'The Untouchable' by John Banville

John Banville is exemplary in his ability to convey the thought processes of his characters, and in the restraint with which he gives us access to the stories they conceal (by largely concealing and slowly releasing them, often causing us to re-evaluate their reliability and the accuracy and context of what they have hitherto revealed about themselves). I am currently reading the self-disclosure/self-concealment (concealment through the cracks of which disclosure seeps) of art historian and double-agent Victor Maskell, largely based on real-life double-agent Anthony Blunt, following the ‘outing’ by the British Prime Minister for his role as the 'fourth man' in the Burgess-Maclean-Philby spy ring during the Cold War. Banville is at his best, the text written with a scalpel and full of wit, quirks and sly observations.

April 2016