Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Ebook450 pages5 hours
A Charmed Circle
By Anna Kavan
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
Unavailable in your country
Unavailable in your country
About this ebook
Marooned in a country house in an ugly manufacturing town is an old vicarage of which expensive improvements have been undertaken. The house sits in the middle of the town where traffic buzz is accentuated by occasional rumbling of passing trams. So much that it is separated by high walls and trees and is encroached by the hustle-and-bustle, it is a lonely ark itself-or at least the occupants intend it to be. Steered by the father's morbidly morose, withdrawn and sinister nature, the Deanes immerse in a safe, profound secrecy of those in whom no one is interested. Life is meticulously edited to ensure minimal interruption of routine and to discourage any social intrusion of visitors. Fettered by some mental disability and limitation are the young Deanes who rebel and struggle to leave. Their attempts have always been futile that they fear the long, dull ache to follow when they have no choice but to return home. Amidst the staidness of the house is an unpleasant atmosphere that always seems to arise so easily and suddenly. That they rarely converge together constitutes this perpetual sense of warfare because hostilities are liable to burst out between family members. The family reaches a tacit understanding that Beryl, who sets her heart on leaving the house, is held responsible for this hostility that reigns the house. Resolved to break free from all the constraints, she never hesitates to cut to the core the misery of being deprived of freedom. Her ability to assert individuality in defiance of Mrs Deane's disposition, combined with this imponderable vitality, constantly remind her sister Olive of her being a failure. That her life has been a waster plunges her into an interminable distress of which she blames on Beryl, who in return despises her for being mentally dishonest, salving conscience by trying to talk her mother round a more lenient attitude toward Beryl. The grudge that embitters both of them repulses any overture of reconciliation. A young sculptor from London lets in a glimpse of light to Beryl's escape. What amazes her more than the job at an exotic hat shop is their increased intimacy made possible by premeditated meals and meetings. That he feels more than an obligatory sense of responsibility for her-the conscious longing, the dread of her absence-touches on his nerve, for the inimical nature of the Deanes has imparted in him a resolution to keep clear of them. In unconscious defense he begins to frame argument against being with her, for he feels his independence being invaded. A Charmed Circle is so well-written and penetrating, with a cold snap of a sterile voice that accentuates the hostile mood. The long narrative prose that pierces into the mind reinforces an atmosphere that under a superficial geniality runs a sinister current of tension and repression. It delves on the motives, the unspoken words that which justify the actions. Kavan meticulously metes out words that capture the passing thoughts that are often overlooked but are key to the actions. Despite the overall air of revolt and struggle for self-expression, the novel asserts a sense of hope of overcoming mental capitulation.
Unavailable
Read more from Anna Kavan
Sleep Has His House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Am Lazarus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Let Me Alone Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Who Are You? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guilty: The Lost Classic Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Charmed Circle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to A Charmed Circle
Related ebooks
Too Close to the Edge: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Plotinus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Diaries of Emilio Renzi: Formative Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor the Love of Mike Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crystal Crown: Avantir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Russian Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAndes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Diaries of Emilio Renzi: The Happy Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Diaries of Emilio Renzi: A Day in the Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuman Relations and Other Difficulties: Pieces from the LRB and Elsewhere Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Islanders: Shocking, hilarious and poignant noir Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Journey through a Tragicomic Century: The Absurd Life of Hasso Grabner Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Case of Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThirty Days Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Invisible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lord Jim Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oraefi: The Wasteland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTsim Tsum Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Time I Saw Paris Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Handler Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAt the Blue Monkey: 33 Outlandish Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lazarus Rumba: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Youth Is Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Next World Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cathedral: "In all science, error precedes the truth, and it is better it should go first than last." Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Awake Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Lake Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
General Fiction For You
It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King James Version of the Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outsider: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unhoneymooners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beartown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Other Black Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foster Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Second Life of Mirielle West: A Haunting Historical Novel Perfect for Book Clubs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for A Charmed Circle
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
5 ratings0 reviews