Tuesday 20 December 2011

Book Review: The Portrait of a Lover by John Wheatcroft

 The Portrait of a Lover by John Wheatcroft is available from Amazon

When Sarah decided to attend a class in choral singing, she could not have known that this would change her life forever. From the moment David Olanski walked up to the conductor’s rostrum, things could never be the same again. This is a sensitive telling of a lifetime of unrequited love, or perhaps not in truth fully unrequited; we are left wondering . It is not, however, a sad story. Sarah was born to be an outsider, standing hesitantly on the edges of society. Her feelings for David Olanski, and the ways in which they guided her life choices, served to keep her alienation under control.

This novel will please readers who enjoy exploring the inner world of a literary protagonist. Although male, the author succeeds in presenting the life story of someone whom society would stereotype under the term: “old spinster”.    
John Wheatcroft has written his tale in unashamedly literary style. His words are finely nuanced, sometimes weaving complex sentences. It is a type of writing that is infrequently met today. I was not surprised to learn that Wheatcroft is a professor emeritus of English literature. He has been active as an author since the 1960s and has other novels, poems and plays to his credit. I had not been aware of John Wheatcroft before reading Portrait of a Lover, but I intend to explore his works further in future.

The Portrait of a Lover by John Wheatcroft is available from Amazon
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.