Morvern Callar by Alan Warner Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Morvern Callar
Book Review: An interesting book
Summary: 4 Stars
Three years ago, I wrote the following report on this book for a major film company...When her novelist boyfriend commits suicide, a Scottish girl uses his inheritance to escape her menial existence and find fulfilment in the Spanish rave scene. At heart a coming-of-age story, this novel holds our attention by presenting us with a gruesome opening and a spunky heroine who confounds expectations by seizing her opportunity with both hands.
Like a lot of good literary fiction, the novel is character rather than plot-driven. Morvern, the heroine, is a brilliant creation, and her voice carries the novel forward. Plot takes a back seat, and the novel fizzles out towards the end, amid pages of Morvern's observations of Spanish holiday resorts. As far as film potential goes, this is a critical stumbling block. Films need to ask questions, then answer them. This novel leaves the reader pondering many unanswered questions. For example, why did Morvern's mysterious boyfriend commit suicide? Does his novel, appropriated by Morvern, contain clues about him? What was their relationship like? Finding the answers could provide a number of intriguing movie scenarios. Perhaps the boyfriend was murdered, and Morvern finds the answers in Spain. Perhaps Morvern is the killer, and the boyfriend's novel explains everything. I can see this working as a cross between Sunset Boulevard and The Last Seduction, set among Scottish ravers. But this is all my own feverish speculation.
The novel has great characters, and Morvern's quirky eye for detail is a hoot. Possibly because the author is a man writing with a woman's voice, there are a few overlong descriptions of cuticles and nail varnish. There are too many lists of different rave records, put in I suspect as a self-conscious sop to a "hip" readership. Overall however, it is an engrossing read. I particularly liked the descriptions of Scottish binge drinking, and the ghastly Club Med group activities. On a deeper level, there some great symbolic strands which run through the book.
To conclude, this is an excellent work of literary fiction, and works well on its own terms. I unreservedly recommend it as a good read. But there is no obvious film premise lurking within its pages, and though it is fun using the novel's setup as a springboard for possible movies, I don't think that justifies buying up the rights.
Book Review: Delicious linguistic follies
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoy the frothy use of dialect, but mostly it was the set-up of the story that kept me going. Her lack of any "normal" behavior in such a bizarre set of circumstances is refreshing and compelling. The character does come off as a bit flat after you realize that the reader is never going to be allowed inside her head. I was admittedly a bit disappointed by that. However, the rich use of language and the stark description of setting and action make this a lovely novel. I never particularly noticed that it was a man writing a female character. I think the author's awareness of the party lifestyle in a Scottish village made the character believable enough without regard to gender. Okay, maybe the bath scenes and the continuous references to toplessness were a bit unnecessary, but they did not come across as particulary masturbatory, either.Book Review: Depressingly accurate, highly amusing. Morvern conquers all
Summary: 5 Stars
Morvern is a Scottish anti-heroine for the 90's Freed from the ties of family, relationships, dead-end jobs and expectations she discovers her true character and nature. That this appears, on the surface, to be a self-indulgent and hedonistic nature masks Morvern's true fate. By following this route she is freed from the constraints of an overly selfish, unloving partner (how else would you describe suicide, the ultimate act of self-indulgence?), a dysfunctional home life and a soul-destroying dead-end job. Her escape may appear to lack morality or guilt but it is infinitely preferable to dying a slow death of the soul by accepting what life has prepared for her.Book Review: Engaging in its strangeness
Summary: 4 Stars
Late one night I came upon the movie _Morvern Callar_ and wondered why it might be called Morvern the Silent. I watched the movie, stunned, but unable and unwilling to change the station even when I could barely understand the dialogue. The characters, aside from Morvern, were so like the ghetto people I've lived with much of my life. At the end of the film, I learned the movie was based on a book, and hurriedly ordered it thinking I would be able to understand the language better if I could read it.
I love the dialect...and Morvern. Many reviewers complain that we aren't privy to what is going on in her head. Truth is, there isn't much going on in there. She is not sophisticated enough to mull over her actions. She isn't educated, isn't well read or travelled. She simply acts accompanied by a soundtrack. She isn't overencumbered with religious guilt. In fact, she doesn't seem to be hampered by guilt of any kind. It is such a wasteful emotion and Morvern has better things to do with the squeezed emotions she does possess.
Morvy's got an eye for detail and an appreciation of nature that, for me, more than makes up for her "raving" behavior. The flatness of the dialogue, her affect, and the repetitive nature of her entire life, right up to the end of the novel when Morvern's life takes a turn, accurately depicts what life is like for anyone living in a small town, or a ghetto, with little hope of having a better life because of the lack of opportunities and the lack of self-preparation for anything better. Him seemed to have possessed abilities, education, financial resources, but he took his life by slitting his own throat and attempting to cut off one of his hands. What did his death tell Morvern about life when one is supposedly ready?
I thought what she did with is body was a tribute to him and her love of nature, but I may change my mind after thinking about this story a while longer. That is one of the great things about this book; it makes you reflect on the mechanical ways we usually respond to life and opens the door to living more innovatively.
I've always wanted to visit Scotland and because of Morvern's description of the countryside, I'll likely go, but I'll stay away from the pubs!
Book Review: Excellent condition, Excellent price, Excellent book
Summary: 5 Stars
The book arrived promptly, and was in better condition than the seller stated in the first place. I will definitely buy from Thrift Books again.