Books
fromThe Atlantic
2 days agoUnconventional Novels About Conventional People
Aging revolutionaries and conformists share parallel narratives of disillusionment and the loss of youthful dreams in recent literature.
They're flawed, they're sad, and they're comic. ... They are everything. Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård expresses his philosophy that human beings are nuanced creatures rather than simply good or evil, reflecting his approach to character development and his rejection of one-dimensional villains.
Although the works of Gilbert and Sullivan have gained a reputation for being chummy, collegiate and a little pompous, For He is an Englishman is in fact a bitingly satirical piece of faux-patriotism. Although it sounds like something to be bellowed by tipsy Last Night of the Proms poshos, the song speaks to the kind of blind nationalism that bases exceptionalism purely on the location of one's birth.
Glimpse them chatting in a restaurant or posing on Instagram, and you might think they have it all. The pair live in London but often travel, drawing the eyes of other guests, their skin glowing, their limbs artfully at ease. She writes affirmations on hotel stationery; he claims to taste notes of bark and tobacco in his chianti. As Sean Gilbert's dark, observant debut opens in Istanbul, this apparently perfect couple bicker and sweat, for secrets lurk behind their facade and one of them might be murder.
A murderer, a gleefully sadistic rapist, an unapologetic sociopathic who treats human beings as playthings and a menace to every value in moral society. And yet Malcolm McDowell brings him to life with such panache and fun, he is irresistibly charming and likable throughout his horrors. You even feel happy for him at the end when he gets away with the whole thing.
In one scene, an adoring fan asks Melvin his secret to writing women. I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability, he says, an epic burn forever seared in my brain. Of course Melvin's anti-charm offensive only goes so far in a James L Brooks project. Before long, the rudeness erodes as Melvin is forced on to a journey of self-discovery with the nextdoor neighbor he can't abide (Greg Kinnear) and the diner waitress he can't live without (Helen Hunt).