A Tale of Love, Alas

And Other Episodes

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book A Tale of Love, Alas by David Lytton, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Lytton ISBN: 9781448205479
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: September 28, 2011
Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader Language: English
Author: David Lytton
ISBN: 9781448205479
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: September 28, 2011
Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader
Language: English

Mr J, blind from birth, tells the story of his life and loves and peculiar friendships among the English colony at the Cape. His method is to imitate the random action of memory, choosing those episodes which reveal most clearly the strange elements of his society and his own eccentric response to them. He begins with a love affair that occupied a large part of his early manhood and distils from it a sad poetry of frustration. This calls to mind its opposite and he recounts his association with a rumbustious Coloured woman, epically large and loud, a reluctant abortionist, foster mother and, eventually, anarchist, dominating the slum in which she lives with her vivid personality.

Against the life of the slums, he contrasts his own privileged upbringing, an only child in the care of his widowed mother and proconsular aunts attempting to impose an Edwardian order on the crude contours of their country life. He discovers in a dramatic incident the deep antagonism existing between Afrikanerdom and the English and, with a handful of friends, lives in increasing isolation from and amazement at the policies of the State. Although they are able to laugh at the ludicrous aspects of apartheid (Emergency Mark IV), one by one they are forced to leave the country. Eventually Mr J takes the same step and tells what it costs him.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Mr J, blind from birth, tells the story of his life and loves and peculiar friendships among the English colony at the Cape. His method is to imitate the random action of memory, choosing those episodes which reveal most clearly the strange elements of his society and his own eccentric response to them. He begins with a love affair that occupied a large part of his early manhood and distils from it a sad poetry of frustration. This calls to mind its opposite and he recounts his association with a rumbustious Coloured woman, epically large and loud, a reluctant abortionist, foster mother and, eventually, anarchist, dominating the slum in which she lives with her vivid personality.

Against the life of the slums, he contrasts his own privileged upbringing, an only child in the care of his widowed mother and proconsular aunts attempting to impose an Edwardian order on the crude contours of their country life. He discovers in a dramatic incident the deep antagonism existing between Afrikanerdom and the English and, with a handful of friends, lives in increasing isolation from and amazement at the policies of the State. Although they are able to laugh at the ludicrous aspects of apartheid (Emergency Mark IV), one by one they are forced to leave the country. Eventually Mr J takes the same step and tells what it costs him.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book The Russian Civil War 1918–22 by David Lytton
Cover of the book Women and Politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran by David Lytton
Cover of the book Open Minded Torah by David Lytton
Cover of the book Ballroom Dance and Glamour by David Lytton
Cover of the book Sonic Bodies by David Lytton
Cover of the book 50 Ways to Improve Your Powerboat Driving by David Lytton
Cover of the book Hercules by David Lytton
Cover of the book The Iron Industry by David Lytton
Cover of the book Galileo's Daughter by David Lytton
Cover of the book Getting the Buggers to Add Up by David Lytton
Cover of the book Modelling the P-51 Mustang by David Lytton
Cover of the book The Birth of the English Kitchen, 1600-1850 by David Lytton
Cover of the book Phenomenology and the Social Context of Psychiatry by David Lytton
Cover of the book Vietnam Airborne by David Lytton
Cover of the book Before We Met by David Lytton
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy