Glover's Mistake

There is a particular brand of black humor and jaded view of life that seems to accompany life in contemporary London. It's very compelling, even enjoyable, despite its somewhat bleaker view of life. Nick Laird has captured it perfectly and infused it into his novel, "Glover's Mistake," a book that engages even when it makes readers slightly uncomfortable. "Glover's Mistake" is a novel about contemporary manners as much as Jane Austen's writings were in the 19th century, and parallel the misguided love affairs and angst of the unloved. Where Austen's characters resolve their failings at the tale's end, however, Laird leaves readers wondering if anyone has learned anything from the traumas love has inflicted in "Glover's Mistake." The book centers on David Pinner, who notices in the local paper that a former art school teacher (an American, no less) has returned to London. He decides to follow his longing and looks her up, although she barely remembers him. Alone in London, she is open to his dinner invitation, where she collides with his flat mate, James Glover. While Pinner pines for the American artist (Ruth Marks), Ruth becomes smitten with the much younger roommate Glover. To say David is distraught over the situation is an understatement, and eventually his demons get the best of him, as he sets on a course to break up the relationship and position himself in the role of friend to the broken-hearted. What he underestimates, however, is the relationship between Glover and Ruth, as well as his own capacity to destroy Glover (underestimated and misunderstood by Glover). It's a sad torment as the scenarios begin to play themselves out. Laird also takes quite a few stabs at the pretension of the London art scene, Ruth's self-centered artwork and attitude (including her feminist backdrop and previous relationships), the hypocrisy of the Church and family life (via his own and James's parents), and the overall futility of love in the modern age. To truly enjoy the book, one must have a slightly cynical take on life or it may all seem crushingly depressing. Those of us who tend to view the glass as half-empty will likely embrace this writing. Laird is witty, intelligent, and lyrical in his descriptions and characterization in "Glover's Mistake." He's a fresh voice, with a keen eye for the lies and the liars. He can sniff out a pretender at a hundred paces. The story is rich with dilemma, and readers who love the book will find endless topics for consideration, even after they've put the novel down. It's a thoughtful, well written, interesting look at love, at London, and (perhaps) at our own failings. Don't miss it!

I disagree with most of the reviewers below: I thought the characters were well-developed and the story original and fascinating. Laird's writing is brilliant, even while you are wincing at the events unfolding. The pub scene toward the end alone is worth reading the novel. For fans of David Nicholls (though much darker); I can't say it better than the Washington Post reviewer "it's like going to bed with Nick Hornby and waking up with Muriel Spark." If you get that, you'll get this book.

With the sheer number of stories that have been built upon the love triangle premise, it's a testament to Nick Laird's talent that Glover's Mistake manages to avoid any sense of staleness and pack such a strong thematic and emotional punch. Much of its success stems from the use of well-drawn characters. Ruth Marks is more than your average cougar; this thirty-seven-year old modern artist (and sometimes lesbian) combines a world-weariness with a latent romanticism in a package that's convincingly attractive to men of all ages. This cougar's prey is James Glover, a hunky bartender whose religious devotion and youthful weight problem allow us to believe his virginity has entered the relationship intact. And caught in the middle is Glover's flatmate David Pinner, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher whose romantic intentions toward Ruth are hampered by his balding, overweight appearance. As David comes to realize that Ruth has eyes only for young Glover, he turns toward all manner of devious tricks to drive the two apart. Witnessing David's metamorphosis from a hapless Charlie Brown into a full-blown Iago, and the rationalizations he employs to convince himself that his actions are somehow less evil than they appear, really get under your skin and allow the author to tease out some powerful themes about the demise of love, religion, and morality in the modern world. In a sense, Glover's Mistake is the complete inverse of the ever-present romantic comedy. But that's not a bad thing at all, as this romantic tragedy will linger with you long after you put it back on the shelf.

I didn't really expect to like this book very much, and the first chapter was a little difficult for me to get through. However, once I started the second chapter, I was completely swept up into these lives, and wanted to see where this would go. The story revolves around the lives of 3 people: David Pinner - a teacher in him mid-30s, who uses his internet blog to attempt to connect emotionally to the world around him. James Glover - a young, gorgeous bartender, who is dealing with his own set of insecurities and human frailties. Ruth Marks - a good-looking artist in her mid-40s who, despite the demons in her own life, still holds out hope that happiness is just around the next corner. When David re-connects with Ruth after 10+ years, he finds himself attracted to her and feels a relationship could work. Through David, Ruth meets James, who is David flatmate, and Ruth and James begin a romantic relationship. David makes up the third side of this triangle. What is played out so well in this novel are the play of emotions from the characters. None of these people are heroes, none are comendable. All these characters have selfish motives. Yet, they all care for one another. There were times in this book when I thought, "Well, I'd never do that!" Only to back track and correct myself by thinking, "Yeah, if I was honest, I probably would." In many ways this story is painful to read, as it exposes how hurtful and emotional we can be when involved with others. On the flip side, it also shows how loyal and strong bonds can be when we know we are needed. This book had a dark, somber tone to it, and admittedly, when I finished it I felt drained emotionally. I felt the author had taken me for quite a ride, but I enjoy that from a book.

Glover's Mistake is a novel about social relationships in contemporary London. It is a small story that suggests the broader theme of fragmented and distorted communication facilitated in part by internet social networking. The characters (especially David) seem to do things in order to talk/write about them hoping that someone, anyone, will respond. The interaction is driven by the need to construct a meaningful personal whole out of an apparent chaos of information and opinion. The characters have disparate backgrounds, represent different generations, and lack meaningful starting points for their social creations, the stories they tell to each other. Laird shows that the foundation of the stories is a developing self-consciousness. Glover is in the dawning idealistic stage, David is in the critical artistic phase, and Ruth is in the reorganization life review period. Laird's very good satiric description of social life in London is reminiscent of Patrick Hamilton's novels, especially Hangover Square (1941). People have a desperate need to get together and talk to each other, drinking alcohol to ease the way. Both authors focus on self-consciousness as an unreliable record of personal psychological development. Reworked and hidden memories create emotions that poke holes in each character's public story. An interesting contrast is that for Hamilton, the telephone plays a key role in faulty story telling while for Laird the internet is an important deceiver. Fans of Hamilton's work will enjoy Glover's Mistake recognizing the despair of the failure to connect. Thinking about the relationships of the multidimensional characters in Glover's Mistake, readers gain insight into their own artistic creations that they present to others rather inconsistently. A surprising thought is that people usually know more about you than you think. Internet programs like Facebook and Twitter foster quick and easy solutions to problems of identity that are unsatisfying all around. A hopeful note is that our personal works of art can improve with maturity.