A review by mrh29992
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

AH! How has it taken me so long to read this remarkable novel?!

Far away in the black pulsating torture chamber of her skull she perceived the form of the weeping manatee, and the word humanity and the word manatee merged in dolour. (p. 170)

Elspeth Barker's first and only novel, O Caledonia, is a heady mixture of coming-of-age novel, gothic, state of the nation, and manifesto for the individual. 
Janet, the protagonist begins the novel dead. What follows is not a whodunnit, but an acerbic, astute and lyrical exploration of her young life, so brutally cut short.

Ever the fan of the plotless novel, Barker's deftly constructed sentences paint vividly the difficult life of a difficult girl. I felt for the rich interiority that Janet cannot share with those around her, her love of animals and books surpassing that of her patience for human companionship. Yet also so full of yearning for love. 

Beyond being a book about an introverted girl, who was potentially neurodivergent, it is also a book about the difficulty of not fitting in to a world where to conform to the expectations of others is seen as the norm. Not only does Janet disappoint her parents by being, in their eyes, strange, aloof, unwilling to change and 'grow up', but she also disappoints her teachers, schoolmates, siblings, and even the eccentric and tragic aunt. But it is heartbreaking to see depicted how her not conforming led to such a rift, because people were unwilling to engage with her on her own terms, and she then saw no other option, in her juvenile mind, than to try to detach herself from it.

This novel has shades of Muriel Spark, Iris Murdoch, a hint of Shirley Jackson, a dash of Dodie Smith, and lashings of Iain Banks, James Hogg and Elizabeth Jane Howard. 

Do not read this if you seek an uplifting experience. 
Do read this if you want to read a masterclass in prose and insight into the human condition. 

CW: sexual assault
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