Consolation

Consolation

James Wilson’s beautifully written fictional novel Consolation crosses the boundaries of the real and the enchanted to demonstrate the blurring of the two realms when dealing with grief. An intricately detailed novel set in 1910, that focuses on love, estrangement, obsession and creativity in a manner that captivates the reader’s heart and soul through its attempt to make sense of the world we inhabit.

The novel focuses on the highly celebrated children’s author Corley Roper and the complex healing journey that he is embarking on at the start of the novel. The modern reader enters the Edwardian backdrop painted by Wilson to the image of an isolated and confused man desperately searching for logic when his world is overturned after his estrangement from his wife and the death of his beloved daughter Elspeth. An unknown force propels him into action regarding the mysterious figure of Mary Wilson, another parent mourning the loss of her stillborn child. Through his personal quest for reason, Roper finds himself impelled by a mysterious internal spirit to help Mary Wilson to figure out her ancestry and identity, whilst attempting to relight his own fire of creativity.

Wilson’s powerful use of language leads the reader through the chaotic maze of Roper’s mind in his desperate need to help another to balance his failure in keeping his daughter alive ‘I honestly believed that – If I could only nerve myself to it – I’d be able to bring her back again. It would be like trying to rescue someone from a burning house. Just one supreme act of enchantment.’ The reader is able to feel Ropers despair so effectively, that we cannot help but be transfixed by his quest. The graceful tone reaches out to our sentiments as we yearn for closure to ease Roper’s frenzied despair.

Wilson elegantly distorts the different realms of fiction and reality to illustrate the psychological turmoil present in the protagonists psyche; disorientating and confusing the readers mind to illustrate the overpowering affect that heartache has on the human consciousness. Entwining romance, ghosts and history – the novel intricately links inspiration and the need for purpose in one’s life, to demonstrate the fragility of creativity. The aptly titled Consolation expresses the importance of comfort in other things after disappointment; by helping the soul of Mary Wilson’s stillborn child, Roper celebrates the memory of his own fatherhood and pays tribute to his daughter’s past and his own creative future.

The novel celebrates altruism beautifully, individualism and selfishness do not account for anything throughout the text: Wilson exemplifies the charismatic English gentleman, Corley Roper wonderfully – allowing the reader to truly appreciate his talent as the Children’s author of ‘Largo Frog’ and ‘Alcuin Hare’ who is able to spellbind his readers to travel to a more innocent and so happier sphere. An escapist novel that remains firmly rooted in reality: A magnificent read.