By: Arushi Aditi
I’ll be honest, I only picked this book up right as we got rejected from a property on Caledonian Road (London housing, am I right?), but it ended up leaving me with such a riveting read.
Through this novel, Andrew O’Hagen tells the story of how Campbell Flynn’s (an established 52-year-old art historian) personal and professional lives take a turn in the backdrop of cosmopolitan, contemporary London. The plot unravels underlying secrets from Campbell’s past and reflects the impacts of such scandals on his current professional life. We also witness an interaction between him, the London aristocracy, and the broader social landscape of the city after COVID and Brexit.
Personally, I enjoyed the exploration of Campbell’s complex character paired with the social commentary on modern-day London’s class disparities. The raw, honest portrayal of Campbell’s moral dilemmas makes him relatable, while prominently highlighting how he tackles a dramatic, scandalous conflict. We see him navigate through unthinkable scandals, torn between honouring his public prestige or internal disillusionment.
The implicit message about class disparities, commodification of culture, and institutional hypocrisy is what stood out to me the most. O’Hagan’s satirical approach when characterising London aristocrats makes this a humorous read while emphasizing the importance of how this wealth inequality affects the struggles of the marginalised.
The timely portrait of London, encompassing current, relevant themes that modern Londoners can relate to, spotlights the unsaid nuances underneath the glitter and glam that we see on the surface. The London upper-class society and art world are used to juxtapose luxury against the struggles of the average citizen. As a Londoner, I loved the references to specific parts of the city (i.e., the Les Misérables poster in central London), which draws the reader in to feel like a true witness to these events.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this novel because of its dynamic plotline, but more so because of its implicit critique of class, culture, and society in contemporary London. As a London university student, especially if you like a good fiction read, this is a great, modern novel that critically analyses the hypocrisy that exists in contemporary society.
