Asylum
52 Books In 52 Weeks: #13 of 52
I was pleasantly surprised to realise that Patrick McGrath’s Asylum would allow me to reacquaint myself with the gothic novel. It hadn’t been presented to me as such. Essentially, I was told it to be a psychological thriller in which passion was pitted against reason in a battle for one woman’s existence.
As far as premises go, it’s rather spot-on, but the execution is deliberately and wholly gothic, as chilling mysteries, unspoken evils and appalling consequences await Stella, the main protagonist, wife of a highly regarded psychiatric doctor, as she abandons herself to her carnal impulses through an illicit love affair with a psych patient under the care of her husband.
As the dark excitants bubble up from under the ordered surface of civilization and human nature clashes with itself in true gothic spirit, one can also appreciate McGrath’s invocation of the Victorian romance novel, where socially unequal lovers challenge their status for their love. Only here, social castes are divided between the ruling polite society of “doctors” and the back-braking visceral community of “patients,” a division which only serves to motivate Stella and her errancy. The reality, unfortunately, is much harsher than two star crossed lovers separated only by way of social standing.
But what kicks off as quite the page turner becomes a cloudy, hazy ordeal where the tension gives way to a rather depressing final act and ultimately foreseeable outcome, feeling like we’ve mostly assisted to a morality play than anything else. It’s an enjoyable novel overall, in large part due to its adroit stylistic approach and veiled social commentary.
Book: Asylum
Publisher: Random House
Next: Summer Blonde
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