hard to describe. The line between a bad novel and a good one can be terribly thin. Fortunately, this novel managed to make the cut. Dark as it is, it is a great read.

Hangover Square (film) - Wikipedia Hangover Square (film) - Wikipedia

The Slaves of Solitude, Constable, 1947, reprinted 1972, later reprinted by Penguin. A brilliant, scabrous account of wartime England, using much the same technique as that employed in Hangover Square. His characters are lonely, lost souls, whether they attempt to connect or not, whether they drink themselves silly or no. Still they hold out hope, still they’re disappointed; they’re preyed upon, and, adding to the agony, know as much, but can’t help themselves. They’re from a bygone age, yet actually seem very close to our own atomised times. Most readers (including yours truly) tend to sympathise with Bone, because deep down inside, he is a ‘nice guy’, while Netta is an evil femme fatale. Additionally, it’s a motif that repeats itself in many of Hamilton’s books and is heavily autobiographical, so obviously it’s presented in a way to make us feel sorry for Bone. Indeed, there are always others. How they come in in the story? What is their view on such a relationship? Are they a part of it? Perhaps even initiators? Why do other people have a certain power over us and why do we have it over them? Human relationships are a complex things and when we get down to it, isn’t it one of the things this novel is about? Relationships. The ones we have with others and well as the one we have with ourselves (that one can be a changing one). Yet what really sets things into motion? What is the motivation behind the actions of our protagonist? Isn’t it obsession? Surely it can be said that obsession plays an important part in this novel?Mank, Gregory William (1994). Hollywood Cauldron: Thirteen Horror Films from the Genre's Golden Age. McFarland & Company, pp. 327-28 ISBN 0-7864-1112-0.

Patrick Hamilton: Hangover Square - London Fictions Patrick Hamilton: Hangover Square - London Fictions

The Midnight Bell (1929) is based upon Hamilton's falling in love with a prostitute, and was later published along with The Siege of Pleasure (1932) and The Plains of Cement (1934) as the semi-autobiographical trilogy 20,000 Streets Under the Sky (1935). If it’s not about a very particular social milieu (Earl’s Court seediness, 1939 – the war approaches) or mid-level alcoholism, or mental illness, this novel is about the grim truths of looksism. The only think which Netta has going is her looks, and we are given to understand that she’s a total wow, it’s not just George that thinks so. We have our noses shoved into the ineluctable caste system of looksism, which divides the human race into those who have looks and those who can only look. Human beauty, beloved, adored, feared even, lusted after – the 9s go out with the 9s, the 7s with the 7s, it’s a universal rule, except that the ugly men have discovered that if they make enough money then 4s can go out with 8s or even 9s. But do looks make you happy? We who are without them fervently hope they don’t and then feel mean for thinking such thoughts. Maybe that’s why the myth of Marilyn is so cherished – there was a fabulous looker who was one mixed up shook up girl. The sufferings of George Harvey Bone in his complete prostration before Netta’s beauty reminded me hatefully of periods in my own life I would be happy to have removed by the device in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Ugh.on 3rd reading I've realized this is a really, really good character study. The plot is only there to facilitate character developement, it's very obvious but when I first read this I didn't understand why it blew my mind. Lately I've come to realize that all my favourites are like this lol Maybe I couldn't feel deeply sorry for George because he is so full of self-piety...or because he has fallen so low. Still, it was really fascinating to read about him. George seems to be this novel, meaning that it feels like his diary, an exploration of his soul. I won’t idolize George. As I said, I liked the fact he felt so real. Perhaps too flawed as a person to love, but so well written as a character that it was impossible not to get caught up in the story.