At our meeting on 16th February, 2023 we discussed “Pincher Martin” by William Golding. One or two of us had read the book before, but not for 40 or 50 years! We started with our choice of three words to describe our response to the book
- Visceral – Difficult – Madness
- Exciting – Exhausting – Extraordinary
- Dark – Difficult – Despairing
- Extraordinary – Engaging – Challenging
- Chilling – Enigmatic – Dense
- Gripping – Harrowing – Memorable
- Terrific – Tremendous – Twist
- Enigmatic – Savage – Unheard-of
Everyone was glad to have read the book, but probably wouldn’t call it an enjoyable read. The writing was extraordinary. Michael said, “it’s the work of a writer at the top of his game”. The opening pages we found particularly distressing with their description of how it feels to be drowning. We also admired the way that the language slowly disintegrated as Martin descended into madness.
We all marvelled at the way that Golding managed to make us feel sympathetic towards a man who turned out to have been particularly disagreeable and unpleasant, perhaps even psychopathic. A man with a huge sense of pride and arrogance, and who, as Barbara pointed out, compared himself to an Emperor, to Ajax and Prometheus. Martin revealed a huge will to live, “I must survive, I will survive”.
We commented on Martin’s primeval need to take control of his environment by naming parts of the rock.
We also considered Martin’s relationship with Nathaniel, and whether his manoeuvring of the ship was actually intended to sweep Nathaniel of the deck, and whether these actions ultimately made it possible for the torpedo attack which sank the ship.
There were recurring themes throughout the book: Sea Boots, Horizons, Seagulls. All carefully woven into the text and all ultimately having their significance revealed as the story developed.
All in all, an extraordinary read, but one that nobody said they were keen to reread. Having said that, when asked to whom they would recommend the book one person said, “a budding journalist”, everyone else said one of their children.
As ever, there’s space for your own comments at the end. We’d love to hear what you thought of the book.
Harbury Village Library & Biblios Cafe 