Having enjoyed some of O’Farrell’s books, particularly Instructions for a Heatwave, I was pleased to come across another of her novels, her second novel published in 2002, called My Lover’s Lover. The blurb talked of “the drug-like strength of O’Farrell’s storytelling”, “her writing is exquisite, skilfully laying a trail of half-truths and mystery to ensnare and enthrall”, “a gripping exploration”, “written so beautifully, with such startling, delicate and original images”, etc. Halfway through the novel, I was wondering if the reviewers were really referring to this same novel I was reading.
Part One is about Lily, who seems to instantly fall for one Marcus whom she meets when she trips and falls catching the kerb, and whom she meets again immediately after, at the art gallery attending the same exhibition. He invites her to be a housemate since his previous one has gone, and they become lovers right from the start. (At the start, Marcus’s best friend, Aidan, is also in the apartment, but he soon finds his own apartment and moves out.) Lily at first imagines – or is misled by Marcus to imagine – that the tenant who used to have her room – Marcus’ ex-girlfriend, Sinead – had died suddenly. At first she feels haunted by Sinead, seeing her everywhere in the apartment, feeling her own presence resented. But it turns out that Sinead is alive and well, shocking Lily who spots her one day on the streets. Lily grows obsessive stalking her, even attending the lectures Sinead gives, and trying to find out more about her since Marcus won’t discuss her. Sinead wants nothing to do with Lily, getting upset at being stalked by both Marcus and Lily, but eventually, Lily manages to corner Sinead and get answers to her questions (in Part 2).
Part 1 ends with Lily spotting Aidan talking with Sinead. Thus far, it had been fairly dull – Lily seems an odd girl, it is difficult to know why she does what she does, and she is not presented particularly sympathetically. The relationship between her and Marcus is not presented with much tenderness or with much anything really – it is not much presented at all. The characters at this stage seem puppet-like, going through their motions, slightly to the bafflement of the reader. The writing is fairly pedestrian so far, nothing worth quoting, and the way the story is told, it is hard to identify with any of the characters since they are all presented as having some secret motives of their own which readers are not privy to.
Part Two is about Sinead and Marcus’ relationship, written in two parallel and intertwining threads of narrative – of their 5-year relationship coming to an end, and of the start of the relationship, when Sinead is doing her PhD. She and her two housemates throw a student party, and Marcus attends, with Aidan. Sinead falls for Marcus straightaway too, just as Lily did. Soon after this party, Marcus tells Sinead he has to go to China for work. A few weeks after, he phones her from China and tells her to come join him. She recklessly goes, without asking many questions. The description of China feels as if it is lifted from any mundane brochure:
I hired a bike, cycled out of the town along the dust road, which meandered between the bulk of the mountains, through glassy-surfaced paddy-fields, herds of crescent-horned water-buffalo, tiny villages where people would shout after me, amazed by the lone white woman on a bicycle. Away from the tourist zone of the town, people were living in shacks with animals, children worked in the fields, and ancient women hobbled on twisted, broken feet, carrying bundles of firewood.
p195
It just seems a series of clichés, as written by someone who has never left her armchair in the UK. (Moreover, is it likely there were ‘herds’ of water buffalo in such a poor agricultural community, where a farmer would be lucky if he owned more than one?)
That said, Part Two is much better than Part One because at least the characters are better developed, and the reader is beginning to be able to get a hold of where the story is going. Marcus confesses his serial unfaithfulness to Sinead, who immediately leaves him. Aidan, on a work visit on New York, had witnessed Marcus’ casual affairs; and has fallen in love with Sinead, but feels unable to tell her even after she has broken up with Marcus, because she is still broken hearted.
Parts Three and Four are very short; basically, Aidan is in love with Sinead and comforts her sometimes, but she is not over Marcus. Lily breaks off with Marcus, who is still attempting to revive his relationship with Sinead. Aidan who has known Marcus from childhood gives Sinead some kind of explanation about Marcus’ strange behaviour:
“[…] ‘two things about Marcus. First, he is very impulsive. […] He always has to satisfy his urges immediately, have you noticed? He can’t wait. If he’s hungry, he has to eat right then and there, no matter what. He can’t think about anything else until he has whatever it is he wants. […] Second’, he says, ‘he has this spooky ability to completely compartmentalise his life. […] If there’s something upsetting him or making him unhappy, he can just switch it off. Just like that. And get on with his life as if nothing at all has happened. […] I’ve always found it very disturbing, that he can just put things in a box and shit the lid’”
p294
This explanation comes very nearly at the end of the novel; so it would appear this story is simply of two girls who have fallen for a man possibly with some mental health issues, possibly with some psychopathic traits.
The writing style is not particularly appealing – rather pedestrian for most part, attempting to build suspense perhaps, but resulting in being obscure without being interesting. Am glad O’Farrell has built on this and published much better novels subsequently. This is unlikely to be one of her novels I would recommend.
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