This is a modern tragedy, a big book about ordinary people who cannot overcome the obstacles of their past. It is powerful and plain at the same time. The story follows four friends who have been
together as a foursome since college, and follows them forward in life. Malcolm is from old money and he goes forward
in life with that charmed beginning, He is a talented architect but part of his
success is clearly related to his connections.
Jean Batiste (known as JB) is from an impoverished background and
overall he has a lot of baggage. He
becomes a successful artist, but the subjects of his paintings are his friends
from college, which leads a layer of complexity to his relationships with
them. Willem is the most loyal of the
bunch, a handsome man who becomes an internationally known actor. The primary object of his support is Jude, a
man who was abandoned as a child, the victim of long term physical and sexual
abuse throughout his childhood, leaving him so ashamed that he is unable
function psychologically and socially.
Jude is the center of
the novel, and he is both a sympathetic and an incredibly frustrating
character. He has issues with
trust. He is unable to engage with
people sexually but he is vulnerable to continued abuse. He is the paradigm for understanding why rape
victims get raped again in the future. They
feel like they they are unworthy and when people treat them poorly they are
inclined to feel like they deserve it.
Jude is extremely resistant to therapy, cuts himself as a release of his
anxiety, and is physically disabled as a result of the abuse he had as a young man. The book is emotionally on target
and surprisingly lightly written despite the seriousness of some of the
material.
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