Losing Nelson

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Study of Obsession
Review: Unsworth remains true to form in this exceptional study of one man's descent into obsessive madness. The extents to which Charles Cleasby is prepared to go just to prove to his typist (not to mention himself) that Nelson was a true hero are nothing short of exasperating. Whilst this book is undoubtedly a dense read, it is also wickedly funny, terrifying and, ultimately, extremely satisfying. How this was not short listed for the Booker (not to detract from Coetzee's win, though) is completely beyond me.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow Heroes
Review: What a superb read "Losing Nelson" was. It is about time that more English "heroes" are exposed in fiction and Unsworth certainly does it with style. It reminds me of "Manly Puruits", an expose of Cecil Rhodes and his money-grubbing cronies and their misguided philanthropism. Quietly and ironically, Unsworth strips away the layers of infalibility in Nelson and leaves his main chartacter, Charles Cleasby, with a fist full of sawdust at the end. In the wake of English Football hooliganism, driven by a misplaced sense of nationalism and jingoism, this book's theme still has currency today. The characters of Miss Lily, the misfit members of the "Nelson Club" and the psuedo-antagonist, Badham, present a fine array of personalities who Unsworth masterfully manipulates to work painfully through the chinks in Cleasby's glorious armour. I particularly liked how Cleasby obtained succour from his apparently broad reading about Nelson, when in fact he had made a conscious decision to ignore some important works - he believes what he wants to believe and falls victim to his own propaganda. The ending was jarring and I had to read it twice before the finality of it sank in - I found it to be appropriate and not forced at all. The imagery of the whole event reflects other symbols throughout the novel. I recommend this to any nationalists who pompously place history and historical figures on a pedastal - truth is often stranger than fiction. For me, it just confirmed what I already knew to be true about heroes of the popular imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Obteuse obsession
Review: You become Cleasby, heartbeat, breathing and manners. His obsession becomes manic at its most obscene. He cheats himself out of the 20th century romantic ending we had all hoped for. Fantastic writing, that it could absorb one so totally.