A visionary novel by “one of the most talented writers of his generation” (The Times Literary Supplement)—shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

“Impressive . . . simultaneously poised and flowing in its urgency.”—The Guardian (London)

“The world [Foulds] evokes . . . is conjured up with remarkable intensity and economy of means. It is impossible to guess where Foulds will travel next in his fiction, but it is safe to assume that the journey with him will be well worth taking.” —The Sunday Times (London)

“Exceptional . . . like a lucid dream: earthy and true, but shifting, metamorphic—the word-perfect fruit of a poet’s sharp eye and novelist’s limber reach.” —The Times (London)

Based on real events, The Quickening Maze won over UK critics and readers alike with its rapturous prose and vivid exploration of poetry and madness. Historically accurate yet brilliantly imagined, this is the debut publication of this elegant and riveting novel in the United States.

In 1837, after years of struggling with alcoholism and depression, the great nature poet John Clare finds himself in High Beach—a mental institution located in Epping Forest on the outskirts of London. It is not long before another famed writer, the young Alfred Tennyson, moves nearby and grows entwined in the catastrophic schemes of the hospital’s owner, the peculiar, charismatic Dr. Matthew Allen, as well as with his lonely, adolescent daughter, and a coterie of mysterious local characters. With remarkable lyrical grace, the cloistered world of High Beach and its residents are richly brought to life in this affecting and enchanting book.

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3 Stars Dull…only for those with a taste for poetry
I don’t care how many book award shortlists it has made or prizes it has won. It doesn’t alter the fact that Adam Foulds’ “A Quickening Maze” is the kind of book that would be read and enjoyed only by readers with a taste for poetry. Me, I hate poetry, so that makes it all the more tedious for me to navigate through obscure sentences that must presumably be the product of the author’s creative poetic impulses.

The book is supposedly about the peasant poet John Clare’s gradual descent into madness due purportedly to alcohol and critical neglect, but unless I’m reading some other book by mistake, there’s hardly any reference to these causes anywhere, so we don’t know how or when he got into this state. John Clare ends up being a pale ghostly presence sensed by the reader only through his wild imaginings mostly about his dead childhood sweetheart, Mary.

The real action belongs to the enigmatic Dr Matthew Allen, a jack of all trades who’s sadly the subject of mild disapproval of those around him including his brother Oswald, though again - frustratingly - we never get to know what exactly he did in the past to earn his brother’s displeasure and disdain. Matthew is the only interesting character I could relate to. A pity too that the author didn’t show more than a passing interest in Oswald, an underwritten character I would have liked to know more about. The star named Alfred Tennyson’s part is also rather tangential and disappointing - it didn’t add anything to liven up the story’s dull proceedings. Worse, Hannah’s hopeless attempts to catch the eye of Tennyson is simply too boring for words and take up too much space.

It’s mind boggling how a book like this could be considered for a major book prize. Apart from the critical lapses mentioned above, its subject is surely too dull to appeal even to serious readers.

3 Stars Maybe I just didn’t “get it”?
Enjoyable while I read it, but it left me feeling unmoved and wondering what the point was. I read this expecting a romanticized image of these two poets, Clare and Tennyson, but I didn’t feel as though I got to know them very well. You could have changed the two men to any random characters and it wouldn’t have made any difference to me.

Many of the characters were odd and there was great potential for exploring different plot lines, but it never went where I thought it would. Instead it sort of meandered around the interesting things and had this ethereal quality that I found bland and instantly forgettable. I suppose that these things could have been done on purpose for a different effect, and there is probably some deeper meaning to it all that I’m not getting.

It wasn’t a bad book, though. The prose had a music to it, which made it enjoyable to read. This was enough to make it stand out and encourage me to consider Foulds’ next novel, but I do have mixed feelings about recommending it.

3 Stars Meh
Overview:

This is the story of Alfred Tennyson’s time at the institution where his brother Septimus and the peasant poet John Clare spent their time. This time is mentioned in the Wikipedia article on Alfred Tennyson in a single sentence, despite the fact that it was actually several years. It is also the story of John Clare, that other poet, and Hannnah, the daughter of the doctor who ran the clinic.

A. Plot

The plot here is not terribly complex. Essentially, Alfred Tennyson and his brother Septimus, have gone to a remote sanitarium in the English wilderness where the long-forgotten, now celebrated English peasant poet John Clare spent so much of his time. The doctor heading the asylum, Matthew Allen, is a questionable individual. His methodologies for treating people who have lost their minds are novel and somewhat dubious. Along with much else about him. He has a business plan to help spread beautiful carvings throughout the churches of England without the need for carvers.

One of his daughters wants to wed Tennyson, which forms a subplot of the story. Another subplot involves John Clare, and his alternate personalities, and his quest to find his wives, Polly and Mary. Without spoiling things, I will say that at least one of these wives is imaginary.

B. Characters

There are several main characters. They include Alfred Tennyson, the doctor Matthew Allen, his daughter Hannah, and the poet John Clare. Alfred Tennyson has yet to achieve the fame and fortune that he will later in life, and his character is simple and a bit distant. He plays a major role in the story, but

His daughter, Hannah, decides that she will love Alfred Tennyson. It is a childish wish, characteristic of her character. Much about her screams out “Pride and Prejudice”, particularly the nature in which she seems all too much like Elizabeth, but with less intelligence or charm.

One other character that needs to be mentioned is Margaret. Largely, I cannot understand what reason she needs to be in the story. Eventually, her presence makes sense on some level, but the authors needless transitions to her bizarre state of mind add little to the story and detract much.

With the exception of Margaret, the characters are fairly interesting if uniformly underdeveloped (for example, the brother of Dr. Allen, Oswald, never really is detailed or explained, or really makes any contribution to the story whatsoever.

C. Setting

The story is set largely in the asylum that John Clare and Septimus Tennyson have been admitted into. It is set in the forest in rural England, but an asylum in the German wilderness would probably have made more sense. Or further east in Europe. (They have gypsies in England???)

D. Theme

There is no real unified theme that I can discover. Other than perhaps hope. Futile hope.

E. Point of View

The point of view is largely third-person, but it shifts point of reference amongst the various characters. This is particularly distracting when many of the characters are clearly insane…the possibility of an unreliable narrator is overwhelming, and the result is that you basically just want to quit reading.

F. Aesthetics

The aesthetics here are pretty weak. The shift from character to character is…disorienting, and the words chosen don’t add anything and seem to detract from the story. A minimalist approach might have worked much, much better. Then he might have gotten the Man Booker, rather than being short-listed.

In particular, though, the character of Margaret drove me near distraction. Her perception of herself as a vessel to be filled by God is just…obnoxious. Moreover, as I have already noted, she adds virtually nothing to the story. The “a ha!” moment where you realize her purpose is also a groan and a slap in the forehead.

Conclusion:

Despite all the flaws with the story, there are parts of it that are enjoyable. As I’ve said, the daughter Hannah is reminiscent of Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice, a favorite amongst thousands, across many, many generations.

For those who are interested in the time period, it might be worth reading. For those who enjoy stories about sanitaria, it might be worth reading. For those who really, REALLY like to work for their entertainment, it is probably worth reading. (I’m guessing that the Man Booker judges are within this group.) For the reast of us, probably this is a pass.

Grade: C-

Harkius

2 Stars The Keepers Of The Mad Are At Least As Mad As The Mad They Keep
Okay, some people are going to love this novel…I think that they are the same people who loved ‘The Gathering’ by Anne Enright. If you like poetry and literature that is on the crazy disjointed end of the spectrum this might be your cup of tea, sadly it was not mine.

This is one of those books that you think you might be able to snarf down in half a day because it’s pretty short, has a large font and lots of blank pages between the chapters. But when you get into it you see that it’s the other kind of book, the one with not so many words but words that are hard to get through quickly. Some people like this style of writing, you know who you are, others do not. You can see which category I fall into.

I didn’t like any of these characters but was moved to weeping by the ending…I think mental illness must be one of the most difficult curses on the planet.

I thought the story was interesting, the characters were interesting, but I really dislike this style of writing. It felt like there was little if any tension for the majority of the story and then suddenly the writer reveals some very disturbing events. The note I wrote to myself as I was reading says ‘nothing happens and then everything happens - enough to make you sick.’

I would recommend this for people who like depressing poetry and reading about what might be going on inside the mind of the mentally ill.

5 Stars Pattern-making
John Clare used to be a village boy. He is an inmate in a madhouse, High Beech. He is also known as the peasant poet.

Septimus Tennyson, a melancholic, and Alfred Tennyson, the poet, are welcomed to High Beach by the owner, Dr. Matthew Allen. Alfred Tennyson tells Allen he will be mired in the black blood of the Tennysons. The severe psychiatric cases are kept at Leopard’s Hill Lodge. The majority of the mad resist cure.

John Clare receives a pass key from the doctor to enable him to walk and to botanize. Indeed, Matthew Allen offers to use his literary connections to get Clare’s poems published. John had worked at the lime kilns. On his walk he passes the charcoal burners. He recalls a time when the land was surveyed and the gypsies were driven out. On his day away from the madhouse he plays the fiddle for some of the folk, (gypsies), and falls asleep by the fire. Later, when he is to be locked up for two days for not returning from an excursion promptly, John Clare avers that you can’t cage a man.

Oswald, Matthew Allen’s older brother, visits and presses the point of view of the Sandemanians. Oswald holds that Matthew is worldly. (The truth is that Matthew likes risk.) The poets, the patients– with John Clare there is overlap– the children of Matthew Allen and their suitors and his own wife, the staff of the madhouse, they gypsies, and assorted other beings and the countryside itself are all characters in this pastorale.

The story details the disordered thoughts of the mad with the utmost sympathy and care. The plan of the book is the seasons of the year. This is a nod to the famous poem by Thomson, a favorite of John Clare. This piece of historical fiction is brilliant. A note about sources appears at the end.

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All it took to destroy Andy Nocera’s seemingly perfect life was an anonymous tryst at an Interstate rest area. Sentenced to probation and thrown out by his wife, he spends his week as a traveling salesman, and his weekends at his mother’s house where no questions are asked–and no explanations are offered.

To clear his record, the State of North Carolina requires Andy to complete one year of therapy without another arrest. He attends his sessions reluctantly at first, struggling to comprehend why he would risk everything. Answers don’t come easily, especially in the face of his mother’s sudden illness and his repeated failure to live as an openly gay man. But as Andy searches his past, he gets an opportunity to rescue another lost soul–and a chance at a future that is different in every way from the one he had envisioned.

With profound honesty, sharp wit, and genuine heart, this debut novel portrays one man’s search–for love and passion, acceptance and redemption–and for the courage to really live.

“If you’re looking for a smart, engaging, witty, sad and unusual book about the complicated nature of family and love, try Tom Mendicino’s Probation.  You’ll be glad you did.”  –Bart Yates

“Probation is the rare novel that dares to take the reader on a journey through the dark night of the soul. An unflinching look at the dark side of self-discovery, it is ultimately a story of transformation and the worlds of possibilities hidden within each of us.” –Michael Thomas Ford

-If David Sedaris were cast as Willy Loman, it might sound something like Probation.  Andy, a sharp-tongued travelling salesman, gives us the life events that led to his being taken away in handcuffs, and the hilarious and agonizing self-inquiry that follows.  Snarky, yet profound, it is a bold examination of the destructive effects of a life spent in the closet, reported with a Carolina twang.-   –Vestal McIntyre

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Hits home!
I read this book and it made me uncomfortable. This book mirrored certain aspects and feelings that I have as an older gay man (I am in my 40’s). Regret, unable to face certain mistakes, lonliness, a death of a parent, changes in career, loss of supposed friends and emotional support. What the character felt and went through, I identified with it. The fact that the character and I are in the same age group helped me identify with him tremendously.

This book hit home in many aspects but it also gave a sense of hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Will definitely read this book again, and, order a few copies for my friends. Thank you Mr. Mendicino. Well done.

5 Stars A very passionate heartfelt story
Andy Nocera has been married for twenty years to the woman he loves like no other. Unfortunately, he realizes at some point in his marriage that he’s very very gay. The story opens shortly after Andy is arrested when caught having sex with another man in a public restroom. Kicked out of his house, he now lives with his mother and must attend weekly counseling sessions with a psychiatrist/priest named Matt.

The novel takes place mainly over the course of that first year, extending for a bit beyond. It’s told in narrative form by Andy, and contains powerful imagery. Tom Mendicino has great command over the English language, and virtually every sentence is carefully constructed with powerful emotions and imagery as Andy tries to confront his demons and find happiness.

This is definitely not light material. Not only is every sentence carefully constructed and emotion-packed, Andy is a very very depressed and negative person. He still loves his wife and hates himself for hurting her so badly. He hates himself for what he did and what he is, and is trapped in a spiral of self-destructive behavior. The only flaw I could find in the book is that for a very very very long time, until the very final chapters, Andy vents great frustration, self-hatred, selfishness, and just about every other negative emotion possible. It’s an emotionally-taxing novel to read. I felt that there should have been a few breaks for the reader as it is difficult to be confronted with so much hatred and despair for such a long time. The ending was uplifting, but not by a great deal. It was more a matter of it being very uplifting by comparison to everything that preceded it. We see that Andy is finally coming to peace with himself and finding happiness, but I felt he still wasn’t embracing life and love fully and unconditionally.

That said, it’s still a very powerful, emotional, and expertly-crafted novel. True emotions felt by any middle-aged gay man are present within these pages, and many of us can find parts of ourselves in Andy. There are passages that surprise you with how strongly and suddenly they hit you in the gut. The author taps into very primal and universal emotions present within us all and without hesitation rips them from your heart.

It’s not light, it’s rarely fun (if at all), but it’s powerful and emotion-provoking. It often forces you to confront yourself and pray that you’re strong enough to continue reading.

1 Stars Depressing Junk
This book was so Depressing, and I was angry with the lead character the entire book. I kept thinking there would be some pay off, and a redemption, or a way that this character could make himself decent, or likable, that is why I kept reading. I hated this book. Self hating gay man who wont accept that he is gay, and hurts everyone around him because he is suffering, instead of getting and embracing help. A total Loser, and left me angry and depressed.

5 Stars High Praise for an Incredible First Novel
I stumbled upon Probation in Amazon, before which I knew nothing of Mendicino’s first novel. One word - fantastic. Mendicino has captured in a stunning account the life of a middle-aged man caught in a circle of despair and desire, grappling with his feelings and the realities that accompanied his arrest and ongoing rehabilitation.

The book’s review on Amazon made me expect something a bit more salacious, but it ends up being an indepth look at the lead character’s emotions, motivations and journey.

One of the very best gay fiction books I’ve ever read. It’s refreshing to find a novel that doesn’t rely on the old tropes of ‘coming of age’, campy cultural references, or rainbows and skittles romance to describe the gay experience. This book is well worth the price.

5 Stars The Best Gay Read in a While
Though a bit of a downer at times, “Probation” is ultimately redemptive. Andy Nocera, like most of us, walks the line between likable and unlikable. I found this book satisfying, with a weight, a solidness, that I think will stick with me for a great while.

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Why is eating chocolate so pleasurable? Can the function of just one small group of chemicals really determine whether you are happy or sad? Does marijuana help to improve your memory in old age? Is it really best to drink coffee if you want to wake up and be alert? Why is a drug like PCP potentially lethal? Why does drinking alcohol make you drowsy? Do cigarettes help to relieve anxiety? What should you consume if you are having trouble staying in your chair and focusing enough to get your work done? Why do treatments for the common cold make us drowsy? Can eating less food preserve your brain? What are the possible side effects of pills that claim to make your smarter? Why is it so hard to stop smoking? Why did witches once believe that they could fly?

In this book, Gary Wenk demonstrates how, as a result of their effects on certain neurotransmitters concerned with behavior, everything we put into our bodies has very direct consequences for how we think, feel, and act. The chapters introduce each of the main neurotransmitters involved with behavior, discuss its role in the brain, present some background on how it is generally turned on and off, and explain ways to influence it through what we consume.

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5 Stars A fast and interesting read
I have had the pleasure of taking Dr. Wenk’s class titled “Drugs and Behavior” at The Ohio State University as an undergraduate and I have to say that this book incorporates the best things from the class including Dr. Wenk’s own research, odd stories from college students experimenting with drugs such as caffeine and marijuana, his extensive knowledge on neuroscience and its history - all influenced in the telling by his hilarious, dry humor.

The book explores an incredible number of topics ranging from the history of the drug which killed King Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play to how Advil works in your brain to stop you from aching in pain. Although Dr. Wenk describes a lot of neuroscience concepts and terms, he always does an excellent job of explaining background information while simultaneously teaching you something new. This is including the concise paragraphs of summary at the end of every chapter which state the big picture.

I’m particularly interested in how the brain works and different types of the neurotransmitters but what I enjoyed most about this book is the cultural and historical contexts of drugs from around the world. For example, there exists a certain mushroom which, when ingested, produces a type of hallucination which causes people to see normal objects a lot bigger or smaller than they actually are. This mushroom and its effect could very well have influenced Lewis Carroll while he was writing Alice in Wonderland (as seen in Alice’s adventure in a land of size disproportions). Now this statement is definitely something everyone would be interested in learning, especially at cocktail hour!

5 Stars Your Brain On Food
The title of the book interested me. So I bought it and it was much more than I ever expected. I learned so much from the book about the human brain. It was written with much humor and in a way I could understand our most complex organ. It is without a doubt the best book I have ever read on the brain. It is an easy to read book that everyone could benefit from. I could not put it down. Thank you Dr. Wenk for the fascinating book.

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