The Man in the Wooden Hat

The Man in the Wooden Hat

The Man in the Wooden Hat is a companion to Jane Gardam's masterpiece, Old Filth.  It's an entertaining and enlightening expose of Betty Feathers, the wife we met and came to wonder about, in the earlier novel.  Gardam created so many intriguing characters in Old Filth that there was a need for this book (and I hope, others).   

It's hard for me to imagine this book separately.  The characters were so well drawn in the prequel that this book simply fills in the back story.  Perhaps that's why a plot is secondary; this novel is strictly character-driven.  But, much like Old Filth, the examination of well imagined characters set in an interesting world (the legal world of Hong Kong and England after World War II) is more than enough.  The reader of Old Filth has the good fortune to have many lingering questions answered in this book. 

I was a bit disappointed in Betty's character.  There didn't seem to be sufficient reason for her to be so instantly and permanently drawn to Veneering—the arch rival to her husband.  This is a central mystery that propels the whole story.  One thing the book demonstrates is the difference between generations in emotional reactions.  Perhaps Betty's decisions are understandable only to someone of her time and place.

Maybe Gardam should consider a Hong Kong Quartet to appease her fans?

 

If you're interested in an enthralling memoir of a real  British woman who was born and raised in China and forced into a Japanese prisoner of war camp, read 'The Mushroom Years' by Pamela Masters.

 

If you're interested in reading an enthralling