Book of the Month - By Kathleen Thorne

Foolish Mortals

By Jennifer Johnston

Published by Headline Review

Price €23.10 (hardback)

There is a car crash at the start of this novel and a man called Henry is seriously injured and is coming round from a coma in a hospital bed. He is finding it difficult to get his bearings. Clearly, his memory has been seriously impaired.

His former wife, Stephanie, is in attendance at his bedside. Soon we become aware that Henry's second wife, Charlotte, was driving the car at the time of the crash and was killed. Henry has no memory of her whatsoever.

Gradually, though, Charlotte becomes an unpleasant presence for him in a subconscious sort of way. Soon we are drawn into the complications of family life in middleclass Dublin. There is an eccentric grandmother called Tash. She is an artist and loves to drink alcohol. She is Henry's mother. In an earlier period of his life, he describes her as, "A scorpion, a gorilla, an angry Indian tiger looking for prey. I don't want to be eaten by my own mother". Not long after that, Stephanie witnesses mother and son arm-in-arm at the races, obviously delighted with each other's company. Despite her weaknesses, her children maintain a strong affection for her.

Henry has a brother called George. He lives in Toronto but returns to Dublin for a few days when he hears of the accident. Stephanie and he together attend Charlotte's funeral. Then there is Jeremy, Charlotte's twin brother. He visits Henry in hospital and reveals to him the complexities that led up to the fatal crash. It becomes clear that the 'accident' was no mere accident but probably an attempt by Charlotte to kill both herself and Henry. Prior to that, Jeremy had revealed to Charlotte that he and Henry were involved in a homosexual affair.

Stephanie and Henry together have two children, Donough and Ciara. Ciara, aged 16, is the younger. She has wonderful red hair and is one of the least complicated characters in the book. She is supportive of her parents. She misses her father terribly when he leaves home. She is forgiving, but demands answers to the awkward questions she asks about her father's behaviour. Donough, however, is gay, and this is a source of some sorrow to Stephanie. Even though she strongly protests that she has nothing against gay people, she clearly would prefer homosexuality didn't present itself on her patch.

As Henry in his hospital bed tries hard to regain a hold on his memory, he tells us that he works in publishing. At this point Jennifer Johnston allows herself, through her character, to comment on modern publishing: "Far too many bad novels are published every year, and as publishers claw each other for more and more money, the standard of writing falls." It falls to us the readers possibly to acknowledge the truth of this and to be grateful that over the years Jennifer has provided us with insightful, readable and multilayered expositions of Irish living. In Foolish Mortals she moves easily from pain to joy and from present to past.

She presents so many modern-day problems in a non-judgmental way. We witness attempted suicides, homosexuality, old age and family tensions in all their shapes and sizes. Throughout it all she maintains a respect both for her characters and her readers.

In many ways Foolish Mortals holds a mirror up to the middle classes of the new Ireland. It reflects back the foibles, fears and complications of living in the early years of the 21st century.

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