The Elected Member
Set in an East End Jewish family, the novel follows Norman Zweck, once the bright hope of the household, as drug addiction and hallucinations pull him and the people around him into a tangle of guilt, love, and fear. Serious in subject but darkly comic in tone, it is a sharp portrait of family pressure and emotional damage.
Work Information
When family devotion turns into pressure, the damage can spread in unexpected ways.
Known as the Booker Prize winner for 1970, this novel is set within a Jewish family in East London. Around Norman, a son struggling with drug addiction and hallucinations, the love, duty, and regret carried by his father, mother, and sister gradually unravel. The writing moves between pain and wit, giving the book its distinctive force.
Review Summaries
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Many readers praise the strong premise and the family dynamics, noting the book's black humor and lingering psychological unease. Others find its symbolism and dense interiority more demanding.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Abacus
- Published
- 1991-07-01
- Pages
- 240 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 12.7 x 1.59 x 19.69 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780349130224
- ISBN-10
- 0349130221
- Price
- 2750 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Family Saga
Norman is the clever one of a close-knit Jewish family in the East End of London. Infant prodigy; brilliant barrister; the apple of his parents' eyes... until at forty-one he becomes a drug addict, confined to his bedroom, at the mercy of his hallucinations and paranoia. For Norman, his committal to a mental hospital represents the ultimate act of betrayal. For Rbbi Zweck, Norman's father, his son's deterioration is a bitter reminder of his own guilt and failure. Only Bella, the unmarried sister, still in her childhood white ankle socks, can reach across the abyss of pain to bring father and son the elusive peace which they both desperately crave.
Bernice Rubens was born is Wales and worked as both a writer and a film maker. She is the winner of the Booker Prize for The Elected Member, and was shortlisted for the same prize for a subsequent novel: A Five Year Sentence. She died in 2004.
Reviews
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his is an impeccably written, deeply insightful, at times hilarious but mostly totally depressing story about a pious Jewish family in East London and the burden of secrets, guilt and remorse that each member carries. Not one of them is innocent, to a larger or lesser degree all have contributed to each other’s miserable, stunted lives, and none more than Norman whose descent into lunacy is brilliantly described. For me it was the father, soft-hearted, timid, vulnerable, faithful old Rabbi Zweck who really made this story heart-breaking and unforgettable.
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We just read this book in our book club and we are all pleasantly surprised at what great discussion it generated. While reading the book, one can get a sense that parallel plots are orbiting the primary plot all the time but you never can quite put your finger on exactly what they are. As a group we all picked up on different concepts that once someone said it we would agree at how right on the person was and how we didn't come up with it on our own. After the discussion we all wanted to read the book again with our new insight into the book.
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Norman's dysfunctional Jewish family drives him to take drugs, and when Norman is sectioned we find out he has more than a few skeletons in the cupboard himself... I hesitated to pick this up but it was a really great novel; well written and fresh as a daisy (considering it is nigh on 50 years old). Rubens has a deft touch and the admirable ability to tell a humorous yet life-affirming story. A memorable quick read.
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Darkly humerous, a great read.
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Manchmal vielleicht etwas schwieriger zu lesen, als ihre übrigen Bücher, zeigt es doch einen interessanten Einblick in eine Irrenanstalt. Packend geschrieben.
Related Literary Awards
- Booker Prize Edition 2 (1970) ・Winner