Book Review: "The Harsh Voice" by Rebecca West

Rebecca West is an elusive figure to me, I have only encountered her once or twice throughout my life and every time I do, it seems to bring me a sense of joy. The first time I ever encountered her is when I looked into her coverage of the Nuremberg Trials. The second time I encountered her is when I bought a book entitled The New Yorker Fiction of the 1940s and one of her stories was within. This would be the third time in which I have sifted through many Penguin books at my mother's house and found a book of four stories by Rebecca West. Each of them as fantastic as the one before...

The first story, Life Sentence, follows Alice, a woman who sacrifices her love and happiness for financial security. She marries a wealthy man, Henry, who has no charm but provides stability. As Alice ages, her decision to prioritise wealth over passion leaves her increasingly bitter. The narrative examines her emotional detachment and how her life becomes a metaphorical prison. This story is particularly important especially for the time it was written in as many women would marry for financial stability (a lot of women still do it today) and the question of whether it is worth it tends to never enter their minds. This story in fact, proves that it probably should even if it doesn't - the worth of money cannot outweigh the worth of company and Rebecca West shows us why.

In There Is No Conversation, Marion is a woman who manipulates her relationships to climb the social ladder. She marries the wealthy but dull Wilfred, while maintaining an affair with a vibrant, younger man, Julian. The story unfolds through her calculating and emotionless decisions, revealing Marion’s capacity for deceit and self-preservation. Her eventual downfall is less a punishment for her immorality and more a critique of the social structures that incentivise her behaviour. I think that it is correct to thoroughly dislike the character of Marion since she is such an emotionless human being. Rebecca West writes this social critique so well that you do not even realise it happening - it is so subtle and yet, it holds so much meaning within.

The story The Salt of the Earth centres on Sam, a ruthless American businessman who has built an empire on exploitation and questionable ethics. When he unexpectedly falls in love with a gentle and morally upright woman, his worldview is challenged. The relationship forces Sam to confront the emptiness of his ambition and the cost of his success. This kind of reminds me of those ruthless businessmen that litter the play Death of a Salesman making constant fun of Willy Loman. Sam is one of these characters who, like Marion, we can dislike because of what kind of societal structure they represent.

The final story, The Abiding Vision, is about Nadine, a woman whose charisma and beauty help her achieve success in the arts and society, but whose self-absorption leads to her downfall. Nadine’s relationships with the men in her life—her husband, her lover, and her mentor—reveal her inability to form genuine emotional connections. Again, like Marion and Sam, we can love to hate Nadine. But her character again is a metaphor for many social structures which unfortunately still exist.

Across all four stories, the characters are portrayed with psychological depth, often blurring the lines between right and wrong. Whether it is Alice’s pragmatic choices, Marion’s betrayal, Sam’s cold ambition, or Nadine’s self-obsession, each character operates within a moral grey area. This ambiguity invites the reader to reflect on the personal and societal forces that shape their decisions. I loved this even though it doesn't seem like the kind of book I would like reading. I kind of got lost in the morality arguments of the characters and how they themselves thought their actions were perfectly justified. The only one I felt any sympathy for was Alice who is basically a product of her time and upbringing - many women of that background were raised to 'make a good marriage'.

All in all, this book surprised me as being something I would not normally read and yet, something I thoroughly enjoyed. If there is any advice you can take from me it is this: if there is a book you are not sure about then pick it up and read it. It might surprise you.