Sex & Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido
Bloomsbury, $38.99
Elements of UK author Barbara Trapido's seventh novel remind me of one of those classic French farces or Shakespearean comedy.
Credulity is stretched, identities are hidden, no one is entirely what they seem ... or even what they think they are. But that makes this book sound pretentious and it's not at all. It's a droll story of twined lives, finely balanced between truth and humour, and it reads as though Trapido wrote it with a smile on her face.
The story opens in the UK during the late-70s, when student Josh meets uber-woman Caroline and falls in love with her. It then moves on swiftly to the mid-90s. Super-capable Caroline is bullied by her gorgon of a mother; Josh is too wimpy to do anything about it and their little girl Zoe is dreading her upcoming French exchange trip and longing for ballet lessons.
In the meantime, in South Africa, Josh's first love, Hattie Marais, is being neglected by her rich, successful husband, bullied by her moody and messed-up daughter - and just happens to be the author of Zoe's favourite ballet stories.
Living in Hattie's guest house is a mysterious lodger, Giacomo, who we eventually realise is a character from Josh's South African past. All this comes together in the end in a spectacularly farcical scene that defies belief somewhat, but is enjoyable all the same.
In fact, this book has so much to enjoy. Trapido is excellent on the topic of the various neuroses of the typical teenage girl and writes up a storm on mother/daughter relationships.
The story is littered with references to art, dance and music but in a decorative enough way for it to not really matter if you don't know the first thing about Stravinsky's Pulcinella. It embraces the author's native South Africa, its politics and its people, its social injustices and its beauty.
Trapido manages to straddle literary and popular fiction very successfully. This novel is forthright and witty, serious without taking itself particularly seriously, designed to make you think ... and make you smile. All in all, Sex & Stravinsky is a lot of fun.
