Voices Under the Window

by John Hearne

Social and racial inequalities abound in this 1960s Jamaican novel about a middle class lawyer who works closely with the working class and radical nationalist movement. In the midst of a riot, Mark Lattimer is targeted—and mortally wounded—by a poor islander because of his white-collar appearance. Cut off from medical attention in the middle of the insurgence, he is left to contemplate his life, including his childhood as a member of the privileged white elite, his time spent in London and as part of the RAF, his marriage and affairs, and the moment when he committed himself to the causes of the poor. As the end nears, Mark ruminates on the meaning of life and death, the politics of politics, and the significance of action in an absurd world.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 1956

About the author

Hearne was born in Montreal, Canada, of Jamaican parents and attended Jamaica College in Kingston. After serving in the RAF during the Second World War, he read English and Philosophy at Edinburgh University. He trained as a teacher at London University and from 1950 to 1952 taught in a Jamaican school. He also worked as a journalist. He then travelled in Europe for some years (part of the time with novelist Roger Mais, before returning to Jamaica in 1957. He was subsequently on the staff of the Extra-Mural Department of the University of the West Indies, Mona. --from Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_...

Reviews

[Parsnip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this fully by accident, and what a brilliant surprise !

This book was a slap in the face, and one I surely wasn't prepared for. For some reason, I couldn't get into it at first and had to re-read the opening pages several times. Once I was in though, I was IN.
The narration is brilliant, easing us slowly and almost imperceptibly into layers of thick atmospheres before switching brutally to harsher realities and uneasiness. It almost feels like a lullaby, numbing our senses and judgement to better toy with us afterwards. And I can’t deny, John Hearne does it very well.

The first layer is maybe the most complex one, torn between the riot, Ted & Brysie, and Mark. As we are witnessing everything mostly from this last point-of-view, everything feels evanescent, almost dreamy : the story is told by a dying man who’s starting to lose the grip on reality. Because of that, the riot feels distant despite taking place right under the window. It plays a central part in the story : it is the very reason Mark is dying and all the characters’ actions and interactions are bound by and to it. Yet it is somehow almost absent as if tertiary to the situation and unimportant to the country’s future. Ted and Brysie’s position is similar. They are consumed by their fear for Mark’s life, there are the reason he stays calm and dignified, part of his last thoughts, hopes and salvation are for them. Still, they barely seem like secondary characters once Mark’s been hurt. They appear useless, motionless, unable to form opinions and make decisions on their own. They, unarmed, depend on a dying, delirious man, passed out for most of the story. There’s something eerie, theatrical to them, as they do not seem to do or say anything when Mark’s hallucinating/reminiscing his past. They’re politely waiting for the story to unfold and this adds a certain gravitas to the narrative. The characters themselves refuse to accept Mark’s fate and throughout the whole novel they hang on hoping for him to survive, but the way John Hearne wrote them betrays the reality in a very metatextual way. Interestingly enough, the reader’s attitude is probably closer to theirs, at least mine was. Until the very end, it’s hard to know if Mark’s right or not, an over-dramatic and egoistical man who sees himself as a tragic figure claimed by destiny, or a surprisingly clear-minded man coming to terms with his flaws and regrets and taking responsibility for them. Everything feel unbelievable as the contrast between what we’re told and what we’re shown is too strong. Should we believe in the violence taking place outside ? It seems plausible, logical according to what we know of the political context, and we’ve witnessed Mark’s attack. At the same time, his calm makes the situation seem unserious, inconsequential. It feels almost soothing, the way he remembers significant moments of his life, in chronological order and with a certain hue of nostalgia.
This is the second layer of the atmosphere, and despite being evidently the simplest too-good to be true one, it prevails and fools us. I truly believed in the innocence and beauty of these memories. The blind pride, the dignity, the pure love, they all were so pleasant to experience, so easy to enjoy and admire. They portrayed a much nicer version of Mark, a one easy to love and to forgive, they made his death more tragic but also almost heroic. It was somehow soothing to fall for them and it also made the wake-up-calls ending these sections even better. Oh, they were hard, violent, and oh do they demonstrate skilful narration and writing !
I’ll have to read this again with all that in mind to enjoy it again, with new eyes aware of all the tricks at play !

4,75/5

[Gwyneth Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for the times.