Every Eye by Isobel English

Serendipity!  Have you ever reached for a book purely on whim, started to read, not been able to put it down (or simply been drawn to it again and again) and when you turned that last page realized what a hidden treasure you had sitting there on your bookshelf so very unobtrusively?  Do you know what motivated me to pick up Isobel English's Every Eye?  Earlier this month when I was thinking about my Century of Books progress and contemplating potential reads to fill in empty slots, I turned my gaze to a stack of Persephones sitting next to  my bookcase.  A pile of perfect contenders of Twentieth Century literature, surely.  On the top sat the English.  A slim book that when I first ordered it I was excited to begin reading no doubt.  Ages ago, of course.  But I sort of forgot what it was about the story that made me buy it.  Pull it off the pile, turn to the first page, begin reading.

"I heard today that Cynthia died, last Friday afternoon at the Ipswich County Hospital, just after a cup of tea."

"This news has affected me in a way that I did not expect.  One minute I was all set with my resentments close-knit and compressed, and the next it was as if a great wave had suddenly crashed shorewards undercutting and breaking into the very foundations of my life."

Have you noticed that Persephone books don't tend to have very detailed story descriptions on the jacket?  There may be something about the response to the book when originally published (in this case--John Betjeman's quote, "Sometimes, but not often, a novel comes along which makes the rest one has to review seem commonplace.  Such a novel is Every Eye.") or an excerpt from the text, but often you don't necessarily know much about the plot going into it--(which honestly I sort of prefer). 

I only knew that Isobel English used an unusual technique in her writing.  Not so unusual is moving from one period to another using parallel voices, but in this case the main protagonist is the narrator of both sections (alternately told) but using both present and past tenses.  I found it not only intriguing but engaging as well.  Reading the same voice both living in the moment and looking back at events in her earlier life had a pleasing rhythm for me.  Of course it all comes together at the end and meets up in a climatic revelation.  That 'aha!'  moment that you wait for and is so satisfying.  I could easily turn back to the first page and begin reading again and likely it would be an even richer read than the first go and equally enjoyable.  So typical of a Persephone novel (shaking head at the thought of how critics have dismissed so much of women's writing--always so perplexing to me in the face of stories such as this one), this is a story that has hidden depths belied by the slimness of the book.

In Every Eye, Hatty Latterly spends her youth dealing with a lazy eye.  As a young woman it is her older lover who pays for her to have an operation so it can be corrected.  She cannot see the world straight on but always at a slant.  Despite having the problem fixed she feels she carries the infirmity with her always.  Maybe not so curious that it's Hatty who finally sees the hidden lives of those around her by story's end.  I like the play on seeing yet not being able to see perfectly.  There are a number of striking and creative juxtapositions in this novel. 

In the present, Hatty has recently married a much younger man, and is soon off to Ibiza on her honeymoon when she gets news that her uncle's wife, Cynthia, has passed away.  It's Cynthia who first told Hatty about the place she will shortly be traveling to.  This news about a woman she had not seen for six years begins her reminiscences of the past.  Cynthia will have a huge impact on Hatty's life and leave an indelible mark.  It's through Cynthia and her uncle that she meets Jasper with whom she has that first love affair.  Jasper is a man whose life is surrounded by mystery.  Ultimately the two part ways leaving Hatty to age on her own, and it is not until much later when Hatty is nearing dreaded spinsterhood that she meets and marries a much younger man.  There is something circular about this story, things move in parallel casting light on present and past depending which Hatty is speaking--the youthful or more experienced.  It's almost as if parts are told in B&W and others in vivid color so rich are some of the descriptions--some observations clearer than others. 

Every Eye is such a beautifully crafted story and written with real elegance.  Tone, description and style all play off each other nicely making this one of my great finds of the year.  Surely she wrote more novels than just this one, but according to the biographic information she wrote only three books between 1954-1960. 

After all that my 1956 slot, when this book was published, had already been taken, but I don't mind a bit.  In search of my next (serendipitously) good read . . .   

Comments

[Janet]

Sounded so good I had to order it. Did you know Flavorwire has a list of 50 spooky short stories to read, most with a link to read or listen to. It was fun rereading The Veldt and I need to read some more of them.

[cath]

Such a great review, Danielle, of what seems to be a very good story.On my list it goes.

[Stefanie]

This sounds wonderful. Too bad you couldn't count it as part of your century, but still worth the read!

[Danielle]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'm curious about her other books and will try and track them down on the second hand market. I am unfamiliar with Flavorwire, so thanks for pointing them out to me! What a great list (I've only read about thirteen of them--was so happy to see Truman Capote's "Miriam" one of my own favorites). I think I might have to read that Bradbury this weekend!

[Danielle]

It reminds me (in style, if not in plot) of Cheerful Weather for a Wedding, which I also loved. it is one of those stories that is deceivingly good--you don't at first realize just how much there is to it until you start making connections between all the various threads of the story. I would love to know what you think of it, too!

[Danielle]

I know--after all that, and then that slot was taken. I have had to pass by a lot of books for this reason (well, pass them by in terms of adding them to the list). I seem to read the same years over and over again. But the read was very well worth it, so in the end it doesn't matter at all.

[Liz F]

I haven't acquired a new Persephone for a while - long enough to fall off the end of their list for the bi-annual magazine!
This does sound good and dovegreyreader's post about Saplings makes me want to re-read that again so I might have to give in to temptation and visit their site!
There again I have just discovered that the architects working on a building scheme we also work on, are based at Lamb's Conduit Street in London like the Persephone shop so maybe I can schedule a work visit there so long as I make sure that I go and see the architect first or there is a definite possibility that I will get sidetracked!

[kaggsysbookishramblings]

Great review! I loved this, and the "aha!" moment is just incredible, isn't it? :)

[Danielle]

I think I still get all the bi-annual magazines, but I suspect it is barely so and I should really think of ordering just one lone book in order to make sure I keep getting them (such a hard thing to do...). I didn't realize DGR was reading Saplings (I am a bit behind in blog reading as usual), but that is one I have on my own TBR pile and I have long wanted to read. Maybe I should pick that up next (and will have to see when it was published as a potential century book!). Someday I will get to the Persephone shop! If you go, tell me all about it so I can live vicariously through you!! ;)

[Danielle]

Thanks! Not all books have that lovely moment, but when they do it makes it an even better read! This one just clicked with me! (But then usually Persephone books do...).

[Liz F]

I loved Saplings and got very caught up with it despite reading a lot of it on a very crowded delayed train! I came to the conclusion that if you can get caught up in a book despite being wedged in the corner of your seat because your seatmate (a complete stranger) is taking up far more than their fair share of room, that is the mark of a very good book. If I remember correctly it was written in the late 1940's - would that fill a gap?

[Danielle]

The best books are always the ones you can literally lose yourself in! I have more than once been reading on the bus and then looked up just in time to get off at my stop. And on a few occasions I have accidentally missed my stop! I think I was reading Steinbeck's East of Eden last time that happened! Thank heavens books are such good distractions in cases like traveling--And hey, Saplings was published in 1945 and that slot is open! Maybe I should go pull it from the shelf...just to look, mind you.... Must get back to Moon Tiger first. But I can at least bump it up the pile.

[Thomas at My Porch]

Serendipity indeed. Just last night I was looking at my TBR not knowing what to read and I spotted this thin volume but wasn't sure if I should pick it up. Now I realize I should have. Nice to know it is so fabulous. I will have to pick it up sooner rather than later.

And you are so right about the Persephone flap content. I think they just cut and paste from the test. Certainly takes less effort than trying to do a well-written jacket blurb.

[Danielle]

I need to do this more often--just pick up a book randomly and start reading. Something made me interested enough to buy it in the first place, right, so I am likely going to enjoy it... I wonder why they don't give a more detailed description of the story--just enough to know whether you are really in the mood for it or not! I don't want to know too much about a book, but a tiny bit about the plot isn't a bad thing!