Rating: 
Summary: Very Dark Historical Fiction
Review: Ms. Beryl Bainbridge writes Historical Fiction with as much skill as any writer, and much better than others who attempt the genre. Her stories rarely have definitive separations between what actually happened, and what might have happened to the characters she creates. The Crimean War is the setting this time, and while historically noteworthy is not as familiar as some of her other subjects, like The Titanic, or the doomed Scott Expedition to the South Pole. What is consistent is her ability to jump about through time periods without ever losing credibility. Each of her books reads as if a unique pen is behind each one. The hand of course is the same, however the moods created are remarkably singular.The character that is the book's title is a complex human study, or if you prefer, a very intricate person but occupied with a mind and personality as muddled, as it is diverse. A grotesque death scene is the entrance for one of the narrator's of the book, an individual that would have lived as a street urchin but for chance, and an ambiguous bit of goodwill. A second street personality with many more wiles and flexible conduct also becomes a member of Master Georgie's entourage. This second narrator has a unique view of events, as he is close when Master Georgie requires, for the latter's sexuality is repressed at best. These are just two people who eventually head to the middle of The Crimean War, and the question that keeps shadowing the reader is why? Escape from the latter half of 19th century London is an easy answer for George, but what of the others? Taking a trip toward an impending war as George's groupies is one matter, staying in the midst of a war is much more puzzling. This is one of the most difficult of Ms. Bainbridge's books that I have read. Previous works have often served as a metaphor for the time they occupy, or the closing act in a World that is about to undergo great disruptive change. This work is not as apparently decisive. One characteristic is consistent, and that is her master's grasp of language. A lapful of cherries that serve as a metaphor will haunt a reader for some time. Her images of the dead and dying are less grotesquely graphic than most writers portray, but are far more disturbing than other wartime battles. This may not be the best of her work if it is the first of hers you experience, however if you can successfully decipher this one, that are several others that are much more comfortable to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark, Subtle and Sophisticated
Review: The back cover of this book praises Beryl Bainbridge for her "deadpan prose" and her "emotionless sentences". It's ironic how attibutes like these can possibly be descriptions of a good writer. It is these very faults that bring about the ruin of MASTER GEORGIE. The novel spans the years 1846-1854. Master Georgie, or George Hardy, is the young son of a rich Liverpool merchant. He is a shadow figure in the sense that he never takes over the narration of the story. That is left up to three other characters. One of these is Myrtle, an orphan who was taken in by the Hardys as a child and is deeply in love with George. She follows him in his restless wanderings of Liverpool. One night, in a sordid episode they find George's father dead in the bed of a prostitute. Along with another character who does narration, Pompey Jones (a street hustler), they are able to cover up the scandal that would have hurt and tarnished his family. The three characters are bonded by this secret for the rest of their lives, and as the novel progresses this deepens into love, both sexual and spiritually. It becomes a love triangle which causes a lot of pain and little satisfaction. The last voice that enters into the picture is the eccentric Dr. Potter who has a hankering for George's sister. Nobody likes the guy because instead of confronting life, he dwells instead in books, mainly the classical writers of Rome and Greece. When you start a conversation with him, he begins quoting from an author instead of communicating sense to you. Towards the latter part of the book, all the characters become involved in the Crimean War. Or actually George becomes involved in the war and wherever he is it sucks the others with him. Just like all wars, this one changes the future of not just the combatants but also of the bystanders. The parts of the book set in Liverpool are quite good and interesting. They seem to be written with more passion and personal knowledge than the war scenes. The books problem lies in the deadpan writing. It's like watching the stand up comedy of Steven Wright, where a monotone voice is supposed to make you laugh by its very absence of emotion. It's the same thing here. We are supposed to feel horror and love through understatement when neither of these emotions are capable of understatement. The closer I got to the end, the more bored I got. I skipped over some pages to get to the end. I didn't care about the character's fates. I just wanted to say i finished it.
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