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Natural Elements
In his much celebrated debut novel, The Drowning People , Richard Mason (“An Oxonian literary sensation” — The New York Times Book Review ) wrote with wisdom and mastery well beyond his twenty-one years—about love, betrayal, and revenge, and about the particular ritualized world of the English upper class.
Now in his dazzling new novel Mason writes about mothers and daughters; aging and death; memory and longing; history and narrative; and about the high-stakes, full-tilt embrace of life.
The setting is London. The time is the present.
Mother and daughter are choosing an assisted-living facility and have come to The Albany, a late-nineteenth-century Victorian mansion, the flagship property of the TranquilAge™ chain of nursing homes.
The mother, Joan—eighty years old, a gifted amateur pianist denied the pleasures of performance by arthritic hands—has recently been experiencing a rich inner world that she hides from her daughter, a world gained access through the (seemingly magic) pedals of her a portal to adventure. She dreads the prospect of leaving her apartment, but her daughter has decided that she can no longer live on her own.
The daughter, Eloise—forty-eight, a hedge fund manager, two decades in commodities—long ago rejected the possibilities of motherhood and has lived enviably free of responsibility.
At her pressure-cooker job, Eloise has bought up $130 million (a quarter of the hedge fund’s money) of osmium reserves—a transition metal—based on a casual remark by her former lover, a French metallurgist, a genius of sorts, with whom she lived and whom she almost married in Paris in the 1980s.
He’s been working for years on the development of the compound, which will be tougher than diamonds for industrial use and is only months away from trials. If successful, it could more than double the value of the fund Eloise manages.
While mother and daughter are on the trip-of-a-lifetime to the South African capital of the old Orange Free State, the city of Joan’s girlhood, Eloise gets a frantic phone call. The price of osmium is in free fall; the fund is off-loading. . .
Fighting panic with a coherent strategy, Eloise puts in motion a bold gamble that risks all—her future, the fund, her mother’s well-being.
As the stories of mother and daughter intersect, each in a race against time—Joan struggling to live in the present (she cannot believe her days will end in an institution); her daughter racing at breakneck speed toward the precipice of disaster—the novel rushes to its stunning conclusion.
Now in his dazzling new novel Mason writes about mothers and daughters; aging and death; memory and longing; history and narrative; and about the high-stakes, full-tilt embrace of life.
The setting is London. The time is the present.
Mother and daughter are choosing an assisted-living facility and have come to The Albany, a late-nineteenth-century Victorian mansion, the flagship property of the TranquilAge™ chain of nursing homes.
The mother, Joan—eighty years old, a gifted amateur pianist denied the pleasures of performance by arthritic hands—has recently been experiencing a rich inner world that she hides from her daughter, a world gained access through the (seemingly magic) pedals of her a portal to adventure. She dreads the prospect of leaving her apartment, but her daughter has decided that she can no longer live on her own.
The daughter, Eloise—forty-eight, a hedge fund manager, two decades in commodities—long ago rejected the possibilities of motherhood and has lived enviably free of responsibility.
At her pressure-cooker job, Eloise has bought up $130 million (a quarter of the hedge fund’s money) of osmium reserves—a transition metal—based on a casual remark by her former lover, a French metallurgist, a genius of sorts, with whom she lived and whom she almost married in Paris in the 1980s.
He’s been working for years on the development of the compound, which will be tougher than diamonds for industrial use and is only months away from trials. If successful, it could more than double the value of the fund Eloise manages.
While mother and daughter are on the trip-of-a-lifetime to the South African capital of the old Orange Free State, the city of Joan’s girlhood, Eloise gets a frantic phone call. The price of osmium is in free fall; the fund is off-loading. . .
Fighting panic with a coherent strategy, Eloise puts in motion a bold gamble that risks all—her future, the fund, her mother’s well-being.
As the stories of mother and daughter intersect, each in a race against time—Joan struggling to live in the present (she cannot believe her days will end in an institution); her daughter racing at breakneck speed toward the precipice of disaster—the novel rushes to its stunning conclusion.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
16 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Richard Mason
18 books124 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
October 4, 2020
4,5 * .Πολύ καλό και άκρως ψυχογραφικό σε πολλά σημεία-και ιδίως για έναν πρωτοεμφανιζόμενο τότε συγγραφέα στα 22 του χρόνια.
August 25, 2014
After reading the first few chapters of this book I was totally unconvinced by the two main characters, ancient mother and menopausal daughter. It's a brave man who thinks that he can get inside the head of such individuals. I read the author profile again and realised how young he is. Well, that explains it. Not arrogance, just unfettered youthfulness!
I also read the dedication and acknowledgements at this point, and when I discovered that the book is a tribute to Mason's great-grandmother, who suffered at the hands of the British in the Anglo-Boer War, and some of her story is retold in the book, I forgave him everything. Sadly, the feeling didn't last, and the characters never became authentic for me. In the passages devoted to South Africa we are given glimpses of a much bigger story, much more interesting, but the book concentrates on Eloise's worries about the commodities market, and Joan's daily tribulations in a care home. I never became interested in either, nor in the lesser modern characters.
The story has another strand, concerning Joan's forays into the space/time continuum - or, if you prefer, into the depths of her own delusional mind. This could have provided a richness that the rest of the book lacks, but again I found it unconvincing, particularly the device used to trigger these episodes.
When I had finished I looked at the website set up by the author to improve education in South Africa. Much more engaging, much more moving. This is deserving of 5 stars!
I also read the dedication and acknowledgements at this point, and when I discovered that the book is a tribute to Mason's great-grandmother, who suffered at the hands of the British in the Anglo-Boer War, and some of her story is retold in the book, I forgave him everything. Sadly, the feeling didn't last, and the characters never became authentic for me. In the passages devoted to South Africa we are given glimpses of a much bigger story, much more interesting, but the book concentrates on Eloise's worries about the commodities market, and Joan's daily tribulations in a care home. I never became interested in either, nor in the lesser modern characters.
The story has another strand, concerning Joan's forays into the space/time continuum - or, if you prefer, into the depths of her own delusional mind. This could have provided a richness that the rest of the book lacks, but again I found it unconvincing, particularly the device used to trigger these episodes.
When I had finished I looked at the website set up by the author to improve education in South Africa. Much more engaging, much more moving. This is deserving of 5 stars!
July 12, 2014
What a great book this was- very funny and touching and the references to the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa opened my eyes even more to the suffering in that country. I also loved his book "History of a Pleasure Seeker" and look forward to reading his other books!
May 19, 2009
How do I describe this book. It sprawled. Loosely, it was about an aging mother and daughter -- mother is 80, daughter is close to 50. The daughter, a high-powered hedge-fund analyst, is wracked with guilt about putting her mother in a retirement home. The book is about their relationship, but also about the events in each of their separate lives around the time that the mother enters the home. Again, I agree with the Amazon reviews that criticize the book for being all over the map and for the lack of a strong connecting thread between the many disparate elements and subplots. All that said, I also agree with the New Yorker review (where I heard of this book) that the book is compulsively readable. And the exploration of the mother's descent into mental illness (and the possible role that medication and the home played in it) are interesting and finely-wrought. There was a subplot about the South African Boer War, and you know I love books about South Africa.
As someone who wants to write some day..., my reflections on this book are:
- It seems like the author wrote a sprawling book encompassing many disparate interests -- South African history, mother-daughter relationships mental illness. I prefer books that are tighter, books that explore a primary theme more deeply.
- The author jumped rather abruptly between the perspectives of different characters. You're reading along, expecting that you're more or less omniscient of the two primary characters' thoughts and emotions, but then suddenly, the start of a new paragraph takes you into the mental state of a minor character. That was unsettling. I feel like the author should exercise more discipline around omniscience.
- There was an element of chick lit to this book! Hate a sexist term, but let's define chick lit as a book skewed to appeal to women. The forty-something-year-old daughter in the book is "saved" by her dazzlingly handsome and brilliant French ex-lover -- who is also great in bed, of course. While reading the book, I thought, "Is it possible for a man to write chick lit?" Why would a man want to or be able to write about an idealized French lover? But in the acknowledgments at the end of the book, the author thanks his male partner. Mystery solved!
As someone who wants to write some day..., my reflections on this book are:
- It seems like the author wrote a sprawling book encompassing many disparate interests -- South African history, mother-daughter relationships mental illness. I prefer books that are tighter, books that explore a primary theme more deeply.
- The author jumped rather abruptly between the perspectives of different characters. You're reading along, expecting that you're more or less omniscient of the two primary characters' thoughts and emotions, but then suddenly, the start of a new paragraph takes you into the mental state of a minor character. That was unsettling. I feel like the author should exercise more discipline around omniscience.
- There was an element of chick lit to this book! Hate a sexist term, but let's define chick lit as a book skewed to appeal to women. The forty-something-year-old daughter in the book is "saved" by her dazzlingly handsome and brilliant French ex-lover -- who is also great in bed, of course. While reading the book, I thought, "Is it possible for a man to write chick lit?" Why would a man want to or be able to write about an idealized French lover? But in the acknowledgments at the end of the book, the author thanks his male partner. Mystery solved!
January 1, 2014
J'ai aimé le récit que peu connaissent de la guerre des Boers en Afrique du Sud et le sort inhumain que leur a réservé l'Angleterre.
Le reste, je suis mitigée, ne serait-ce que par la vraiment, mais vraiment mauvaise traduction. Il y même des bouts que je n'ai pas compris! Je ne sais pas comment la traductrice travaille, mais des bouts ressemblent à des mauvauses traductions Google.
Le débit est bon, certaines expression très bonnes et imagées comme, en parlant d'une personne âgée: elle avait le dos droit comme un couvercle de cercueuil.
Bref, je dis dommage. L'avoir lu en anglais lui aurait sûrement valu 1/2 étoile de plus. Cependant je lirais d'autre chose de cet auteur car il y a du potentiel.
Le reste, je suis mitigée, ne serait-ce que par la vraiment, mais vraiment mauvaise traduction. Il y même des bouts que je n'ai pas compris! Je ne sais pas comment la traductrice travaille, mais des bouts ressemblent à des mauvauses traductions Google.
Le débit est bon, certaines expression très bonnes et imagées comme, en parlant d'une personne âgée: elle avait le dos droit comme un couvercle de cercueuil.
Bref, je dis dommage. L'avoir lu en anglais lui aurait sûrement valu 1/2 étoile de plus. Cependant je lirais d'autre chose de cet auteur car il y a du potentiel.
January 24, 2012
This book was one of my pickups at the library, the cover drew my interest initially and the blurb implied it was going to be the sort of thing I liked. I didn't like it however; I loved it. Joan is the star of the book, through her the reader discovers the horrors her mother and grandmother faced in a concentration camp during the Boer War. It can be heavy reading in parts but so are the topics it deals with and it would be wrong to make something on this topic light reading.
This is my first book where a main character is elderly and the writer did a wonderful job of portraying her frustrations at her situation. I won't write spoilers as I believe everyone should read for themselves.
This is my first book where a main character is elderly and the writer did a wonderful job of portraying her frustrations at her situation. I won't write spoilers as I believe everyone should read for themselves.
November 24, 2012
I loved reading this book. Some of the reviews criticize it for being all over the place--but to me, that was part of its beauty. I learned about the Anglo-Boer War (which I knew absolutely nothing about), metallurgy, hedge funds, South Africa, and more. There were several plot lines, involving parent-child relationships, lovers, aging parents, and each one was carefully and credibly developed. I loved the characters and wound up caring for, and about, them. Even though there were flaws ... a 5 for me.
January 1, 2018
Romanzone avvincente con un notevole intreccio di storie del passato e del presente (e con la capacità di rappresentare la demenza senile senza farti venire voglia di piangere e spararti un colpo in testa).
La storia è complicata e ondivaga e a provar di riassumerla abbastanza senza senso
- Eloise è una broker di materie prime che, sulla base di una frase generica detta da un amore del passato astro-continuamente-nascente-della-ricerca, punta un centinaio di milioni di sterline del fondo che amministra col suo capo Patrick e l'altra collaboratrice Carol, che la odia e la vuole vedere morta perché lei ha 5 figli ed è sempre stanca ed Eloise non ha nessuno a cui dover stare dietro e non sbaglia mai, ma è stanca lo stesso
- Joan è la madre di Eloise, è anziana e sta per essere parcheggiata in una casa di riposo, l'Albany, scandalosamente cara, poiché la figlia non ha tempo e il figlio George sta in Australia. E' una simpatica vecchietta che si gode la vita, da quando marito e suocera sono finalmente trapassati, suonando mentalmente al piano pezzi difficilissimi (Joan era una promettente pianista) grazie a due pedaliere immaginarie che si materializzano quando è tranquilla e serena. (Frank, il marito, era stato torturato dalla Gestapo e quindi torturava tutti quelli che gli passavano sotto le mani. Astrid, la suocera, era una tipa volgare e grossolana con una propensione per le lenzuola sintetiche e le tende di terital)
Eloise per farsi perdonare da Joan lo scherzetto dell'Albany, la porta in viaggio premio in Sud Africa, a Bloemfontein, alla ricerca delle radici e della fattoria della nonna. Questa parte è veramente ben scritta con un montaggio tra passato e presente, tra memorie e dolore, accettazione e rassegnazione, che incanta.
Eloise deve tornare anzitempo per una crisi dell'osmio, per cui l'investimento inizia a perdere terreno in modo terrificante e lei deve sfoderare dei nervi d'acciaio (anzi d'osmio, che è un metallo più duro del diamante se solo si trovasse una lega non tossica) per non perdere il lavoro, la faccia, tutti i soldi, la possibilità di garantire alla madre una vita serena. La storia a questo punto diventa parecchio complicata, con dei momenti molto buffi (quando Joan tenta di fare fesse la responsabile della casa di ricovero e le infermiere) e molto teneri (quando conosce Paul, un 16enne sfigaterrimo con cui inizia una ricerca d'archivio sui primi proprietari della casa poi trasformati in Albany, uno dei quali, caso vuole, coinvolto nell'orrendo trattamento dei boeri nei campi di concentramento della guerra anglo-boera).
La storia si complica ulteriormente con le allucinazioni di Joan che fa rivivere i vecchi proprietari, ma purtroppo anche il marito violento e la suocera grossière, l'osmio che cade e poi si ripiglia, Claude che si separa e torna insieme a Eloise, insomma …. ci vuole un talento notevole per tenere in aria come un giocoliere tutte le storie, riallacciandole senza perderne nessuna, senza mai cedere a scorciatoie, e con una descrizione caratteriale vivissima. In altri commenti ho letto che il lieto fine è deprecabile, a me tanto lieto non sembra, anzi avrei preferito una Joan viva e un po' matta, ma mi sembra perfettamente costruito e congruente. Fa venire voglia di leggere altro, e questo è molto di più di parecchi dei libri che ho letto ultimamente.
La storia è complicata e ondivaga e a provar di riassumerla abbastanza senza senso
- Eloise è una broker di materie prime che, sulla base di una frase generica detta da un amore del passato astro-continuamente-nascente-della-ricerca, punta un centinaio di milioni di sterline del fondo che amministra col suo capo Patrick e l'altra collaboratrice Carol, che la odia e la vuole vedere morta perché lei ha 5 figli ed è sempre stanca ed Eloise non ha nessuno a cui dover stare dietro e non sbaglia mai, ma è stanca lo stesso
- Joan è la madre di Eloise, è anziana e sta per essere parcheggiata in una casa di riposo, l'Albany, scandalosamente cara, poiché la figlia non ha tempo e il figlio George sta in Australia. E' una simpatica vecchietta che si gode la vita, da quando marito e suocera sono finalmente trapassati, suonando mentalmente al piano pezzi difficilissimi (Joan era una promettente pianista) grazie a due pedaliere immaginarie che si materializzano quando è tranquilla e serena. (Frank, il marito, era stato torturato dalla Gestapo e quindi torturava tutti quelli che gli passavano sotto le mani. Astrid, la suocera, era una tipa volgare e grossolana con una propensione per le lenzuola sintetiche e le tende di terital)
Eloise per farsi perdonare da Joan lo scherzetto dell'Albany, la porta in viaggio premio in Sud Africa, a Bloemfontein, alla ricerca delle radici e della fattoria della nonna. Questa parte è veramente ben scritta con un montaggio tra passato e presente, tra memorie e dolore, accettazione e rassegnazione, che incanta.
Eloise deve tornare anzitempo per una crisi dell'osmio, per cui l'investimento inizia a perdere terreno in modo terrificante e lei deve sfoderare dei nervi d'acciaio (anzi d'osmio, che è un metallo più duro del diamante se solo si trovasse una lega non tossica) per non perdere il lavoro, la faccia, tutti i soldi, la possibilità di garantire alla madre una vita serena. La storia a questo punto diventa parecchio complicata, con dei momenti molto buffi (quando Joan tenta di fare fesse la responsabile della casa di ricovero e le infermiere) e molto teneri (quando conosce Paul, un 16enne sfigaterrimo con cui inizia una ricerca d'archivio sui primi proprietari della casa poi trasformati in Albany, uno dei quali, caso vuole, coinvolto nell'orrendo trattamento dei boeri nei campi di concentramento della guerra anglo-boera).
La storia si complica ulteriormente con le allucinazioni di Joan che fa rivivere i vecchi proprietari, ma purtroppo anche il marito violento e la suocera grossière, l'osmio che cade e poi si ripiglia, Claude che si separa e torna insieme a Eloise, insomma …. ci vuole un talento notevole per tenere in aria come un giocoliere tutte le storie, riallacciandole senza perderne nessuna, senza mai cedere a scorciatoie, e con una descrizione caratteriale vivissima. In altri commenti ho letto che il lieto fine è deprecabile, a me tanto lieto non sembra, anzi avrei preferito una Joan viva e un po' matta, ma mi sembra perfettamente costruito e congruente. Fa venire voglia di leggere altro, e questo è molto di più di parecchi dei libri che ho letto ultimamente.
March 4, 2025
‘Perhaps being old is having lighted rooms
Inside your head, and people in them, acting.’ – Philip Larkin
This is a novel about a mother and her daughter, about ageing, about the influences of both duty and history. Joan is eighty years old and increasingly escaping into an inner world. Eloise, her daughter is forty-eight, a hedge fund manager who is now convinced that Joan can no longer live alone. Together, Joan and Eloise have looked at assisted-living facilities, and choose (at least, Eloise does) accommodation at The Albany, a very expensive facility in a late nineteenth century Victorian mansion.
If Joan is struggling to remain present, Eloise is torn between guilt and filial responsibility. She is also under increasing pressure at work: not the perfect time for the trip of a lifetime she is about to undertake with Joan.
Joan and Eloise travel to South Africa, to the capital of the old Orange Free State where Joan spent her childhood. But while they are there, a crisis erupts at work. Eloise could lose everything, including her ability to support Joan. Joan, meantime, enjoys the company of Simbongile, the young driver provided by the hotel.
The story expands and contracts, Joan’s journeys into ‘the lighted rooms’ move from being an
escape from everyday reality into illness. And Eloise’s life becomes more complicated.
I really enjoyed elements of this novel and became lost in others. I felt sorry for Joan, frequently irritated by Eloise, and admired Simbongile. Joan’s search for the history of her relatives in South Africa distracted me at times but became an important indicator of Joan’s state of mind. Towards the end of the novel, my concerns for Joan’s health increased as the staff of the assisted-living facility used medication to try to ‘manage’ her.
And the ending? Inevitable, but still distressing.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 14, 2020
This book certainly made my Afrikaans blood boil! I wish I could find my review of it, because I read this more than ten years ago and can remember very little. I know I liked the old lady who was experiencing a pleasant kind of dementia a lot.
February 6, 2018
How this man was able to get into the heads of the two main characters, an eighty year old woman an her 50ish daughter, is amazing to me. But he did and he did well. A fun read!
March 28, 2012
Perhaps being old is having lighted rooms
Inside your head, and people in them, acting.
Philip Larkin
Richard Mason è un autore che mi piace davvero molto, ed è così fin dal primo romanzo che ho letto, Noi. Anime alla deriva mi è piaciuto un pochino di meno, ma comunque molto, e Alla ricerca del piacere mi è piaciuto allo stesso modo, anche se la scelta di non rivelare che si tratta di una prima parte, to be continued, mi ha indotto ad assegnare una stellina di meno. Le stanze illuminate è bellissimo, forse anche migliore di Noi, che però, devo dire, ricordo poco dato che la lettura risale al 2008.
Devo ammettere che all'inizio la storia mi aveva preso solo fino a un certo punto. Eloise è una donna in carriera che nella vita ha fatto la scelta di essere libera dai legami, familiari o meno. Coerentemente, quando la madre Joan comincia ad avere i primi acciacchi seri, decide di metterla in casa di riposo. E poi, sentendosi in colpa per questo, per quanto la casa di riposo scelta sia estremamente di lusso e conseguentemente costosa, decide di accompagnarla in un viaggio di una settimana in Sudafrica, terra di origine della sua famiglia. La trama, per quanto interessante, mi sembrava anche poco originale. Ovviamente mi sbagliavo, perché ben presto Mason cambia traiettoria, e nella seconda parte del romanzo, soprattutto, cambia completamente stile, sfociando in quello che è stato chiamato realismo magico, e che normalmente a me non è che gusti molto, però in questo caso decisamente si.
Anche i personaggi inizialmente non mi hanno convinta del tutto: Eloise sembra proprio essere stata creata per essere il prototipo dell'egoismo: una donna di quasi cinquanta anni che non solo ha scelto di non avere figli (cosa che posso capire, dato che temeva di ridursi ad accessorio della sua stessa vita) ma addirittura ha preferito rimanere single (cosa che trovo particolarmente difficile da digerire). Quando ha potuto acquistare una casa, lo ha fatto scegliendo quella che meglio dichiarava il suo intento di non prendere la madre in casa nel futuro. Il suo lavoro consiste nell'accumulare quattrini e non ha nessuno di quegli hobby che potrebbero riscattarla umanamente: non legge, non guarda film, non ascolta musica, non lavora a maglia, non fa volontariato, addirittura tratta la sua stessa casa come una discarica, in cui non si è ancora tramutata solo grazie alle cure della donna delle pulizie.
Per quanto riguarda Joan, invece, infastidisce la sua bontà, il perdono verso la figlia egoista e il figlio ancora peggio, l'acquiescenza nonostante la sua vita non sia stata delle più semplici.
A un certo punto però i personaggi hanno cominciato a uscire dalla pagina, la trama si è complicata e io mi sono totalmente innamorata di questo romanzo, che avrei letto anche mentre guidavo tanto mi ha appassionato. Il rapporto madre-figlia è sicuramente un grande tema, ma forse il principale è quello dell'invecchiamento. Non parlo necessariamente di demenza senile, perché gli episodi di cui è protagonista Joan sono interpretabili, e a me piace la lettura più romantica. Credo che forse anche Mason preferisca il lato romantico delle avventure di Joan, dal modo coinvolto e parziale in cui le racconta. In generale però questo romanzo parla di cosa vuol dire invecchiare (anche considerando l'epigrafe di Larkin) e mi ha fatto riflettere parecchio il concetto di perdita della libertà personale. Non che Joan sia stata molto più libera durante il suo matrimonio con Frank: le ingerenze dell'orribile suocera Astrid mi hanno fatto letteralmente fumare. Mason va oltre, aggiungendo una doppia trama nel passato: da una parte la famiglia di Astrid durante la guerra anglo-boera e dall'altra una famiglia vittoriana che abitava nello stabile in cui ora è la casa di riposo di cui Joan è ospite. Forse la storia di Eloise è la meno interessante, ma comunque molto bella, con la sua trasformazione e la lotta per non perdere il lavoro e tutti i suoi soldi.
http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...
Inside your head, and people in them, acting.
Philip Larkin
Richard Mason è un autore che mi piace davvero molto, ed è così fin dal primo romanzo che ho letto, Noi. Anime alla deriva mi è piaciuto un pochino di meno, ma comunque molto, e Alla ricerca del piacere mi è piaciuto allo stesso modo, anche se la scelta di non rivelare che si tratta di una prima parte, to be continued, mi ha indotto ad assegnare una stellina di meno. Le stanze illuminate è bellissimo, forse anche migliore di Noi, che però, devo dire, ricordo poco dato che la lettura risale al 2008.
Devo ammettere che all'inizio la storia mi aveva preso solo fino a un certo punto. Eloise è una donna in carriera che nella vita ha fatto la scelta di essere libera dai legami, familiari o meno. Coerentemente, quando la madre Joan comincia ad avere i primi acciacchi seri, decide di metterla in casa di riposo. E poi, sentendosi in colpa per questo, per quanto la casa di riposo scelta sia estremamente di lusso e conseguentemente costosa, decide di accompagnarla in un viaggio di una settimana in Sudafrica, terra di origine della sua famiglia. La trama, per quanto interessante, mi sembrava anche poco originale. Ovviamente mi sbagliavo, perché ben presto Mason cambia traiettoria, e nella seconda parte del romanzo, soprattutto, cambia completamente stile, sfociando in quello che è stato chiamato realismo magico, e che normalmente a me non è che gusti molto, però in questo caso decisamente si.
Anche i personaggi inizialmente non mi hanno convinta del tutto: Eloise sembra proprio essere stata creata per essere il prototipo dell'egoismo: una donna di quasi cinquanta anni che non solo ha scelto di non avere figli (cosa che posso capire, dato che temeva di ridursi ad accessorio della sua stessa vita) ma addirittura ha preferito rimanere single (cosa che trovo particolarmente difficile da digerire). Quando ha potuto acquistare una casa, lo ha fatto scegliendo quella che meglio dichiarava il suo intento di non prendere la madre in casa nel futuro. Il suo lavoro consiste nell'accumulare quattrini e non ha nessuno di quegli hobby che potrebbero riscattarla umanamente: non legge, non guarda film, non ascolta musica, non lavora a maglia, non fa volontariato, addirittura tratta la sua stessa casa come una discarica, in cui non si è ancora tramutata solo grazie alle cure della donna delle pulizie.
Per quanto riguarda Joan, invece, infastidisce la sua bontà, il perdono verso la figlia egoista e il figlio ancora peggio, l'acquiescenza nonostante la sua vita non sia stata delle più semplici.
A un certo punto però i personaggi hanno cominciato a uscire dalla pagina, la trama si è complicata e io mi sono totalmente innamorata di questo romanzo, che avrei letto anche mentre guidavo tanto mi ha appassionato. Il rapporto madre-figlia è sicuramente un grande tema, ma forse il principale è quello dell'invecchiamento. Non parlo necessariamente di demenza senile, perché gli episodi di cui è protagonista Joan sono interpretabili, e a me piace la lettura più romantica. Credo che forse anche Mason preferisca il lato romantico delle avventure di Joan, dal modo coinvolto e parziale in cui le racconta. In generale però questo romanzo parla di cosa vuol dire invecchiare (anche considerando l'epigrafe di Larkin) e mi ha fatto riflettere parecchio il concetto di perdita della libertà personale. Non che Joan sia stata molto più libera durante il suo matrimonio con Frank: le ingerenze dell'orribile suocera Astrid mi hanno fatto letteralmente fumare. Mason va oltre, aggiungendo una doppia trama nel passato: da una parte la famiglia di Astrid durante la guerra anglo-boera e dall'altra una famiglia vittoriana che abitava nello stabile in cui ora è la casa di riposo di cui Joan è ospite. Forse la storia di Eloise è la meno interessante, ma comunque molto bella, con la sua trasformazione e la lotta per non perdere il lavoro e tutti i suoi soldi.
http://robertabookshelf.blogspot.it/2...
December 29, 2010
WM4: [...] Con un piccolo esercizio retorico, si potrebbe dire che al fondo è una detective story. L'investigatrice protagonista potrebbe ricordare Miss Marple, solo più attempata, e però, come Sherlock Holmes, si avvale di aiutanti sul campo. Al posto di Watson troviamo Cordelia, un deambulatore geriatrico talmente indispensabile da essere meritevole di un nome proprio; mentre nei panni di Wiggins c'è Paul Dhanzy, un ragazzino di quindici anni dai trascorsi famigliari burrascosi, che preferisce la compagnia degli anziani a quella dei coetanei.
Ma la verità è che Le stanze illuminate è molto altro. Una saga famigliare, una riflessione su quanta storia privata e collettiva si racchiuda negli album di famiglia, di quanti fantasmi ci portiamo dentro e di come la nostra mente possa aprirsi per sprigionarli, trasformandoci sul finire della vita in accaniti ghostbuster.
Soprattutto è un romanzo di viaggi nel tempo. Viaggi a ritroso che portano a sovrapporre le epoche, le storie, i traumi e le passioni. E' un romanzo sulle fasi della vita e, inevitabilmente, sulla morte.
Infine è il tentativo di stagliare sul presente quella che fu una delle più brutali appropriazioni coloniali inglesi, la guerra contro i coloni boeri di origine olandese, in Sudafrica, nei primi anni del XX secolo, e che inaugurò una pratica destinata a entrare in auge in tutto il mondo: i campi di concentramento per civili.
La storia però comincia a Londra, Anno Domini 2004. Joan è un'anziana vedova che sta per imboccare l'ultimo rettilineo della vita. Nonostante la mente inizi a giocarle qualche scherzo, Joan riesce ancora a concedersi un viaggio nel nativo Sudafrica, dove la sua famiglia, di origini boere, ha conosciuto la gloria e la miseria. L'accompagna la figlia Eloise, donna in carriera che inizia a sentire il peso della mezza età e vuole regalare un tuffo nel passato alla madre, prima di chiuderla in una casa di riposo extra-lusso. [...]
Recensione integrale qui: http://www.wumingfoundation.com/italiano/Giap/nandropau…
Ma la verità è che Le stanze illuminate è molto altro. Una saga famigliare, una riflessione su quanta storia privata e collettiva si racchiuda negli album di famiglia, di quanti fantasmi ci portiamo dentro e di come la nostra mente possa aprirsi per sprigionarli, trasformandoci sul finire della vita in accaniti ghostbuster.
Soprattutto è un romanzo di viaggi nel tempo. Viaggi a ritroso che portano a sovrapporre le epoche, le storie, i traumi e le passioni. E' un romanzo sulle fasi della vita e, inevitabilmente, sulla morte.
Infine è il tentativo di stagliare sul presente quella che fu una delle più brutali appropriazioni coloniali inglesi, la guerra contro i coloni boeri di origine olandese, in Sudafrica, nei primi anni del XX secolo, e che inaugurò una pratica destinata a entrare in auge in tutto il mondo: i campi di concentramento per civili.
La storia però comincia a Londra, Anno Domini 2004. Joan è un'anziana vedova che sta per imboccare l'ultimo rettilineo della vita. Nonostante la mente inizi a giocarle qualche scherzo, Joan riesce ancora a concedersi un viaggio nel nativo Sudafrica, dove la sua famiglia, di origini boere, ha conosciuto la gloria e la miseria. L'accompagna la figlia Eloise, donna in carriera che inizia a sentire il peso della mezza età e vuole regalare un tuffo nel passato alla madre, prima di chiuderla in una casa di riposo extra-lusso. [...]
Recensione integrale qui: http://www.wumingfoundation.com/italiano/Giap/nandropau…
July 6, 2008
A few years ago I read a novel called The Drowning People. I fell in love with it (despite one slightly melodramatic moment in the plot) and went in search of more novels by the same author. There weren't any - I was amazed to discover that this was Richard Mason's debut and that he was only 20 years old. (At which point I immediately forgave him for the moment of unnecessary melodrama.)
An article in a weekend supplement alerted me to the fact that he had a new book out - and that another one (Us) had slipped under my radar.
The title "The Lighted Rooms" comes from a Philip Larkin quotation; "being old is having lighted rooms inside your head, and people in them, acting." The book tells us the story of a mother and daughter who take a holiday in South Africa, where their family originally came from, before the mother goes to live in an old people's home.
This had its moments, but I have to say I was disappointed. Some parts of the book were vivid and powerful - the descriptions of the concentration camps in the Boer War were particularly moving - but overall I wasn't that impressed.
This book is about older people, Richard Mason's previous two novels were about very angst-ridden and very young adults. The kind of self-absorbed soul-searching behaviour which some of Mason's characters indulge in seems believable if the character is an 18 year old student, but seemed ridiculous when much older characters were ascribed the same sort of behaviour.
I ploughed on through the first few chapters, reminding myself how much I like this author... and I got to the end, but to be honest, I'm not sure it was worth it.
An article in a weekend supplement alerted me to the fact that he had a new book out - and that another one (Us) had slipped under my radar.
The title "The Lighted Rooms" comes from a Philip Larkin quotation; "being old is having lighted rooms inside your head, and people in them, acting." The book tells us the story of a mother and daughter who take a holiday in South Africa, where their family originally came from, before the mother goes to live in an old people's home.
This had its moments, but I have to say I was disappointed. Some parts of the book were vivid and powerful - the descriptions of the concentration camps in the Boer War were particularly moving - but overall I wasn't that impressed.
This book is about older people, Richard Mason's previous two novels were about very angst-ridden and very young adults. The kind of self-absorbed soul-searching behaviour which some of Mason's characters indulge in seems believable if the character is an 18 year old student, but seemed ridiculous when much older characters were ascribed the same sort of behaviour.
I ploughed on through the first few chapters, reminding myself how much I like this author... and I got to the end, but to be honest, I'm not sure it was worth it.
June 19, 2013
Initial thoughts:
Overall a really nice read, but the author could have made more of it.
1) The author should have focused more on either Joan or Eloise. Even though you knew their thoughts, feelings and inner-self I had the feeling something important was missing.
2) It lacks a connection thread between the subplots.
3) The transition from an investigation based on facts to hallucinations was really interesting, the mental illness itself was most of the time finely-wrought.
4) Mason jumped too fast from perspective to perspective, from subplot to subplot. I am still a bit confused and can't say whether the main element, the primary theme, was the mother-daughter-relationship or Joan's investigation and her mental illness.
5) I am really strict in terms of medical diagnosis. Every now and then Joan's illness felt off and unsettling, the staff in the nursing home wasn't authentic, the other residents weren't believable too.
6) The chick lit was totally unnecessary and pointless. Finally Eloise realised that love is more important than being a superhero in the business world and of course her French ex-boyfriend is the one she falls for again. Coincidentally the sex is mind blowing awesome. Seriously?!
7) So.... did it really happen? I mean the whole thing about the English doctor experimenting with female bodies and cutting off their clitoris, did he laid his hands on Hannie or was it Joan's imagination?
Overall a really nice read, but the author could have made more of it.
1) The author should have focused more on either Joan or Eloise. Even though you knew their thoughts, feelings and inner-self I had the feeling something important was missing.
2) It lacks a connection thread between the subplots.
3) The transition from an investigation based on facts to hallucinations was really interesting, the mental illness itself was most of the time finely-wrought.
4) Mason jumped too fast from perspective to perspective, from subplot to subplot. I am still a bit confused and can't say whether the main element, the primary theme, was the mother-daughter-relationship or Joan's investigation and her mental illness.
5) I am really strict in terms of medical diagnosis. Every now and then Joan's illness felt off and unsettling, the staff in the nursing home wasn't authentic, the other residents weren't believable too.
6) The chick lit was totally unnecessary and pointless. Finally Eloise realised that love is more important than being a superhero in the business world and of course her French ex-boyfriend is the one she falls for again. Coincidentally the sex is mind blowing awesome. Seriously?!
7) So.... did it really happen? I mean the whole thing about the English doctor experimenting with female bodies and cutting off their clitoris, did he laid his hands on Hannie or was it Joan's imagination?
April 10, 2012
Eloise è una consulente d'investimento non più giovane, single senza figli, che si trova a dover gestire un'anziana madre probabilmente affetta da un principio di demenza senile. Non è l'unica figlia di Joan, ma il fratello George è emigrato in Australia incurante degli affetti lasciati in Inghilterra. Eloise è orgogliosa della posizione lavorativa raggiunta, soddisfacente ma impegnativa, e gelosa dei suoi spazi personali, nei quali l'anziana madre non può rientrare. Decide così d'intraprendere un ultimo viaggio insieme a Joan, prima di sistemarla in una casa di risposo lussuosa. La meta prescelta è il Sudafrica, loro terra d'origine, e terra d'origine anche dell'autore, Richard Mason. Al ritorno l'aspetteranno mesi di tensione e dubbi, causati da un grosso investimento rischioso e sbagliato e dai sensi di colpa per aver parcheggiato la madre in una casa di riposo. Mason è come al solito bravissimo nell'indagare e descrivere le sottigliezze dell'animo umano, il rapporto madre-figlia, la riscoperta delle proprie origini, della propria storia, la decadenza di una persona anziana, sono presentate in maniera straziante, dolce, malinconica. Si dilunga però un pò troppo sulla questione dell'investimento sbagliato di Eloise nelle ultime 150 pagine. Con colpo di scena finale.
February 23, 2009
I did not like this book as much as the starred review in Publishers Weekly indicated I might--however, having recently finished Drood, reading another book with a irrational narrator was too much.
Parts of the book work well. Eloise and Joan's visit to South Africa is definitely the highlight of the novel. The bits and pieces of diaries and scraps of information that help Joan reconnect with her South African childhood are interesting enough to help balance how stereotyped the South Africans seem to be. And speaking of stereotypes, the nursing home sections are particularly so, and you can take that from one who knows more about nursing homes than she would like. We know Joan is in the delusional phase of Alzheimers but neither the staff nor fellow residents are believeable. As for Eloise and her breathless pursuit of wealth for her clients via an insider source, those days are past. The whole thing seems pointless and vulgar, as do her colleagues and clients. Yuck. Thank God those days are done.
I give this book three stars because I did finish it.
Parts of the book work well. Eloise and Joan's visit to South Africa is definitely the highlight of the novel. The bits and pieces of diaries and scraps of information that help Joan reconnect with her South African childhood are interesting enough to help balance how stereotyped the South Africans seem to be. And speaking of stereotypes, the nursing home sections are particularly so, and you can take that from one who knows more about nursing homes than she would like. We know Joan is in the delusional phase of Alzheimers but neither the staff nor fellow residents are believeable. As for Eloise and her breathless pursuit of wealth for her clients via an insider source, those days are past. The whole thing seems pointless and vulgar, as do her colleagues and clients. Yuck. Thank God those days are done.
I give this book three stars because I did finish it.
February 18, 2010
The Lighted Rooms takes on a vast array of human experience – from Boer War concentration camps and townships of modern-day Bloemfontein to commodities trading crises and antiseptic nursing homes in 21st century London.
Before consigning her mother, Joan, to a nursing home in Wandsworth, hedge fund trader, Eloise, takes her to visit her childhood home, now a shopping mall, in Bloemfontein. Called back to London when an investment goes awry, Eloise leaves Joan to investigate her family’s experience of the war. Joan discovers her grandmother’s diary recording her time in a concentration camp which, when she returns to London, triggers the entanglement of hallucination that consumes her till death.
The book is enjoyable, entertaining, and perfectly readable, but had Mason made more of his material, it could have produced an astounding narrative. Instead, he has written one that, though engaging, never quite grasps the imagination or reaches the climax that it could.
Before consigning her mother, Joan, to a nursing home in Wandsworth, hedge fund trader, Eloise, takes her to visit her childhood home, now a shopping mall, in Bloemfontein. Called back to London when an investment goes awry, Eloise leaves Joan to investigate her family’s experience of the war. Joan discovers her grandmother’s diary recording her time in a concentration camp which, when she returns to London, triggers the entanglement of hallucination that consumes her till death.
The book is enjoyable, entertaining, and perfectly readable, but had Mason made more of his material, it could have produced an astounding narrative. Instead, he has written one that, though engaging, never quite grasps the imagination or reaches the climax that it could.
July 12, 2015
Surprisingly good. Eloise and her mum Joan are searching for the best retirement home and find a very expensive one that seems to be perfect in every way. Soon afterwards they travel to South Africa to visit Joan's grandmother's living Place during the Boer war in the early 1800's. While there Joan discoveres her grandmother's diary in a museum and steals it. Back at home Joan settles in at the retirement home and begins to relive her grandmother's life, which the house's matron takes as dementia, and Eloise gets into trouble at work when an investment fails to live up to its potential and the company loses millions.
Will Eloise survive the crisis and rescue the company? Is Joan really demented or has she a very livid imagination trying to cope in this not-so-perfect retirement home with its ghastly decor?
Will Eloise survive the crisis and rescue the company? Is Joan really demented or has she a very livid imagination trying to cope in this not-so-perfect retirement home with its ghastly decor?
August 26, 2008
This book has so many different qualities. On one hand, it's this thrilling tale about a commodities broker and her risky bet on an ex-lover's promises to deliver some kinda transition metal. On the other hand, it's a heart-breaking and sometimes bewildering tale about a mother's efforts to reconcile her past while suffering from Alzheimer's in a terrible retirement home. That probably makes no sense, but I couldn't put this book down. Richard Mason's supposed to be a hot-shot young author, and I think this novel is going to be a brilliant success—and I can't wait to talk to someone about what, exactly, Joan was trying to achieve during her Huntley flashbacks.
March 12, 2010
This is a pretty good book. My rating is probably closer to a 3.5 but I like to round up :). I thought the author did a good job with developing charatcters, the plot is somewhat complex, as it involves recent past, the Boer War in the past, the present: and the three time frames often coincide. I also think the author did a great job of handling the fine line between magical realism and dementia--at times, I wasn't convinced.
I, too, have a complex mother-daughter relationship so I had moments of complete empathy. On the downside, I have absolutely NO musical training so the lapses into classical music were completely lost on me. It did however make me want to check out a couple.
I, too, have a complex mother-daughter relationship so I had moments of complete empathy. On the downside, I have absolutely NO musical training so the lapses into classical music were completely lost on me. It did however make me want to check out a couple.
January 25, 2010
An elderly woman and her daughter visit South Africa where the woman's grandparents made their home. The Boar War - with it's concentration camps for the Dutch settlers, present day London, the smarmyness of even posh nursing homes, multigenerational friendships, the ups and downs of finance, and the tricks our minds can play are the major themes. Minor themes are medical experimentation, child/spousal abuse, and parent/child relationships. Way too many themes for one book, but -still- the story and plight of the elderly woman was compelling.
June 29, 2013
This book is set mostly in London in the present time, but a lot of memories & research come into it, too. It is built mainly around Joan, the mother, being placed in assisted living & Eloise, the daughter, experiencing a multi-faceted life crisis at the same time. This author, especially at his age, has written an amazing book & I am now interested in others from him. The characters, situations, places, & events are all well-done & have added to my knowledge & awareness. This book has given me a lot to think about.
May 15, 2016
I really wanted to love this book the way I loved Richard Mason's first novel "Drowning People". That is one of my favorite books so I had high expectations for "Natural Elements". This book was good, but sometimes confusing. Mason didn't do a good job of connecting the different themes and subplots. The ending was somewhat ambiguous. I wanted to shout, "Wait, what? It can't end now, whatever happened to........." I don't want to spoil anything.
I would have given Natural Elements a higher rating, but I know Richard Mason is capable of better writing than this.
I would have given Natural Elements a higher rating, but I know Richard Mason is capable of better writing than this.
April 25, 2009
I enjoyed the interplay of relationships in the book. The accounts of
the human suffering during the Boer War that Joan's family endured were graphically linked with suffering in her own family life. The mother/daughter relationship of Joan and Eloise is a very contemporay subject . An aging mother and a daughter trying to "kick ass" and also play the role of the dutiful daughter. A very interresting multi-tiered book
the human suffering during the Boer War that Joan's family endured were graphically linked with suffering in her own family life. The mother/daughter relationship of Joan and Eloise is a very contemporay subject . An aging mother and a daughter trying to "kick ass" and also play the role of the dutiful daughter. A very interresting multi-tiered book
July 6, 2009
I enjoyed this book for its very strong characterization admidst a rather traditional narrative. Much like a Woody Allen script, real characters live in a world populated by two-dimensional side characters who seemingly exist only to support the plot and lead actors.
But the main characters are so fasinating - with a unique history - that it moves along in thought and spirit.
I plan on reading more Mason soon.
But the main characters are so fasinating - with a unique history - that it moves along in thought and spirit.
I plan on reading more Mason soon.
February 12, 2012
I enjoy the way this author writes. This book was VERY different from his first 2 books. Really about a lady with a high powered job and her aging mother who she puts in a home. Kind of sad, but also some very interesting details of the SA ango-boer war and a British concentration camp in Bloemfontein. A bit disturbing and a bit confusing - but very good! Well worth reading. If you want lighter reading try his other 2 books "The Drowning People" and "Us".
September 2, 2012
This saga of Dickensian proportions has so many twists, flashbacks, historical shifts that i felt it was risking plot burnout towards the end. No matter, it's very entertaining and intelligently written which makes it all very readable. I just wish whoever puts all these women with their back turned to the viewer on the covers would stop doing it and actually come up with a cover that's relevant to the story.
May 24, 2015
Ploughing through the in my experience one-dimensional plot with stereotypical characters, I was gripped by the suddenly vivid passages on the Boer war in South Africa. I wish the language and plot of the whole book had been more like these. The Lighted Rooms also offers a sense of the impact that increasing dementation may have on the social and emotional well-being of the elderly person him/herself rather than from the viewpoint of a relative or carer.
April 19, 2009
I've read very few books involving the elderly. I found the world of dementia from the character's stand point fascinationg. I found myself thinking about the characters when I was not reading and wanting to get back to the book. Some of the text was a little to graphic for my liking. Overall, I found the story and characters very engaging.
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