One Last Look

by Susanna Moore

In January 1836, two sisters, Eleanor and Harriet, set sail for India, leaving their home in England to accompany their brother, Henry, on his posting as Governor-General. Told through the engaging voice of Eleanor, One Last Look takes the reader to the heart of nineteenth-century India. Surrounded by a constant entourage of servants and aides, overwhelmed by the suffocating heat and her own physical vulnerability, Elenanor begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. Will her brother's politicall ambitions lead them inexorably to disaster? Is her sister's sanity under threat? As fragile boundaries begin to dissolve, and desire and horror overcome her, it is clear that Eleanor's vision of this land and herself will be irrevocably transformed.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, India, Historical, 19th Century, Literary Fiction, Female Authors

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Susanna Moore is the author of the novels One Last Look, In the Cut, The Whiteness of Bones, Sleeping Beauties, and My Old Sweetheart, which won the Ernest Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for First Fiction, and the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her nonfiction travel book, I Myself Have Seen It, was published by the National Geographic Society in 2003. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Evocative and vivid. Loved it.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't made up my mind about this book. On the one hand, I imagine Moore has done her research in detail, and believes she has come to an understanding of what the historical characters experienced. And she certainly makes me want to go to the original sources and get my own sense of the lives of the English Governor General and his family in early Victorian India.

Likewise I imagine that the form of this novel, and her writing is deliberately obtuse. So when, as a reader I feel I'm looking at the story through a gauzy veil, and am remote, even from the feelings of our first person narrator, it is because Moore intends to mirror the dislocation, detachment and vague confusion of her characters as they enter an alien world.

So she is technically adept. And I must admit, the language is lovely and lyrical, evocative and sometimes incisive.

I wake to screams each morning, dreaming that I am on the river at Ravenhill, the room full of the cries of drowning women, but it is only the sound of crows. (Or drowning women.) I open my eyes, and only then do I remember where I am. It is not unlike that feeling of deepest grief that miraculously abates while we sleep, only to return on waking- but not before we have been deluded for a moment or two that we are innocent of sorrow.

And later

Halfway down the staircase, my hand gripping the rail, I saw a swirl of white below me- skaters gliding on a frozen pond, their hands clasped behind their backs, chins high in poised aplomb as they flew gracefully across the ice. I rushed down the stairs only to stop in astonishment when I saw they were not skaters at all, but servants with chamois leather tied to the bottom of their feet, giving a final shine to the white marble floor. They saw me and stopped abruptly; we stood there, stiff with alarm, as if the addition of my weight on the frozen ice would cause it to rack open and we would drown.

Sometimes of course there's the easier, perhaps more expected twentieth century observation of a racist, sexist, imperialist society.

I can already see that in keeping with the gentleman's club atmosphere of Calcutta, women, while certainly not allowed inside the club, are encouraged to find a convenient place nearby where we may be worshipped at a safe distance as symbols of Purity, Empire and, not least of all, Whiteness.

And there's the cautionary tale of ill-prepared, ill-considered British misadventures in Afghanistan. Quite apt, at present.

But you know, I'm dissatisfied, perhaps this distance from the narrator and from the other characters doesn't suit me. And the elliptical nature of her sentences sometimes irritates, and prompts me to reorganise her phrases and clauses. But again, I'm sure it is all deliberate and well thought through. I must read some more Moore.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing much happens in this book, and yet its aggregate effect is haunting. The language is beautiful, there are some truly weird and unsettling things going on with the narrator (of whose journal entries the novel is comprised), and the fact that so much sordidness is hinted at but never explicitly acknowledged is ultimately pretty powerful. I'm not sure that I'd recommend this to many people, though--maybe to Meghan Lee, who I don't even think is on here.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little odd with its subplot of incest (I never quite figure out exactly what was going on there) but I did enjoy reading about how two eccentric high society women adapted to colonial Indian life.

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Our journey has been most uneventful." (pg. 281) - I couldn't agree more! One Last Look is rich in description, and that's about it.

[Susan Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Susanna Moore's books since I found them in the library. This is an interesting and also disturbing book. Based loosely on a true story, Eleanor and her sister travel with their brother when he becomes "governor-general" of India. The details of their travels to, from, and around India, are horrific but also spectacular. Eleanor and her sister fall in love with India in different ways. This is the passage from Goodreads:

In January 1836, two sisters, Eleanor and Harriet, set sail for India, leaving their home in England to accompany their brother, Henry, on his posting as Governor-General. Told through the engaging voice of Eleanor, One Last Look takes the reader to the heart of nineteenth-century India. Surrounded by a constant entourage of servants and aides, overwhelmed by the suffocating heat and her own physical vulnerability, Elenanor begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. Will her brother's politicall ambitions lead them inexorably to disaster? Is her sister's sanity under threat? As fragile boundaries begin to dissolve, and desire and horror overcome her, it is clear that Eleanor's vision of this land and herself will be irrevocably transformed.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susanna Moore used the letters and diaries of three Englishwomen in India at the time of the Great Game with Russia as basis for this novel, sometimes using their actual words. The result is a sly, funny, sad, and moving story of transformation and Empire.

Eleanor Oliphant, her sister, and cousin, accompany her brother to India in 1836. The King has appointed brother Henry Governor-General of the colony to help the noble Oliphants after the loss of the family fortune. After all, everyone gets rich in India. The four have been very close all their lives (Eleanor and Henry's relationship is certainly too close) and remain unmarried in their twenties and thirties.

The story starts with Eleanor's second diary, the first having been ruined during the nightmarish trip on the Jupiter, a wretched ship that takes on a great deal of water. "Rather that we were shipped to Botany Bay on a ship full of Irish poachers than this," Eleanor writes. "At least we'd have the pleasure of a little felony."

They arrive in a hellishly hot Calcutta and settle into Government House. There are mobs of servants (her dog has a servant, the servants have servants, there's someone whose job it is to blow on tea to cool it) and shocking insects. Her sister Harriet is enchanted by it all, but Eleanor begins to disintegrate in the heat along with their paintings, books, and clothes. She dabbles in various drugs. She smokes a hookah. Red-faced and frizzy, she presides over sweaty events of state. She also finds her respect for Indians increasing, and her respect for the English decreasing.

Henry is not having a successful Governorship. To prop up his failing rule, so he takes his show on the road, a three-year trek to the Punjab that includes ten thousand soldiers and servants, elephants, sedan chairs, tents, exotic pets, Harriet, Eleanor, and cousin Lafayette. The trek coincides with several unfortunate British misadventures in Afghanistan made all the more horrible by what the Oliphants are learning about India, English rule, and themselves on this trip.

Susanna Moore is right on the mark with every word. You dive into this world and it sweeps you away. Forget the romantic Raj-everyone in this world is addled and raddled by trying to be English in this climate. And yet, "One Last Look" is a breath of fresh air.
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[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was not compelling, but I am glad I read it. Lots of glimpses into what life was like in India in the mid 19th c. for the British colonials. Also who knew that women couldn't eat cheese in public and wrapping gifts was uncooth. Lots of historical details about hygiene (bathrooms, periods, etc.).

[Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely. One of the best things about Moore is the heavy atmosphere of sexual potential--a constant in stories of otherwise very different subjects and execution. Moore's heroines often have a mordantly funny voice and this one's even funnier than the rest.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disturbing account of British occupation of India from 1836-1843. Mostly set in Calcutta, told from Lady Eleanor's perspective. Supposedly historically accurate, very lush descriptions. Ultimately discusses the failure of imperialism. Strange book, but nicely written.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 'voice' of the diarist is so witty that I enjoyed the book, despite finding some of the antics the British in India got up to slightly incredible. She paints a vivid picture - enchanting and appalling at the same time - of colonial life in India when Victoria had just become queen.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 gorgeous, immersive prose, in a transporting elegy to India. Nuanced, clever, alternately devastating and comic, this journal of a British woman in 1830s India is so absorbing and layered that I did not want it to end. Filled with wonder and a searing indictment of colonialism, this novel requires a thoughtful approach. There is plenty of action, but largely within the realm of personal and cultural awareness. I felt hypnotized by its atmosphere and I know I will be haunted for a long time to come. Highly recommended.

Addendum. Having read the first 50 pages of Up the Country, the historical journal of Emily Eden who traveled with her brother and sister to India at the same time period, and with whose writing Moore acknowledges that she took liberties and used some of their words, I am most distressed to find big chunks of plot and narrative taken from Edens journals, to the point that I think foot notes were in order. I wonder if Moores editors did not read the source materials . If they did, and still presented this as original work, that is a problem. I don't want to use the P word, but "heavily cribbed" is a kind description. I am sorely tempted to take a couple stars off my rating, but the fact remains, I enjoyed the book. I do feel swindled though, much as I did by C.S.Godshalk in her "novel" Kalimantaan which covers a similar time period in Borneo.( When I looked up that authors sources, I found huge chunks of that book were simply rewritten from original histories.)

Lifting from sources in bulk and at length needs, at minimum, to be marked by footnotes. And in best practice, placed in quotations along with footnotes. The precision of the internet can allow readers to make their own judgments. I'm most displeased.

[Paula Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story takes place in Calcutta in 1836. The story centers around three siblings. The brother, John, is sent to Calcutta to be the Governor. Two of his sisters, Eleanor and Harriet, join him on his trip to India. The author, Susanna Moore, does a good job of describing the Indian culture comparing it to British culture. The reader will learn about the food, clothing, and customs of each culture as described by Eleanor in her diary. The reader should remember that when you are reading from someone's diary the thoughts are very personal. I personally thought the intimate relationship between Eleanor and her brother took away from the beautiful descriptions of the country and which is why I only gave this book 3 stars.

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have my friend to thank for this. Picking up her recommendations is a dangerous affair for me. Of late, that danger has been receding as we tend to agree on our book choices more and more. But ‘One Last Look’ was beyond patience for me. I lost the plot somewhere in the beginning and I just skimmed the pages only so that I can finally move this book away from my TBR shelf. The language was languid. I did get a glimpse of what colonial India must have been like from the eyes of the white colonial master. But I just couldn’t sustain that interest because the format - told in the form of a white ‘lady’ through her letters - just didn’t agree with me.

[Robyn Shortwoman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure what to say about this languorous journey through Colonial India. Beautifully descriptive, but always obtuse. I never understood quite what was happening. I am sure this was deliberate, mirroring the larger experience of the English in such an alien culture, and the private experience of the narrator as she descends into opium addiction. Glimpses of sexuality tease as erotica clashes uncomfortably with incest, while the heat and smell of India suffuse the work with sensuality. I kept putting it down in frustration, only to be drawn back again and again. No fireworks. A slow burn.

[Sandra Smit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Er gebeurt heel weinig in dit boek, toch pakt t je vanaf t begin. Hele stukken lees je een paar keer om na te gaan of je de bedoeling begrepen hebt. Wel erg veel vreemde woorden,maar ik nam de moeite om vele op te zoeken zodat ik de betekenis van de dagboekfragmenten goed begrepen had. Lange tijd twijfelde ik of het boigrafisch was of ‘slechts’ een historische roman.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book by Moore that I have read. The best so far. She writes with such skill that I can see and smell and hear what her protagonist sees, smells, hears. The Goodreads description falls flat in comparison to the richness of this story.

[Rosanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was primarily interesting as it may have been based on truth, but then I'd rather read the excerpts of diaries the author used than the novel she used it for. Interesting about India in the 1830s.

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t get past page 45. Horrible.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging adventure into the world of an Englishwoman in India at the time when both the realm and her world blooms and blunders into a new era.

[Charles Kerns · Rating 3 out of 5]

a detailed cut on viceregal life in early 1800s India. Enough to make you hate the brits for their colonial racist policies.

[Kristien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoe een blik kan veranderen van kolonisator naar bewonderaar van het anderszijn, het mystieke en kleurrijke van een andere cultuur. Knappe karakterontwikkeling in dagboekvorm.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this book this morning and still processing...I'm glad I hung in there for the last 50-100 pages, but this is not an easy read.

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moore’s novel, exquisitely written and deftly composed, is a journey through colonial India that feels infinitely more realistic and truer than most historical novels written on a similar subject and whose epic exoticism, by now, often comes across as cliché-ridden. Moore doesn’t go for the spectacular nor the feverishly romantic, even if her story abounds in scenes that leave the reader enchanted: she prefers intimacy, and makes us discover India through the gaze of her heroines, who are, at the same time, baffled by a country which is so different from the England they come from, and under the spell of its strangeness. There is an almost sensorial quality to the way Moore writes about India: you can hear the sounds, smell the fragrances, feel the heat and the humidity, and caress the materials. You also, slowly, through revealing little details, understand what English women could go through in India : a contradictory mixture of excitement, boredom, conflicting desires, sense of alienation, loneliness, frustration, wonder. In a similar fashion, the book subtly unveils the wrongdoings of colonialism and of England’s arrogance through little touches that are far more effective than rousing speeches or clumsy big scenes. The result is unexpectedly moving, and beautifully atmospheric.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Hazel for the intriguing review of this book which I enjoyed in an off-beat way. The narrative (and the emotional tone) was slippery and hard to grasp. The language was often obscure which lead eventually to an overall hallucinatory state (perhaps consistent with the eventual opium addiction of the narrator).

Lady Eleanor with her sister Harriet accompanies her brother (Henry) to India where he has been appointed Governor-General. Eleanor's incestuous relationship to Henry motivated this journey which took her from her comfortable, privileged, English life into the challenging, obscure, and profoundly disturbing East.

Issues I wished the author had addressed:
1. Some passages are in italics. Why? Are these direct quotes? Poetry?
2. Moore says she drew upon the lives of three Englishwomen whom , I imagine, took a similar journey. I'd have liked more information about how closely Moore's narrative paralleled their lives.
3. More said she actually used passages from these women's letters and diaries. Which passages? Are these the ones in quotes?

[Marguerite Hargreaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a real dream-like quality to this novel, which takes the form of a journal written by Lady Eleanor, who accompanies her brother to colonial India when he's appointed governor-general in 1836. India is an epiphany for the English: a swirl of sounds, smells, and color from which they never recover. Susanna Moore's grasp of the history is impeccable. Her characters are vibrant, excepting, maybe, Henry. Her writing is precise and at times lively:

"We sat there in a silence sufficient to extinguish a candle."
"It is exhausting, this occupation of being full of hope one moment and revulsion the next; a robber one minute, a spendthrift the next."

I'd have rated it more highly, but the journal format was a bit tedious at times.

[Leen · Rating 4 out of 5]

We zien alles door Eleanors ogen, waardoor je soms zelf dingen moet raden en het niet duidelijk is wat er juist is gebeurd. Wél overduidelijk is de incestueuze relatie tussen Eleanor en Henry…
De aparte, ironische kijk op de dingen rondom maakt Eleanors dagboek speciaal. Je krijgt gedetailleerde fragmenten, scherp geanalyseerd en geviseerd, over hun leven in en verre tochten door dat verre, onbegrepen land.

Er is ook voor een einde gezorgd, fijn vind ik dat: de familie keer na 7 jaar terug naar huis, en dat gaat ze niet allemaal even goed af.

Heerlijk om te lezen, al mag je je oplettendheid geen seconde laten verslappen want één woord bevat zoveel verborgen betekenissen dat ik op den duur overal complotten en intriges begon te zien.

[Karyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I vaguely remembered one of Ms. Moore's books being published by Knopf right before I started working there; it didn't get much attention because (I believe was said) of the low sales of her previous book, published back in 2001, which seemed to be one of that fall's many 9/11 casualties, put out right at that time when none of us could pay attention to things like novels.

Anyway, I came across "One Last Look" when my sister and I decided last year to try to travel to India in 2009 and I began looking for novels that take place in Calcutta. I was amazed to find this one, which is an incredible piece of historical fiction, and left me staggering in the face of Susanna Moore's brilliance.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing about this book that I loved was that it was written from the perspective of a modern woman, yet the world she evokes in her journals is very much that of an earlier time when the world was much bigger and more mysterious. Books set in India generally appeal to me...something about the richness of detail in everyday life. There was plenty of that here, along with a sense of what it may have been like to be among the most privileged class during the Raj.

[Janelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually "read" is an overstatement. I got to page 37 and gave up. It's fine if you don't want to disclose what your book is about within the first 30 pages, but at least make it enjoyable to read until you get to the meat of the matter. It's ridiculous how awkwardly written this diary-style tale of a British(?) woman in India is.