Book Review: "A Fool's Alphabet" by Sebastian Faulks

I recently finished reading a book called Hermit by Chris McQueer and then there was that weird Latin-American HG Wells' inspired novel I read as well. I think it's safe to say that Sebastian Faulks is probably the more standard in terms of novel, out of three of these. A Fool's Alphabet tells the story of Pietro Russell from when his parents meet at the end of World War 2, all the way full circle around the globe to Switzerland. It's a great novel that is told through letters in the alphabet and honestly, that's quite a clever structure for a book that is supposed be more about moving emotions. I wasn't surprised I liked this one, I usually enjoy Sebastian Faulks' novels to some extent.

The novel is set in Italy at the end of World War 2 in which Pietro's parents meet. His mother is a local Italian woman and his father, an English war photographer. The displacement of Pietro's identity is seen even before he is born and this aspect about him will set the tone of the novel and the tone of the rest of Pietro's life. This is definitely an interesting way to start Pietro's life and reminds me of those books where we get mention or we see glimpses of the main character before we actually meet them. We begin to paint a picture of them without them being in the picture at all.

As a young boy, Pietro visits Colombo in Sri Lanka, exposing him to vibrant, unfamiliar cultures and histories. I really do love the way writers like William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks write about the main character travelling across cultures and exploring them. It is almost poetic. Pietro is absolutely shocked by the difference in lifestyle between the east and the west. He takes photographs of it eventually and yet, the reader cannot help but feel that Pietro is endlessly restless. Sebastian Faulks definitely captures the wanderlust in him in the most intense and beautiful descriptions.

When in Greenwich, Pietro falls in love with a woman named Rosalind. This affair reminds me of the one between Cashel and Raphaella in The Romantic by William Boyd. It is a whirlwind love affair which captures the reader in both the emotional intensity and the eventual reality that this affair cannot last like this - it will burn out. But for the time that it stands, it is a beautiful written few moments of fleeting yet, burning emotion. I love the way Sebastian Faulks wrote this because it is a direct representation of these characters who want fulfilment and yet cannot sit still long enough to get it.

Pietro travels to Padua to reconnect with familial past - a chance to deeper understand his heritage on his mother's side. He is drawn to the beauty of the culture, but is ultimately alienated by the trauma of war that the state still suffers. He realises that there was a certain silence about his mother he could never quite place and ponders on this in different aspects of his mother's life whilst she was once alive. I really believe that Padua is the chapter where Pietro must experience the biggest inner-conflict as he confronts certain parts of himself he has really never confronted before. You could say he has spent this part of his life travelling the world but never travelled around his own mind.

This is probably one of Sebastian Faulks' stronger novels. It is a tale of vignettes and structural oddities. It has its grand moments and its moments of quiet consolation. I think the thing that Faulks writes best in this book is the deep exploration into the character of Pietro. As we build up our own image of him, we also explore further into the loves and loses of his life. You honestly cannot believe how much his attitude reminds me of Cashel from Boyd's The Romantic.

All in all, I thought this was a fantastic book. Beautifully written and captivating, if you ever feel unsure about starting your journey with Sebastian Faulks then I would absolutely urge you to start here. There is something deeply moving about this book and for some reason, I cannot explain exactly what it is.

***

Enter the competition, I want to read your poetry.