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The Necessary Angel
Please Read Notes: Brand New, International Softcover Edition, Printed in black and white pages, minor self wear on the cover or pages, Sale restriction may be printed on the book, but Book name, contents, and author are exactly same as Hardcover Edition. Fast delivery through DHL/FedEx express.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
11 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
C.K. Stead
68 books22 followersChristian Karlson Stead is a New Zealand writer whose works include novels, poetry, short stories, and literary criticism.
One of Karl Stead's novels, Smith's Dream, provided the basis for the film Sleeping Dogs, starring Sam Neill; this became the first New Zealand film released in the United States.
Mansfield: A Novel was a finalist for the 2005 Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize and received commendation in the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the South East Asia and South Pacific region.
C. K. Stead was born in Auckland. For much of his career he was Professor of English at the University of Auckland, retiring in 1986 to write full-time. He received a CBE in 1985 and was admitted into the highest honour New Zealand can bestow, the Order of New Zealand in 2007.
One of Karl Stead's novels, Smith's Dream, provided the basis for the film Sleeping Dogs, starring Sam Neill; this became the first New Zealand film released in the United States.
Mansfield: A Novel was a finalist for the 2005 Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize and received commendation in the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the South East Asia and South Pacific region.
C. K. Stead was born in Auckland. For much of his career he was Professor of English at the University of Auckland, retiring in 1986 to write full-time. He received a CBE in 1985 and was admitted into the highest honour New Zealand can bestow, the Order of New Zealand in 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 11, 2018
Clever but cold.
New Zealander Max Jackson is a lecturer at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. His marriage to Louise, an heiress and shining star in the academic firmament, is faltering and he has been banished to an adjoining apartment. Max is on the cusp of an affair with Sylvie, an attractive young colleague at the university. Meanwhile, Helen, a bi-polar student, flatters Max about his early poetry as an opening gambit in a bid to get his attention. And that’s about it, apart from a McGuffin about a stolen painting.
Considering that this is ostensibly a novel about extra-marital relationships, I could discern little here in the way of passion. But more annoyingly, Stead never misses an opportunity to inject a gobbet of literary erudition into the proceedings. (Showing off, I call it.) There is much reference to Martin Amis’s Holocaust book The Zone of Interest, the point of which escaped me, as well as frequent mentions of Katherine Mansfield, about whom Stead has written extensively.
Many other famous writers are name-checked as well as the contemporary crop of French politicians. This is set in the period leading up to the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 but the author contributes nothing to the reader’s understanding of a complex world. In summary, the whole thing left me slightly puzzled and entirely cold.
New Zealander Max Jackson is a lecturer at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. His marriage to Louise, an heiress and shining star in the academic firmament, is faltering and he has been banished to an adjoining apartment. Max is on the cusp of an affair with Sylvie, an attractive young colleague at the university. Meanwhile, Helen, a bi-polar student, flatters Max about his early poetry as an opening gambit in a bid to get his attention. And that’s about it, apart from a McGuffin about a stolen painting.
Considering that this is ostensibly a novel about extra-marital relationships, I could discern little here in the way of passion. But more annoyingly, Stead never misses an opportunity to inject a gobbet of literary erudition into the proceedings. (Showing off, I call it.) There is much reference to Martin Amis’s Holocaust book The Zone of Interest, the point of which escaped me, as well as frequent mentions of Katherine Mansfield, about whom Stead has written extensively.
Many other famous writers are name-checked as well as the contemporary crop of French politicians. This is set in the period leading up to the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 but the author contributes nothing to the reader’s understanding of a complex world. In summary, the whole thing left me slightly puzzled and entirely cold.
November 26, 2017
Confession time. Shamefully I haven't read anything previously from C.K. Stead, who stands tall among New Zealand's writers of fiction and poetry. I don't why, especially on the basis of my enjoyment of The Necessary Angel, his first novel in five years.
The story has special appeal for francophiles, particularly those in love with the city of Paris, where The Necessary Angel is based. The other essential thread of the book is with literature, in which Max Jackson and his coterie of family and acquaintances are immersed.
Professor Max lives a fortunate live, far away from his childhood in New Zealand. Surrounded by like minded if sometimes too seriously French for him, he lectures at Sorbonne Nouvelle, alongside writing an erudite work on famous writers while absorbed by the latest and controversial novel by Martin Amis.
His domestic life is a little complicated. His wife and children are happily housed on the top floor of their apartment building while Max is adjusting to his temporary exclusion in his own apartment on the first floor, mostly content, and loyal in his relationship with his dog Skipper. Only in Paris, as they say.
The other character essential to the story is a painting adorning the wall of his wife Louise's dining room wall. Although not authenticated family folklore is adamant that it is a missing Cezanne, and if so it is worth millions.
The Necessary Angel takes us inside this sophisticated and contemporary world against the backdrop of Brexitt , ISIS and political uncertainty. Deceit and complicated relationships are de rigueur. The crowning glory of the story is priceless and unresolved.
The story has special appeal for francophiles, particularly those in love with the city of Paris, where The Necessary Angel is based. The other essential thread of the book is with literature, in which Max Jackson and his coterie of family and acquaintances are immersed.
Professor Max lives a fortunate live, far away from his childhood in New Zealand. Surrounded by like minded if sometimes too seriously French for him, he lectures at Sorbonne Nouvelle, alongside writing an erudite work on famous writers while absorbed by the latest and controversial novel by Martin Amis.
His domestic life is a little complicated. His wife and children are happily housed on the top floor of their apartment building while Max is adjusting to his temporary exclusion in his own apartment on the first floor, mostly content, and loyal in his relationship with his dog Skipper. Only in Paris, as they say.
The other character essential to the story is a painting adorning the wall of his wife Louise's dining room wall. Although not authenticated family folklore is adamant that it is a missing Cezanne, and if so it is worth millions.
The Necessary Angel takes us inside this sophisticated and contemporary world against the backdrop of Brexitt , ISIS and political uncertainty. Deceit and complicated relationships are de rigueur. The crowning glory of the story is priceless and unresolved.
March 17, 2018
The story is entertaining but he tries so hard to help us understand how clever he is. One of the reviews suggests he doesn’t show off. I got the distinct impression that was one of the main purposes of the book, to let us know how much he knows about literature. A shame as it is really unnecessary, it’s a good story without all of the puff.
November 9, 2017
It's such a long time since I loved a writting style as much as this. Savoured would be accurate. I have had to kiss many frogs before finding this Prince.
It is too difficult in an EBOOK to go back and find the source of lines of poetry that are still in my mind. Will check with Mr Google.
It is too difficult in an EBOOK to go back and find the source of lines of poetry that are still in my mind. Will check with Mr Google.
October 3, 2022
Having researched a little about C K Stead, one of New Zealand’s most famous authors, I was expecting a challenging read with The Necessary Angel. Instead, within the book’s pages, I discovered not only extremely readable prose but an interesting storyline.
In this contemporary novel, Max Jackson is a lecturer at the Sorbonne and immediately the reader is plunged into the erudite world of that prestigious university, its lecturers and students. Max is married to a rather forthright French woman named Louise, they have two children Jean-Claude and Juliette and for some inexplicable but somehow inevitable reason, Max has been forced to live in the lower floor of the apartment building, away from the rest of the family. He sees the children of course and he is the one who mostly has the family dog Skipper.
Early on it is obvious that Max is attracted to his work colleague Sylvie, whose older lover is German. And a young English student, Helen White, who is studying at the Sorbonne, is fascinated by Max. Several other readers have accused Stead of showing off with his knowledge of literature. I didn’t feel that way at all. If one of your characters is writing a book about another writer, then you need to know your stuff to sustain believability. Max is writing about both Doris Lessing and V S Naipaul. He is reading Martin Amis’s novel, The Zone of Interest. Louise is working on an edition of one of Flaubert’s novels. Sylvie lives with a taciturn German who is working on a version of The Ghost Sonata by Strindberg. Sylvie actually doesn’t have much literary interest except her job and her involvement with the conference for the following year - 2015, concerning four English and four French poets who had been killed or died as a result of wounds in the Great War. “It would be a memorialisation of the fallen, but a literary one.” Helen White is fascinated by Edward Thomas’s poem Adlestrop and Gurdjieff, a mentor of Katherine Mansfield’s during her final illness. And then of course there is the painting that has been in Louise’s family for years - reputedly a Cezanne.
Here’s Max thinking about Sylvie: “She was the invader who had mysteriously moved in and taken possession of the house of his mind; and for Max the point of going after a new Amis book was to take it back again - part of it anyway.”
Here’s Louise poking about Max’s apartment whilst he is away: “She breathed in the faint aroma of Max and felt a brief glow of affection, a sadness that she had, in effect, dismissed him downstairs. But she had been finding his presence, when she was working, distracting - no less so when they were getting on well than when they were not.”
“Helen White was frightened of many things, and especially of thunder and lightning. But to be afraid was not altogether a bad thing. Sometimes it could be enjoyed, like a new taste, a piquant flavour, a subtle aroma, a bad smell.”
And Sylvie on Max: “He was a ditherer, held in place by that important wife of his, who had banished him downstairs with the dog while she lived upstairs with Flaubert.”
French politics feature in the novel and later the events of January 1915. At one stage I kept wondering how it was all going to end. Just the loss of half a star for the last page or so of the novel, which I found was a stretch. Otherwise, an enjoyable book I read very quickly.
In this contemporary novel, Max Jackson is a lecturer at the Sorbonne and immediately the reader is plunged into the erudite world of that prestigious university, its lecturers and students. Max is married to a rather forthright French woman named Louise, they have two children Jean-Claude and Juliette and for some inexplicable but somehow inevitable reason, Max has been forced to live in the lower floor of the apartment building, away from the rest of the family. He sees the children of course and he is the one who mostly has the family dog Skipper.
Early on it is obvious that Max is attracted to his work colleague Sylvie, whose older lover is German. And a young English student, Helen White, who is studying at the Sorbonne, is fascinated by Max. Several other readers have accused Stead of showing off with his knowledge of literature. I didn’t feel that way at all. If one of your characters is writing a book about another writer, then you need to know your stuff to sustain believability. Max is writing about both Doris Lessing and V S Naipaul. He is reading Martin Amis’s novel, The Zone of Interest. Louise is working on an edition of one of Flaubert’s novels. Sylvie lives with a taciturn German who is working on a version of The Ghost Sonata by Strindberg. Sylvie actually doesn’t have much literary interest except her job and her involvement with the conference for the following year - 2015, concerning four English and four French poets who had been killed or died as a result of wounds in the Great War. “It would be a memorialisation of the fallen, but a literary one.” Helen White is fascinated by Edward Thomas’s poem Adlestrop and Gurdjieff, a mentor of Katherine Mansfield’s during her final illness. And then of course there is the painting that has been in Louise’s family for years - reputedly a Cezanne.
Here’s Max thinking about Sylvie: “She was the invader who had mysteriously moved in and taken possession of the house of his mind; and for Max the point of going after a new Amis book was to take it back again - part of it anyway.”
Here’s Louise poking about Max’s apartment whilst he is away: “She breathed in the faint aroma of Max and felt a brief glow of affection, a sadness that she had, in effect, dismissed him downstairs. But she had been finding his presence, when she was working, distracting - no less so when they were getting on well than when they were not.”
“Helen White was frightened of many things, and especially of thunder and lightning. But to be afraid was not altogether a bad thing. Sometimes it could be enjoyed, like a new taste, a piquant flavour, a subtle aroma, a bad smell.”
And Sylvie on Max: “He was a ditherer, held in place by that important wife of his, who had banished him downstairs with the dog while she lived upstairs with Flaubert.”
French politics feature in the novel and later the events of January 1915. At one stage I kept wondering how it was all going to end. Just the loss of half a star for the last page or so of the novel, which I found was a stretch. Otherwise, an enjoyable book I read very quickly.
October 20, 2017
The tv show Seinfeld has often been described as a show about 'nothing'
So too is C.K. Stead's The Necessary Angel a book about 'nothing' and yet so many things happen within that nothingness.
This book delves into the ordinary, everyday lives and the trials and tribulations of love, fidelity, work, marriage, families, and general living, of a small group of somewhat connected people. But this book makes the ordinary, seem extraordinary.
Set in a rich tapestry of modern Parisian culture, lifestyle and of course the beautiful city itself, The Necessary Angel evokes a sense of loss, lost innocence, lost childhood, lost loves, but also the journey of finding oneself. Of the realisation that when you get what you want, you may find that it's not quite what you wanted after all. Of discovering where you belong, and with whom.
Literary references are made throughout this book, classics studied and critiqued, and the importance of the written word is subtly highlighted, as well as cultural differences with the spoken word.
I find that some authors (especially the literary prized ones) tend to focus so much on the words, so much on their prose, that they neglect the characters and the story, so I am a little wary of literary fiction.
Stead himself writes 'So much concern for the word meant there was little left for the character.'
(Quote is from an uncorrected proof and may alter from the final revised text)
Luckily that is not the case with this book, in fact, it unifies the literary word with character and story development.
The Necessary Angel makes literary fiction accessible, makes it enjoyable, makes it come alive!
This book was delightful, and wholly satisfying! And having been to Paris, I could picture it as if I was right there, although it's been 10 years since my European Adventure.
Thank you C.K. Stead for taking me back there. And thank you Allen & Unwin for my advance copy as part of The Necessary Angel giveaway on Social Media.
So too is C.K. Stead's The Necessary Angel a book about 'nothing' and yet so many things happen within that nothingness.
This book delves into the ordinary, everyday lives and the trials and tribulations of love, fidelity, work, marriage, families, and general living, of a small group of somewhat connected people. But this book makes the ordinary, seem extraordinary.
Set in a rich tapestry of modern Parisian culture, lifestyle and of course the beautiful city itself, The Necessary Angel evokes a sense of loss, lost innocence, lost childhood, lost loves, but also the journey of finding oneself. Of the realisation that when you get what you want, you may find that it's not quite what you wanted after all. Of discovering where you belong, and with whom.
Literary references are made throughout this book, classics studied and critiqued, and the importance of the written word is subtly highlighted, as well as cultural differences with the spoken word.
I find that some authors (especially the literary prized ones) tend to focus so much on the words, so much on their prose, that they neglect the characters and the story, so I am a little wary of literary fiction.
Stead himself writes 'So much concern for the word meant there was little left for the character.'
(Quote is from an uncorrected proof and may alter from the final revised text)
Luckily that is not the case with this book, in fact, it unifies the literary word with character and story development.
The Necessary Angel makes literary fiction accessible, makes it enjoyable, makes it come alive!
This book was delightful, and wholly satisfying! And having been to Paris, I could picture it as if I was right there, although it's been 10 years since my European Adventure.
Thank you C.K. Stead for taking me back there. And thank you Allen & Unwin for my advance copy as part of The Necessary Angel giveaway on Social Media.
April 14, 2019
I enjoyed reading this without really understanding why. There is virtually nothing by way of plot except for a mystery element which is only raised towards the end of the book. The book is full of literary references, many of which eluded me. The language is lovely but sometimes seems determined to be clever. The characters are believable and interesting but I was not at all engaged by any of them. I think in the end it was the complete sense of their world that drew me in; of the unstructured way they interacted, of the everydayness of existence.
September 11, 2017
this was very different to how I read the description. Being set it France was a small tumbling block for me with references to places and the different authors. There was a lot about the egos and the books they were writing. There wasn't enough about the relationships to give a better depth of the characters. And the mystery at the end kinda fell flat. I found it hard to get to the end, it was easy to work out the twist as well. Sorry but this wasn't for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2024
What a pleasure it was to read this sparkling campus novel set at the Sorbonne in Paris!
The Necessary Angel is Stead's sixteenth novel — a campus novel set in 2014 that explores passion, fidelity, betrayal and jealousy; the daily presence of books and authors in the lives of people who love literature; the dynamics of interpersonal power; and the complexities of living in contemporary Europe, from an outsider's point-of-view. There's also a nice little mystery that hums along beside the main narrative.
I've noted that the complexities of Paris are observed by an outsider, but Max Jackson, who lectures in English Literature at the Sorbonne, is a New Zealander who's lived in France for a long time. But he still has Kiwi attitudes — which he often keeps to himself, especially the constant irritation of being mistaken for a Brit, but also the discrepancy between the shabby memorial to Katherine Mansfield naming her as a wife rather than the brilliant modernist author that she was, and the ostentatious grandiosity of a memorial to a cult 'philosopher-guru' called Gurdjieff.
And though the day came when he could wander around the streets feeling relaxed instead of having to keep his bearings in mind, and he knows the unspoken rules of French restaurants, he is still not comfortable at ritual observances such as a funeral. He has a French wife and French children who cooperate with their mother's quixotic dress rules with the glum compliance of the French child which Max always found surprising. A note at the beginning of the story tells us that the characters speak in French unless otherwise noted, but though Max is fluent, he can't follow teenage urban slang and he sometimes ponders the difference between effortlessly learning a mother tongue and the process of learning another language in adulthood.
Despite this, Max engages in deliciously witty and cerebral conversations about books. Having abandoned poetry, he is writing literary criticism about Doris Lessing and V S Naipaul. His wife, Louise, from whom he is estranged since being banished to the ground floor of their apartment, is working on a novel by Flaubert, and she hopes that the introduction she writes will resurrect interest in him. Sylvia, part of a committee planning literary events to coincide with WW1 commemorations, is fancied by Max. She doesn't have a passion for literature, but she does have a passion for a moody German called Bertholdt who's working on a production of Strindberg's Ghost Sonata. Max gets a testy response from Berholdt when he mentions with no conscious motive but a dim feeling there might be an unconscious one, that he's reading the new novel by Martin Amis, The Zone of Interest (yes, the one that was made into the recent film). He adds that it's about the Holocaust, and it's set in Auschwitz, but that's not actually what interests Max about the book. It's the story: with a plot element omitted from the film... that the camp commandant had engaged a Jewish inmate to kill his unfaithful wife, in exchange for which he would save the inmate's wife from her fate.
Fidelity is on Max's mind. As well it might be.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/05/08/t...
The Necessary Angel is Stead's sixteenth novel — a campus novel set in 2014 that explores passion, fidelity, betrayal and jealousy; the daily presence of books and authors in the lives of people who love literature; the dynamics of interpersonal power; and the complexities of living in contemporary Europe, from an outsider's point-of-view. There's also a nice little mystery that hums along beside the main narrative.
I've noted that the complexities of Paris are observed by an outsider, but Max Jackson, who lectures in English Literature at the Sorbonne, is a New Zealander who's lived in France for a long time. But he still has Kiwi attitudes — which he often keeps to himself, especially the constant irritation of being mistaken for a Brit, but also the discrepancy between the shabby memorial to Katherine Mansfield naming her as a wife rather than the brilliant modernist author that she was, and the ostentatious grandiosity of a memorial to a cult 'philosopher-guru' called Gurdjieff.
And though the day came when he could wander around the streets feeling relaxed instead of having to keep his bearings in mind, and he knows the unspoken rules of French restaurants, he is still not comfortable at ritual observances such as a funeral. He has a French wife and French children who cooperate with their mother's quixotic dress rules with the glum compliance of the French child which Max always found surprising. A note at the beginning of the story tells us that the characters speak in French unless otherwise noted, but though Max is fluent, he can't follow teenage urban slang and he sometimes ponders the difference between effortlessly learning a mother tongue and the process of learning another language in adulthood.
Despite this, Max engages in deliciously witty and cerebral conversations about books. Having abandoned poetry, he is writing literary criticism about Doris Lessing and V S Naipaul. His wife, Louise, from whom he is estranged since being banished to the ground floor of their apartment, is working on a novel by Flaubert, and she hopes that the introduction she writes will resurrect interest in him. Sylvia, part of a committee planning literary events to coincide with WW1 commemorations, is fancied by Max. She doesn't have a passion for literature, but she does have a passion for a moody German called Bertholdt who's working on a production of Strindberg's Ghost Sonata. Max gets a testy response from Berholdt when he mentions with no conscious motive but a dim feeling there might be an unconscious one, that he's reading the new novel by Martin Amis, The Zone of Interest (yes, the one that was made into the recent film). He adds that it's about the Holocaust, and it's set in Auschwitz, but that's not actually what interests Max about the book. It's the story: with a plot element omitted from the film... that the camp commandant had engaged a Jewish inmate to kill his unfaithful wife, in exchange for which he would save the inmate's wife from her fate.
Fidelity is on Max's mind. As well it might be.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/05/08/t...
December 28, 2019
3.5 stars
I enjoyed plenty about this book. The prose was engaging and accessible, but intelligent.
I saw the twist coming before the end, but it was done well enough that I didn't mind, and ultimately, the plot was not why I consumed this book in just a few gulps.
It's set in 2014 in Paris (as a slight Francophile, this was lovely, and I felt a nostalgia for past holidays as the characters roamed the streets). Clever observations about the complexities of living in modern day Europe, our relationship with past and present wider events as individuals and societies, and what it means to live in your second language are scattered throughout.
I must admit, many of the literary references went over my head, but I got the gist, and my not knowing them didn't detract from my enjoyment of the writing.
The characters were interesting, with complex relationships, and I took pleasure in watching these play out from the different perspectives. (I wanted to know more about some of them, but I understood them enough to believe their actions, and most of their thoughts.)
I recommend finding a comfy spot and settling in to read at a leisurely pace with a cup of tea in just a few sittings.
(Please note, I won an advance copy from publisher Allen & Unwin as part of a social media competition. This review is in no way sponsored, and views are my own).
I enjoyed plenty about this book. The prose was engaging and accessible, but intelligent.
I saw the twist coming before the end, but it was done well enough that I didn't mind, and ultimately, the plot was not why I consumed this book in just a few gulps.
It's set in 2014 in Paris (as a slight Francophile, this was lovely, and I felt a nostalgia for past holidays as the characters roamed the streets). Clever observations about the complexities of living in modern day Europe, our relationship with past and present wider events as individuals and societies, and what it means to live in your second language are scattered throughout.
I must admit, many of the literary references went over my head, but I got the gist, and my not knowing them didn't detract from my enjoyment of the writing.
The characters were interesting, with complex relationships, and I took pleasure in watching these play out from the different perspectives. (I wanted to know more about some of them, but I understood them enough to believe their actions, and most of their thoughts.)
I recommend finding a comfy spot and settling in to read at a leisurely pace with a cup of tea in just a few sittings.
(Please note, I won an advance copy from publisher Allen & Unwin as part of a social media competition. This review is in no way sponsored, and views are my own).
January 16, 2022
I'm ashamed to say that I did not know of C K Stead, whom I find is New Zealand's 'best known writer' and their Poet Laureate. He turns 90 this year so I have no excuse for not having heard of him!I learned that he has had an illustrious career in literature, writing poetry, fiction and literary criticism. He was a Professor of English at Auckland University.
The Necessary Angel was published in 2017 so it is a late work. Its main character is a man I imagine Stead must have been like when he was young. Max is a New Zealander who teaches literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. His marriage to a French professor is undergoing a trial separation of sorts and he is attracted to two different women - Sylvie who is a fellow teacher and Helen, a student.
All three characters are well developed with Helen being a particularly interesting young woman. Her 'necessary angel' is lithium, which she takes to control her bipolar disorder. Max is not sure who or what his 'necessary angel' should be. An additional complication in the later part of the story is that a painting, believed to be by Cezanne, is stolen from Max's wife's apartment. This mystery is not essential to the novel but adds piquancy.
I found this a very satisfying read. The word that comes to mind is 'civilised'. I loved the setting in Paris and the literary references. Some readers might feel that the literary references are irritating name dropping but they worked for me. I also liked the way the author had Max wonder about the value of his path in life and the relevance of literature to the big issues of the day. There are background references to the rise of Islamic extremism and to the fate of refugees. Max feels helpless in the face of these issues as I often do. He knows how fortunate he is - and in the end this novel celebrates that. Good literature and a 'good as I can make it' life.
The Necessary Angel was published in 2017 so it is a late work. Its main character is a man I imagine Stead must have been like when he was young. Max is a New Zealander who teaches literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. His marriage to a French professor is undergoing a trial separation of sorts and he is attracted to two different women - Sylvie who is a fellow teacher and Helen, a student.
All three characters are well developed with Helen being a particularly interesting young woman. Her 'necessary angel' is lithium, which she takes to control her bipolar disorder. Max is not sure who or what his 'necessary angel' should be. An additional complication in the later part of the story is that a painting, believed to be by Cezanne, is stolen from Max's wife's apartment. This mystery is not essential to the novel but adds piquancy.
I found this a very satisfying read. The word that comes to mind is 'civilised'. I loved the setting in Paris and the literary references. Some readers might feel that the literary references are irritating name dropping but they worked for me. I also liked the way the author had Max wonder about the value of his path in life and the relevance of literature to the big issues of the day. There are background references to the rise of Islamic extremism and to the fate of refugees. Max feels helpless in the face of these issues as I often do. He knows how fortunate he is - and in the end this novel celebrates that. Good literature and a 'good as I can make it' life.
September 25, 2018
This a story of Max, a professor at the Sorbonne. He's a New Zealander, but has lived in Paris for many years and is comfortable with Parisian life. Max's domestic life is complicated though, being somewhat estranged from his French wife Louise, also a professor. She lives in their apartment with the children, whilst Max lives down on the first floor of the apartment, with his faithful dog, Skipper.
As well as lecturing, Max writes novels on famous authors, and this provides the opportunity for many literary references in the book. At times I found these to be too much, and certainly I didn't understand all the connections.
With the inclusion of a couple of love interests and a possible original Cezanne painting hanging on the upstairs wall, Max's life gets more complicated through the story.
Of course I loved the Paris setting, the meetings in French cafes and the descriptions of the local areas. Also the New Zealand touches and remembrances added to the story and brought it closer to home. This is a gentle book and whilst not a lot happens, it's an interesting read which is really well written, as you would expect from this author. And it's a bit different too.
As well as lecturing, Max writes novels on famous authors, and this provides the opportunity for many literary references in the book. At times I found these to be too much, and certainly I didn't understand all the connections.
With the inclusion of a couple of love interests and a possible original Cezanne painting hanging on the upstairs wall, Max's life gets more complicated through the story.
Of course I loved the Paris setting, the meetings in French cafes and the descriptions of the local areas. Also the New Zealand touches and remembrances added to the story and brought it closer to home. This is a gentle book and whilst not a lot happens, it's an interesting read which is really well written, as you would expect from this author. And it's a bit different too.
May 23, 2024
A novel, about nothing of much consequence, but it somehow compelled me to the end.
I feel oddly torn, because on the one hand it's a novel about a middle-aged professor, who seems somewhat plain and average, somehow gaining the attentions, affections, and obsessions of three women. Professor Max Jackson must be a sort of proxy for C. K. Stead himself, since he gives rise to all sorts of reflections on contemporary (2014) culture and literature, and has a complex personal voice which is full of self-awareness. However, the three women who fall over him are one-dimensional, stereotypical, and seem to be treated with contempt in the author's voice, even though parts are written from their perspectives. But on the other hand, I was very curious to see how it all unfolded, and I enjoyed reading it, despite my dislike of Stead's treatment of women.
Too sexist for more than three stars, I reckon.
I feel oddly torn, because on the one hand it's a novel about a middle-aged professor, who seems somewhat plain and average, somehow gaining the attentions, affections, and obsessions of three women. Professor Max Jackson must be a sort of proxy for C. K. Stead himself, since he gives rise to all sorts of reflections on contemporary (2014) culture and literature, and has a complex personal voice which is full of self-awareness. However, the three women who fall over him are one-dimensional, stereotypical, and seem to be treated with contempt in the author's voice, even though parts are written from their perspectives. But on the other hand, I was very curious to see how it all unfolded, and I enjoyed reading it, despite my dislike of Stead's treatment of women.
Too sexist for more than three stars, I reckon.
November 12, 2017
Max is a New Zealander but a professor of English Literature at the Sorbonne. He's married to Louise also a professor, and she has banished him to the basement of their home. Helen White, a student of Max's and also a 'bit mad' becomes a bit of distraction to Max while he is trying to finish his 'lit crit' book. Max is also in love with Sylvie. Then there's 'the painting', in Louise's family for generations and purportedly by Cezanne. You would think there is a lot to mine here but although beautifully written it just doesn't go anywhere. I didn't get a good feel for the characters, the plot wanders aimlessly, and it's all too nicely resolved in the end.
May 17, 2020
This is one of those books where nothing much happens and, in truth, I’m not entirely sure what the overall point was. Max is an New Zealand academic, living in Paris and recently separated from his French wife - he has a few relationships with other women, there are lots of references to books (Martin Amis in particular) and about half way through we get an added element of mystery. I’m sure it is much cleverer than the level that I read it at, and but I still really enjoyed it. Maybe just a right time, right place book for me.
September 5, 2017
Fair effort! One for francophiles whose addiction goes slightly beyond coffee, croissants and Louis Vuitton. Lots of references to French literary greats. If I could be sure that there was evidence that the oeuvre of these greats was really deeply mirrored and played with in the narrative, I could say it could have been a great book. As it was, it was an enjoyable and quite addictive read, especially for those who remember the Paris leading up to Christmas 2015. A must-read for New Zealand francophiles, I would have thought, although I would have liked more work on the Katherine Mansfield connection - or did the oft-studied, The Garden Party become the picnic of novel.
Sort of aspirationally high-brow chick-lit but written from a male point of view, if that makes sense. I was guilty of turning the light on in the middle of the night just to read another chapter. Loved the ending. Go for it!
Sort of aspirationally high-brow chick-lit but written from a male point of view, if that makes sense. I was guilty of turning the light on in the middle of the night just to read another chapter. Loved the ending. Go for it!
April 22, 2019
I've left it too long after finishing this book to do it justice, though there are other reviews here that certainly do. It is an accomplished work by a well known NZ author. Quotes from literature abound, there is a side theme with Flaubert, and even Cezanne, but most of the plot revolves around the rather complicated relationships of the main characters.
April 27, 2018
I enjoy CK Stead, he is an accomplished writer. This is a charming story, I enjoyed all the literary references (especially Flaubert -as I had just been reading Julian Barnes) and it had a good plot, but I found the character of Max hard to visualise - and as a result his lovers and the attraction to each other was missing for me. I found the end both irritating and irresistible - it left me smiling.
July 24, 2024
3.5 stars. Very clever writing with great details about people and place. I really wish I had read this before my recent trip to Paris because it makes you feel like you are really there. My guess is I would have enjoyed this even more if I was a fan of poetry.
November 11, 2018
Really enjoyed it - & reminded me of why I love Paris & feel so at home there.
July 30, 2019
Wonderful writing - witty and entertaining while sufficiently complex to intrigue the reader, and touching on real life as well as contemporary events. I love Stead’s writing.
Read
September 27, 2019Started readong but couldnt get into it so didnt get past the first couple of chapters.
December 11, 2020
I've known about this author for years but for some reason I've never read him before. I'm glad I finally have. Now I understand why he is such a highly praised author and nzs poet laureate.
April 10, 2021
A misogynist book that has completely put me off C K Stead. What a creep!
December 31, 2022
Gripping, but the ending was disappointing. It was almost as if the author ran out of passion for his creation.
December 14, 2023
The headline review on the front cover nails it: "urbane".
Male academic collects a muse, a wife and a mistress. He is so incredibly intelligent and they are all so weak and female and mad. Ffs.
Yes, it is clever, but so full of phwah ha ha arsiness I was ready to rewrite history and blow up his masterpiece. Is that a spoiler? Not really.
Male academic collects a muse, a wife and a mistress. He is so incredibly intelligent and they are all so weak and female and mad. Ffs.
Yes, it is clever, but so full of phwah ha ha arsiness I was ready to rewrite history and blow up his masterpiece. Is that a spoiler? Not really.
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