The Idea of Perfection (2001)
Who wrote it?
Catherine (Kate) Elizabeth Grenville (1950- ; active 1983- ), born Sydney, Australia. She was one of three children born to a district court judge and a pharmacist. She studied at the University of Sydney before spending the late 70s working mostly in film-editing in Sydney and later London and Paris. In 1980 she took an MA in creative writing at the University of Colorado, before returning to Australia.
She published an acclaimed short story collection, Bearded Ladies, in 1984, followed swiftly by her first novel Lilian's Story (1985) which won The Australian / Vogel Literary Award and became something of a phenomenon, spawning a 1994 sequel (Dark Places) and a 1996 movie. The Idea of Perfection was her fifth novel, and last before a further acclaimed sequence of historical novels examining the early years of colonial white settlement in Australia, beginning with the Booker-nominated (and Commonwealth Prize-winning) The Secret River in 2006. The latter novel has been adapted for both stage and TV. In 2018 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.
What's it about?
The Idea of Perfection takes place in Karakarook, a tiny New South Wales town in the middle of nowhere. At around the same time, two outsiders arrive in town for work-related purposes. Harley Savage is a part-time museum curator and textile artist, who has departed "the city" to help Karakarook with its "heritage"; Douglas Cheeseman is a vertigo-afflicted bridge engineer with a fascination for concrete, in town to assess (and likely demolish) the town's "Bent Bridge". Both are supremely awkward, throwing themselves into their work to try to escape the baggage of unsatisfactory lives and failed relationships.
The novel is largely a comedy of manners, focusing on the clunky, uncomfortable, but ultimately charming and deeply relatable interactions that slowly bring Harley and Douglas together. Alongside this central story, we have a side story focusing on local resident Felicity Porcelline, who is neurotically (and also comically) obsessed with presenting an external flawlessness to hide her own issues, with manifest themselves separately in her eventual affair with the local butcher, Alfred Chang.
What I liked
This is a wonderful book - subtle and beautifully observed. While there are some obvious conflicts set up - city-dwelling outsiders vs small-town curtain-twitchers; heritage-focused “greenies” vs bridge-demolishing engineers; cloth vs concrete; etc etc - none of them are (no pun intended) over-engineered and their interplay is always intricate, layered, rather than laboured.
It’s one of the funniest novels I’ve read in the course of my reads through both Prizes so far. It’s certainly comic, with certain characters at least initially drawn as near-caricatures (Felicity being a notable example) - but beneath that comic surface there are layers of depth, real and complex neuroses and genuine tragedy. One of the best comparisons I’ve seen of the novel’s tone is to Alan Bennett - beautifully crafted, awkward moments cut through with “funny because it’s true” relatable humour but ultimately revealing sad, often heartbreaking truths.
As others have observed, it’s rare to see such resolutely un-glamorous characters taking centre stage in a novel. Everything about Harley and Douglas suggested bumbling clumsiness, unappealing physical characteristics, and a general over-sized unwieldiness.
Both seem have given up any hope of being loved or even accepted, dealing with it in slightly different ways. Harley stubbornly avoids or blocks out any kind of interaction that feels focused on connection; Douglas seeks connection but is obsessively conscious of the perceived awkwardness / inappropriateness of everything he does. (We slowly learn that Felicity has a similar tendency, but is dealing with it in her own self-delusional way…)
The role of the stray dog that Harley adopts (or should that be the other way round?), and clearly forms a deep level of empathy (and love?) for, without ever quite wanting to admit it, is an absolute highlight, summing up many of the novels deeper themes through the simple sad-eyed neediness of dumb old doggo.
What I didn’t like
I suppose I struggled a bit to get on with Felicity for a while - in a novel filled with believable, empathetic characters, and “this is me!” moments, she did feel a bit over the top, at least until close to the end of the book. And there’s maybe a little too much glee taken in her casual racial profiling / eventual racial fetishising of Mr Chang the butcher to be entirely comfortable?
Beyond that, very little. Beautifully written, great characters, lovely stuff!
Food & drink pairings
The world’s tiniest scones
Various meat products, delivered with appropriate innuendo
Tin of Pal for the dog, “just this once”
Fun facts
There was some sort of nonsense going on around the turn of the millennium - for the sake of “balance” the Prize organisers set up an “alternative” male-only panel of judges (!!) to head off previous criticism of the Prize’s choices… by men, I guess?? Utterly bizarre. Anyway, they were all very pleased because Grenville’s book was the only one on both the standard shortlist and the bizarro “Men: We Know Better” panel’s list, so… excellent. Well done everyone. What a great experiment…
Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin was the bookies’ favourite to win, apparently. This strikes me as a bit lazy - presumably the favourite because it had already won the Booker, which for me would make it precisely the least likely book on the shortlist to win. But maybe that’s just hindsight speaking (no book has won both awards, to date).
The Guardian at the time featured a charming short diary of Grenville’s time in England around the Prize ceremony.
Vanquished Foes
Margaret Atwood (The Blind Assassin)
Jill Dawson (Fred & Edie)
Rosina Lippi (Homestead)
Jane Smiley (Horse Heaven)
Ali Smith (Hotel World)
In a rare bit of crossover, we have 2000’s Booker winner here in the shape of The Blind Assassin. Inevitably, that’s the only one I’ve read. Any other tips? (Ali Smith’s Hotel World was also on the 2001 shortlist.)
2001’s Booker Prize went to Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang, about which I had somewhat mixed feelings.
Context
In 2001:
9/11; declaration of "War on Terror"
Taliban destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas
2001 US Anthrax attacks
British "Shoe bomber" Richard Reid attempts to destroy a US passenger airliner
Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic arrested, to be tried war crimes charges
Foot & Mouth outbreak in the UK
Silvio Berlusconi becomes Italian PM for the second time
Blair and New Labour win second UK election landslide
Race Riots in Bradford, UK, following National Front violence
Charles Ingram cheating scandal on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? in the UK
Provisional IRA commences disarmament after peace talks
Bankruptcy of Enron in the US
China joins the World Trade Organisation
12 killed in Indian Parliament attack
Launch of iPod and iTunes store
Launch of Wikipedia
Release of Nintendo Gamecube and Microsoft Xbox
First space tourist, Dennis Tito, travels to the International Space Station
Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections
W. G. Sebald, Austerlitz
Malorie Blackman, Noughts and Crosses
Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation
Movie adaptations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Bridget Jones' Diary
The Royal Tenenbaums
A Beautiful Mind
Amélie
The Producers musical opens on Broadway
Death of singer Aaliyah, along with 7 others, in a light aircraft crash in the Bahamas
Pop Idol premieres on ITV in the UK
Daft Punk, Discovery
Missy Elliott, Miss E... So Addictive
The Strokes, Is This It
Gorillaz, Gorillaz
Life Lessons
You’ll give in to the sad-eyed dog eventually
Awkwardness can be charming
Never smiling to avoid getting wrinkles is an extreme sport; fair play.
Score
9
Just a wonderful read. Give it a go, you won’t regret it!
Over in Booker-land, I gave Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang a generous 7.5.
Ranking to date:
The Idea of Perfection (2001) - Kate Grenville - 9
When I Lived in Modern Times (2000) - Linda Grant - 9
Larry’s Party (1998) - Carol Shields - 8.5
A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999) - Suzanne Berne - 8.5
A Spell of Winter (1996) - Helen Dunmore - 8
Fugitive Pieces (1997) - Anne Michaels - 6.5
Next up
Not sure as yet, but next up on the Women’s Prize read-through will be Ann Patchett’s 2002 winner, Bel Canto.
