Perspectives

by Bernardine Bishop

This interesting and very assured novel was written when the author was twenty-one. The main characters are all concerned in one way or another with the running of a small magazine, Perspectives on Under-Developed Countries. In relation to it, the integrity of each of them is put on trial, and each is unaware of the purity of the other's motives. The backer, a failed writer, and his mistress, the editor, are seen to be using the magazine in order to provide him with an image of himself. The young assistant editor is beglamoured by the thought of a literary set and anxious to impress his friends. The editor's undergraduate daughter finds the magazine handy in her stage-management of the lives of those close to her—one of whom provides a contrast to the other characters by consistently acting out of conviction rather than with an eye to the reactions of an imaginary audience, and by fulfilling his obligations without histrionics.
  Perspectives is a neat, elegant book, with a pleasantly flowing style. One feels that the author has a real delight in observing character. There is a nice edge to her descriptions, occasionally reminiscent of Jane Austen. Bernardine Bishop is obviously all set for the career of a continuing and talented writer.

189 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clever. Cold-hearted. Frustrating. Frightening Terrifying, in a way. A bunch of narcissists put each other down while trying to preserve their self-images at all costs.