For whatever reason, Green’s novel evokes for me Poe’s Masque of the Red Death. To be clear, they are stylistically quite different. While Poe’s florid prose is of an earlier era, Green’s is decidedly Modern. But, like Poe’s wealthy nobles, Green’s wealthy party-goers wall themselves off from a miasma. Theirs is to be a temporary interlude in a hotel suite, waiting out the smog that has halted train service out of London. And mortality is barely a theme here. Rather, two hopefuls jockey for position around the wealthy host, creating more tension than the wait itself. But while Poe barely glances at his characters, Green focuses most of his attention on his.
Like Lawrence in his earlier books, Green skewers their self-indulgence. Here, though, the rapier has a finer point. Whereas Lawrence tries to evoke sympathy for his own avatar, Green doesn’t appear to project himself on the proceedings. He does allow the sense of place to permeate the story, though, making the luxurious little drama seem so trivial when compared to that of the masses stuck below. And yet the characters are rapt with themselves.
Perhaps that’s Green’s gift. I read Green’s Loving previously and found it the more compelling novel. Dialogue carried virtually all of the action there, while here the third person narration contributes more to the setting and the characters’ interior. But in both cases he makes believable his characters’ conviction, even if the lower caste characters of the prior novel resonate more deeply.
Like all Modernist literature, the author presents multiple perspectives for his readers. In this case, Green evokes the reader’s sympathy by juxtaposition, setting the rich literally high above the masses and allowing only the barest of intermingling. The few instances of crossing over are the most compelling but the whole affair isn’t up the standard of his later book. I’d recommend this one cautiously for true students of literature.
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Top reviews from other countries
AK
Likely to split opinion but if you are into a combination of Veblen and a plotless novel, this is gold
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2014Velomoon
Empty Vessels...........Party Going-Henry Green
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2012J A R
He is a very mannered modernist writer of modest talent ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2015Amazon Customer
superficial and somewhat boring group of young people held up for a few ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2016