The Birthday Present

I agree with the reviewer who says that while this isn't Vine/Rendell's best novel, even her second-best is so superior to most other suspense novels that it automatically deserves 5 stars! I believe that Ruth Rendell writes as Barbara Vine when she wants to say things that she feels are "off the subject" of her superb mysteries, and in THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT I wonder if she isn't experimenting with seeing an event from all angles, and presenting just how limited each individual's perception really is. At one point the 5 or 6 main characters in this story all know a different piece of the story, and their conclusions about it are thus all different, which is really fascinating. I suspect that this is a very challenging task for a writer, and the results are interesting, even though in the end she has to resort to several devices (not to give away any spoilers) to satisfy us, the devout readers of mystery novels, who demand that all loose ends be tied! The politics are a nice aside in this novel, as is the point of view of the main narrator, who is a new father at the beginning of the story, with all the attendant opinions and anxiety. Rendell is doing something -- I'm not quite sure what -- with the way that people and news events (scandals) change as they age. Years after the scandal leaves the public eye, the people it involved are still experiencing the repercussions. Almost everything that happens after the scandal is based on one or another person's fear, anger, or greed -- whether or not any of those emotions are actually warranted! It's almost as if the traditional "tidy" mystery, with everything resolved within a short period of time, is turned inside out and stretched, so we can see the ragged seams and gaping holes. Do give it a read -- Rendell's writing is always excellent, and you will be carried along effortlessly. I was dismayed by how short the book was; it could easily have been double its size. But that's often the way with Rendell -- she lets you into the trivia as well as the main events of her characters' lives, and you always want more. Maybe THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT deserves those 5 stars on its own merits, after all.

A slick, up-and-coming Conservative MP, Ivor Tesham, contrives a kinky birthday present for his married lover, Hebe Furnal, and it all goes badly wrong. The woman ends up dead, an apparent kidnapping victim. One of the "perpetrators" also dies and the third languishes in a coma. This latest psychological thriller from Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) begins dark and grows inevitably darker. It's told in two voices, Ivor's brother-in-law Rob, a dedicated family man, and plain Jane, glamorous Hebe's embittered spinster friend and alibi. Naturally Ivor hopes to cover things up and succeeds too. But he can't quite leave well enough alone. And there's Jane, of course, who knows all about him. Not that she's interested in blackmail or revenge. All she really wants is to be the next Mrs. Furnal. We're told from the start that things don't end well for Ivor, not that there would be much doubt. It's the journey that's so riveting. Vine takes us there through character and class, expectations and ambitions, hopes and disappointments. There are no evil people in this one, just plenty of selfishness, half-baked guile and self-destructive haplessness. Vine winds her way through the human psyche serving up surprises and inevitabilities with spellbinding precision. A page-turner to savor.

Writing as Barbara Vine, Ruth Rendell's "The Birthday Present" is an extended flashback in which two narrators look back at a sordid incident and its tragic aftermath. Ivor Tesham, a handsome and ambitious graduate of Eton and Oxford, becomes a Tory MP at thirty-one and seems destined for political stardom. However, his self-centeredness and desire for sexual excitement propel him to take foolish risks, and when things go terribly wrong, he becomes an emotional wreck. Ivor's cautionary tale is narrated by Rob, an accountant and Ivor's staid brother-in-law, and Jane Atherton, the dowdy and resentful best friend of Ivor's married mistress, a beautiful twenty-seven year old named Hebe Furnal who shares her lover's kinky tastes. Rob and his wife, Iris, Ivor's sister, serve as a mini-Greek chorus. Although they bear some blame for enabling Ivor to carry out an imprudent scheme, no one could have foreseen how fate would turn a sick charade into a catastrophe. Instead of presenting the facts in a linear manner, Rendell allows Rob and Jane to report their version of events with their biases intact, forcing us to figure out who did what to whom and why. Rendell uses black humor and complex plot machinations to shine a spotlight on human frailties, with an emphasis on obsession, greed, and egotism. Ivor jeopardizes his career and reputation for the sake of a tawdry adventure; Hebe puts her marriage and her son's welfare at risk to carry on a clandestine liaison with an attractive and wealthy man. Jane Atherton is a homely and dejected woman, one of a "faceless tribe" who "go to bed alone and get up alone." She is a perpetual victim whose low-paying job, manipulative and nagging mother, and solitary existence fill her with bitterness and self-pity. "The Birthday Present" is laced with surprises and last-minute plot twists. Unlike other works by this author that are almost painfully misanthropic, this book encourages us to understand and feel compassion for the characters, most of whom want a better life for themselves and someone with whom to share it. It is too bad, she implies, that so many of us have a penchant for self-destruction. It is almost as if we are tempted to stand on a cliff just to see how close we can come to the edge without falling off. Even if we play by the rules and try to do the right thing, however, life can be horribly unfair. "The Birthday Present" is an original, edgy, and deliciously ironic mystery in which Rendell tempers her usual cynicism with a welcome dose of empathy.

Ivor Tesham is young, single, highly sexed-and a bit kinky. His political star is rising in Britain when he meets the beautiful and very married housewife, Hebe Furnal, the mother of one child, wife of Gerry. The affair is abruptly terminated when Hebe dies in a car accident that was meant to be a mock kidnapping that was part of her sexual playacting with Ivor. The police determine Hebe's death as a case of mistaken identity, and Ivor seems to have avoided discovery as her lover. But five years following Hebe's death, things become undone. Someone knows details about Ivor's relationship with Hebe and her death. If Ivor's role in Hebe's life is discovered, his political future will be over. The story is slowly and painfully revealed from the perspective of Ivor's brother-in-law, Rob Delgado, an accountant, and Hebe's "so-called" friend, Jane Atherton, who provided the alibis for Hebe when she was seeing Ivor. Barbara Vine examines her characters thoughtfully. She knows exactly what each one will do in every circumstance that arises. Their personalities and behavior mimics, in many ways, the cruel part that exists in all of us to some degree. The clarity with which Vine unfolds the story, and the characters' agendas, is breathtaking. My only criticism is that the "unfolding" is somewhat drawn out and tedious at times. That said, The Birthday Present is well worth the time. Armchair Interviews says: Barbara Vine is the pseudonym of Ruth Rendell who has won three Edgar Awards and four Gold Daggers

I do not think this is Barbara Vine/ Ruth Rendell's best book, and I have read all of them. But I am giving this 5 stars, because even a flawed work from her is usually far better than most mystery suspense novels out there. This is no exception, and it is a fast-paced, suspense-filled story. Brief summary, no spoilers: The setting is London, in the early 1990s, just at the end of Margaret Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister. The story tells the tale of Ivor Tesham, a young member of Parliament who had ambitions to rise much higher. He is having an affair with a married woman, and decides to plan a "surprise" for her birthday. Needless to say, it goes wrong. And that starts a series of events that results in the destruction of many lives. One of the things I love about any Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell novel is that you know you are in for a page-turner, and this book is no exception. She is also the best author I've ever read in describing damaged, or eccentric characters, or those with obsessive compulsions, delusions, or mental defect of all sorts. And again, this novel doesn't disappoint in that regard. So my problems with the story? Without giving away any spoilers - I was riveted throughout most of the story, and I thought that the sense of impending doom and disaster was palpable. It seemed like we were all set up for a spectacular finish - and indeed, this author has come up with some of the great finales and twists of all time. But not here, in my opinion. Saying this, I still recommend this book. It is a pager-turner, and has the great classic bizarre cast of Barbara Vine characters. If you are in any kind of a reading slump, this is as good as any of her books to get you going again. So, recommended. But if you've never read her before, I recommend starting with some of my favorites - like A Sight for Sore Eyes, Or Adam and Eve and Pinch Me under her real name, Ruth Rendell. Or Anna's Book or No Night is Too Long under the Barbara Vine pseudonym.