GERONTIUS

by James Hamilton-Paterson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 8, 1991

In subject and execution strikingly unlike his second novel, That Time in Malomba, British writer Hamilton-Paterson's first book, winner of the prestigious Whitbread Prize for first fiction, now makes its US debut. It's the story of an actual six-week voyage the composer Sir Edward Elgar took to the Amazon river in 1923. In his mid-60s, his wife recently dead, and feeling that he can no longer write music, the composer is a moody mixture of charming warmth and prickly sensitivity. He feels unappreciated, a relic of a different age, and sees little point in living, especially in a world irrevocably altered by the recent World War. As the ship sails from Liverpool, stopping briefly at Madeira before continuing across the Atlantic to the Amazon, Sir Edward keeps a journal that supplements the narrative. Though diverted a little by his hobby of studying water samples under a microscope, Sir Edward finds the voyage tedious and not in any way restorative. He recalls his past, comments on his fellow passengers--the usual colorful mix of adventurers, failures, and pleasure-seekers--and tries to compose. In Manaos, where the ship anchors for several days, he meets Lena, a woman he knew in his youth. Lena, a fellow musician, now runs a cultural organization in Manaos. She chides Sir Edward for belittling his accomplishments and suggests that he make a contribution to music by conducting his work for recordings--""to leave as much--no, all of your music--in different variations."" Somewhat resigned, he returns to do just that. At times a little stiff and earnest, though he has a keen eye for landscape and character, Hamilton-Paterson has nonetheless created a perceptive and evocative portrait of the ""inner exile"" of an artist growing old and ""yearning for days gone.

Pub Date: April 8, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: "Soho--dist. by Farrar, Straus & Giroux"

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: FICTION