The Misogynist
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Review
'Piers Paul Read is one of Britain's most intelligent and disturbing writers' New York Times Book Review 'Marvellously comic, superbly inventive ... one of the most arresting British novelists to have appeared in years' The Times 'Undoubtedly one of the most talented novelists of his generation' Francis King, Sunday Telegraph 'A storyteller of the first order, as refreshing as it is rare among the bedraggled ranks of contemporary novelists' Joseph Pearce, author of The Quest for Shakespeare
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
'A beautifully observed portrait of a man at odds with the world...It is at once eloquent and entertaining, intelligent and incisive' Tatler 'Beautifully written and intelligent' Scotsman 'A telling portrait of an older man after a miserable divorce ... a well-observed portrait of middle-class London life for the older single man. It's hilariously funny' Saga At once eloquent and entertaining, intelligent and incisive ... Novels don't come more diverting or sublimely satirical than this' Sebastian Shakespeare, Tatler
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Piers Paul Read, while not in the premier league of contemporary British novelists,could be described - along with authors such as David Lodge - as being somewhere in the middle of the First Division. (As an aside: if you like David Lodge - especially the David Lodge of 'How Far Can You Go' - you might well like Piers Paul Read.)
'The Misogynist' is fairly funny in places, the satire is acute and, in the end, it is really quite moving. Ultimately, it is a novel about 'Grace'(traditionally: God's unmerited favour;the way in which a decisive re-orientation in a person's life is received as a gift rather than through their own efforts). Piers Paul Read is a Catholic and several of his novels end with a 'conversion' (in the broadest sense)of a character who was not necessarily previously likeable or sympathetic. It is important to note, however, that this change can be ambigious - or open to interpretation - as in Read's earlier novel, 'Monk Dawson'. So things are not religiously simplistic - and the end of 'The Misogynist'also has its cross currents.
From the very first page of this novel you are in the world and among the thoughts and reflections of Jomier - a sixty-something, retired lawyer - still holding on to the resentments caused by his wife leaving him (some years previously, we gather)for another man. The story is told in short sentences throughout. At first this seemed like an excellent device to portray Jomier's inner world;it also contributes to a feeling of detached irony. After, a 100 pages, though, I began to find its unmitigated use a little unsatisfying - I did find myself wondering whether it wasn't, in fact, a rather lazy way to write a novel.
You can't help but like Jomier as a character - and he is excellently and believably portrayed. His dyspeptic thoughts and perceptions are always entertaining. And that is what this book really is: a thoroughly good entertainment, a fairly light read, but not as thoughtful as 'A Season in the West' or as complex and dramatic as 'A Married Man'. There is a good twist at the end of 'The Misogynist', however.
'The Misogynist' is fairly funny in places, the satire is acute and, in the end, it is really quite moving. Ultimately, it is a novel about 'Grace'(traditionally: God's unmerited favour;the way in which a decisive re-orientation in a person's life is received as a gift rather than through their own efforts). Piers Paul Read is a Catholic and several of his novels end with a 'conversion' (in the broadest sense)of a character who was not necessarily previously likeable or sympathetic. It is important to note, however, that this change can be ambigious - or open to interpretation - as in Read's earlier novel, 'Monk Dawson'. So things are not religiously simplistic - and the end of 'The Misogynist'also has its cross currents.
From the very first page of this novel you are in the world and among the thoughts and reflections of Jomier - a sixty-something, retired lawyer - still holding on to the resentments caused by his wife leaving him (some years previously, we gather)for another man. The story is told in short sentences throughout. At first this seemed like an excellent device to portray Jomier's inner world;it also contributes to a feeling of detached irony. After, a 100 pages, though, I began to find its unmitigated use a little unsatisfying - I did find myself wondering whether it wasn't, in fact, a rather lazy way to write a novel.
You can't help but like Jomier as a character - and he is excellently and believably portrayed. His dyspeptic thoughts and perceptions are always entertaining. And that is what this book really is: a thoroughly good entertainment, a fairly light read, but not as thoughtful as 'A Season in the West' or as complex and dramatic as 'A Married Man'. There is a good twist at the end of 'The Misogynist', however.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
On first reading this book, it occurred to me that here is the author's protagonist John Strickland ( A Married Man) twenty odd years on. At the end of the book I felt the same. Certainly Jomier uses the same terms about women 'puny breasts' and so on and this time again it is another character who embraces the Catholic faith rather than our hero who mid point in the novel clearly regards it as so much fairy tale gobbledy gook. What happens later, if not a conversion as such, is certainly a deal with the God he previously denied.
Some folk have dismissed this author as a kind of poor man's Graham Greene I find him quite different. The dialogue at the dinner parties, which Jomier reluctantly attends as a sought after spare man, is exquisite it exactly hits the tone of these 21st century soirees. There is also a riveting exchange with his neo con friend from the US who after an anti Muslim rants virtually spits in Jomiers's face , 'Just who's side are you on?'
The ambivalence felt by the long divorced, towards a new live-in relationship is so well drawn, of course the hugs and the good night cuddles are enjoyable, but at what cost -literally in this case- too often Jomier hears the siren call of his empty double bed and his flat screen TV.
Judith, the girlfriend of his twilight years is an amiable woman, she rides out Jomier's moods, her body is lithe from yoga and raw foods and yet....You feel she may be as good as it gets for this aging lover but solitude is going to win.
As far as the writing style is concerned I concur with the first reviewer the short sentences start to grate, moreover a great deal is written in the present tense and I can see no valid reason for this at all, at times it reads like notes for a novel rather than a novel itself.
More irritating though is the authors habit of peppering his prose with snippets of French or sometimes Latin. as I turned a page I found myself automatically scanning for the next set of italics. In such quantity it is hard to draw any other reason for this other than pretension, Good God, the man cannot even stand before a urinal it has to be a pissoir. I am well aware of the author's knowledge of mainland Europe and its languages without having to suffer all these little bon mots as he would say.
The ending succeeded for me in being a complete surprise, it won't blow your head away but is it surprising enough and you can make as much or as little of Jomier's late decision to confer with a deity as you wish.
Altogether a satisfying read much deeper and denser than it appears and well worth a second reading
Some folk have dismissed this author as a kind of poor man's Graham Greene I find him quite different. The dialogue at the dinner parties, which Jomier reluctantly attends as a sought after spare man, is exquisite it exactly hits the tone of these 21st century soirees. There is also a riveting exchange with his neo con friend from the US who after an anti Muslim rants virtually spits in Jomiers's face , 'Just who's side are you on?'
The ambivalence felt by the long divorced, towards a new live-in relationship is so well drawn, of course the hugs and the good night cuddles are enjoyable, but at what cost -literally in this case- too often Jomier hears the siren call of his empty double bed and his flat screen TV.
Judith, the girlfriend of his twilight years is an amiable woman, she rides out Jomier's moods, her body is lithe from yoga and raw foods and yet....You feel she may be as good as it gets for this aging lover but solitude is going to win.
As far as the writing style is concerned I concur with the first reviewer the short sentences start to grate, moreover a great deal is written in the present tense and I can see no valid reason for this at all, at times it reads like notes for a novel rather than a novel itself.
More irritating though is the authors habit of peppering his prose with snippets of French or sometimes Latin. as I turned a page I found myself automatically scanning for the next set of italics. In such quantity it is hard to draw any other reason for this other than pretension, Good God, the man cannot even stand before a urinal it has to be a pissoir. I am well aware of the author's knowledge of mainland Europe and its languages without having to suffer all these little bon mots as he would say.
The ending succeeded for me in being a complete surprise, it won't blow your head away but is it surprising enough and you can make as much or as little of Jomier's late decision to confer with a deity as you wish.
Altogether a satisfying read much deeper and denser than it appears and well worth a second reading
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I started reading this book with a heavy heart. After all, who really wants to read another book about a grumpy old man who is grumpy about being an old man? I love Philip Roth, so I do enjoy this kind of book when done well, but Jomier, the main character, didn't immediately appeal to me.
After just a little while, though, I began to look forward to picking the book back up. Jomier is so well-drawn by Piers Paul Read: his fastidious accounting of the smallest receipt, his residual anger about his expensive divorce, his minimalist flat and his computerised journals (Jomier is anticipating the day when his entire life fits onto one memory stick). And he is particularly well-drawn because despite all this, the reader slowly finds themselves rooting for Jomier.
There is a good story, too. Jomier begins full of bile at all women his age, for their chickeny necks and podgy stomachs (it's not especially comfortable reading). But then he meets a slightly less chickeny, podgy yoga teacher called Judith, and an odd, but satisfying romance begins. So is Jomier really the misogynist of the title? Or can he find love? On top of all this being resolved, there is also a plot concerning his wife and children that I found really intriguing, especially when Jomier makes a desperate gesture in a moment of hopelessness and ends up changing how he must approach his whole life.
In the end, a really satisfying read. I can't wait for the book groups to get their hands on it, either - Jomier is rather hard on ladies in book groups....
After just a little while, though, I began to look forward to picking the book back up. Jomier is so well-drawn by Piers Paul Read: his fastidious accounting of the smallest receipt, his residual anger about his expensive divorce, his minimalist flat and his computerised journals (Jomier is anticipating the day when his entire life fits onto one memory stick). And he is particularly well-drawn because despite all this, the reader slowly finds themselves rooting for Jomier.
There is a good story, too. Jomier begins full of bile at all women his age, for their chickeny necks and podgy stomachs (it's not especially comfortable reading). But then he meets a slightly less chickeny, podgy yoga teacher called Judith, and an odd, but satisfying romance begins. So is Jomier really the misogynist of the title? Or can he find love? On top of all this being resolved, there is also a plot concerning his wife and children that I found really intriguing, especially when Jomier makes a desperate gesture in a moment of hopelessness and ends up changing how he must approach his whole life.
In the end, a really satisfying read. I can't wait for the book groups to get their hands on it, either - Jomier is rather hard on ladies in book groups....
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"A Married Man" Thirty Years On
Piers Paul Read wrote a novel called "A Married Man" about 30 years ago about a lawyer in his early 40s and the trials (no pun intended) and tribulations of his domestic life. Read more
Published 19 days ago by John Fitzpatrick
Thought provoking - and highly enjoyable
Having long been a fan of Read's fiction, I expected The Misogynist to be thought-provoking and beautifully written; I did not anticipate it being such an enjoyable read. Read more
Published 29 days ago by BookJunkie
Excellent
I enjoyed this very much. Many of his so-called 'rants' are pretty spot on to my mind, not PC but pretty much the true reality of life in 21 century England. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Prospero
Wonderful characterisation
What I like about Piers Paul Read's novels is the skilful way he gives life to his characters, and the way that what they will do, how they will behave, seems inevitable from what... Read more
Published 8 months ago by David Franks
An ageing author?
I was disappointed with this book. There is no strong narrative, rather a series of cynical, misogynist, albeit sometimes amusing musings Ostensibly these reflect the main... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Cooker
understanding
This is a wonderful novel about a man who is not easy to like. We are however led on a journey of discovery, this man's discovery of a new self, or perhaps a larger self. Read more
Published 9 months ago by j.s.pullen
Absorbing
I simply loved this novel. Although the main character isn't particularly sympathetic I found myself fascinated by his life, thoughts and emotions. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Stephenson
Not worth it
This takes a long time to grow into. A long time. Jomier is a retired barrister living on his own. He is set in his ways. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Reynolds
A Quintessentially English novel about a Miserable Git
Read portrays the life of a retired sixty something divorced Englishman, Geoffrey Jomier, extremely well. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kiwifunlad
Very Insightful
This is a very interesting book. I thought at first I wasn't engaging with it but, gradually, the book grew on me. I enjoyed the humour and thought-provoking analogies. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Anne Crofts
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