Book Review: The Courage Consort by Michel Faber

The Courage Consort, "possibly the seventh best-known a cappella vocal ensemble in Britain", are holed up in a rural Belgian château to rehearse the most complicated piece they've ever had to perform: Partitum Mutante. Forced to co-exist under the same roof for the first time, egos begin to clash and minds begin to fray. Relationship break down, strange allegiances form and... is that a ghost wailing in the woods?

Michel Faber's wonderfully observed satirical novella does for avant-garde classical music what Spinal Tap did for heavy rock. Although it's a short book, every sentence is a gem.

As for Dagmar, the most recent addition to the group, she'd stuck with the Courage Consort because they gave her fewer hassles than any of her many previous liaisons. After walking out on the Staatsoper because the directors seemed to think she was too sexually immoral to sing opera (her last role for them was Berg's prostitute Lulu, for God's sake!) she'd been a bit wary of these smiling English people, but it had turned out OK. They allowed her to get away with tempestuous love affairs, even illegitimate pregnancy, as long as she showed up on time, and this she had no trouble with. For nine months of ballooning belly she'd never missed a rehearsal: she'd given birth, prudently, during the lull between Ligeti's Aventures in Basle and the 'Carols Sacred and Profane' Christmas concert in Huddersfield. That was good enough for Roger Courage, who had sent her a tasteful congratulations card without enquiring after the baby's name or sex.

Extra marks for mentioning Huddersfield: we're proud of our Choral Society.

blueeyedboy

Watch out folks, it's another book where the hero is a sociopathic loner, an amoral freak, a potential serial killer, and - yes, worst of all - a BLOGGER!

Joanne Harris is an author I have a lot of time for. Not only did she write one of my favourite thrillers of recent years, Gentlemen & Players, but she's also from my hometown of Huddersfield. Local girl done good!

blueeyedboy tells the story of a young man who grows up suffering from the condition synaesthesia. To him, words have distinct, often overpowering, colours and scents. He hears and sees the world unlike anyone else. His brothers are jealous, his mother is a bitter, blackmailing harridan, and the little blind girl next story steals all his thunder. And when he grows up... it's murder.

To say any more would be to spoil the fun. This is a story told by two increasingly unreliable narrators that blurs the line between truth, fiction, fantasy and downright lies in mindboggling fashion. The only problem I had with it was the marketing... I hate it when books promote themselves by pointing out there's "a huge plot twist at the end" (as this does on the back cover). I prefer to find out for myself and enjoy the surprise, rather than spending all my time trying to work out the twist. (It's OK though... I didn't.)