The Good Companions by JB Priestley - 10 out of 10

 

The Good Companions by JB Priestley

10 out of 10

 

 

This novel is exhilarating, enchanting, fantastic , hideous kinky, adjectival, medicine – this term is defined and exquisitely used in Little Big Man http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/12/little-big-man-by-thomas-berger.html by Thomas Berger - and it is a marvelous good luck that I took it on, notwithstanding the skepticism connected with its large size, and the passages that are less than enthralling.

 

Indeed, this enhances the sheer magnificence of the master work, given that it is long and still extremely entertaining (I have cut down into my evening film program to continue to travel with The Good Companions, which is unusual, but hopefully it could become an established superb ritual again, so gratitude to Susie and Inigo in particular) with all those difficult to read portions, where Jess Oakroyd is concerned especially

This is one of the most important personages, but he talks in a way that is difficult to follow, an aspect that could well add spice and interest to various readers, trying to figure out what he says, feeling the righteousness of Cordelia’s attitude, we need salt and all for a better tasting experience, perhaps…

 

However, in my case, I enjoyed the fellow for some time, but later on, I must say that I sort of gave up on his parts, and jumped from line to line, and yet this proves to me (I do not know about you) that the book is majestic, if it can afford to have in the narrative such a massive presence as Oakroyd and still sail through, mainly for the interest in Susie Dean and Inigo Jollifant which this reader found increasing with every chapter

Miss Elizabeth Trant is another presence that enchants the public, her father dies and she inherits the house, which will be rented, and she receives an expected sum of money, probably a few hundred thousand pounds today, maybe closer to a million, considering the expenses and troupe of ‘pierots’ she would take on

 

To The Hermitage http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/09/to-hermitage-by-malcolm-bradbury-author.html is a blessed volume by Malcolm Bradbury in which he states that ‘fiction is infinitely preferable to real life’ a longer quote is included at the end of this note…The Good Companions has made me feel that for most of the adventures of the troupe, when they are invited for a private performance with this lady, that is one episode that is worth reading for it brings ecstasy…they hire a bus that breaks down repeatedly, it does not rain, but it pours and the cover of the vehicle serves to redistribute the deluge, not to protect passengers – Morton Mitcham has by now the Silver King on his body –

 

When they reach the premises, expecting a warm reception, food, and hot drinks, plus the good money they had been promised, they find that the woman is extremely sick and they are just rejected by a servant, and they all get sick, only to have a dreadful week in one of the most objectionable holes of England, where Miss Trant loses money, and they all face one of the most serious challenges to their group

An important own goal was the ending (now we must consider if this is the place to start with spoiler alerts, I would ask you what you think…in the future, advanced technology would just require that, in such situations, AI would anticipate reactions of readers, and evidently, if you are going to have any, and then you will know what to do, or better still, not do) which could have killed a lesser work than this

 

It would have been something like ‘god damn it, you made me read what, seven hundred pages and more, to get me breathless to this, you must be joking, but this is not funny, it makes me mad…’I mean all this fantasy, dreaming, anticipation, solidarity with Inigo, hopes raised that maybe this awful Susie (just kidding) would finally see that he is so gentle, kind, intelligent, gifted, devoted, talented, destined to win

But what if she is made by her creator, JB Priestley, just like a human being (sort of) and she has the famous ‘free will’, more likely, her type, character, goals, person is not the one you would make, and furthermore, a docile, humble, surrendering, ‘feeble’, less vibrant, common Susie would not have been attractive to Inigo and would not have enchanted readers either, so we need to accept the one we have

 

The Good Companions offers many twists and supporting characters – Elsie’s uncle comes to mind as an example – and we have surprises, including in the very last pages, or when Inigo travels to London, so that he can show his love that he is not ‘feeble’, and furthermore, to have his songs tested and promoted, on a package with Susie, he wins over the impresarios, directors, actors, but he insists he does not give his magic compositions away, unless the man in charge travels to see the show, Susie in particular

He is so loyal and altruistic that he is willing to give his assured success, enrichment away, he does not want to abandon The Good Companions because Susie is still there…the manager accepts to come and see Susie, but the evening is plagued with multiple disasters, a group of hooligans is booing and causing mayhem in the theater, to the point where the special guest is caught in a melee and knocked out

 

We feel reading this that it could be the end, or perhaps the dawn of another future, Inigo and Susie travelling together through England, maybe the world, less popular, but happy, glamour and headlines might not help them stay together, so why not less wealthy, but in love and in the middle of the troupe…a fabulous, fantastic joy ride, it has been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much, since a few weeks ago, with Kingsley Amis…

 

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

From To The Heritage:

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life. As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality. Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’