Saturday, August 24, 2019

The Vexations by Caitlin Horrocks, fiction about composer Erik Satie and his family in the Belle Époque

A beautifully melancholic tone permeates this finely written debut novel from acclaimed short story author Horrocks. More than biographical fiction about French avant-garde composer Erik Satie (1866-1925), it’s a multi-perspective saga about the Satie siblings and their circle, and how their lives touched and diverged over decades.

After their father abandons them in 1872, Eric (the original spelling), Louise, and Conrad live with their grandmother in Normandy, until Louise is later sent to stay with her great-uncle. The three never regain their childhood closeness. Now calling himself Erik, the composer pursues music in Paris, and struggles to rise above the cabaret scene, his erratic behavior giving him a “problematic level of fame.” Louise marries into a prominent family yet suffers significant losses.

Erik’s story looks beyond the “tortured genius” stereotype to something more nuanced and real, while both Louise and painter Suzanne Valadon, Erik’s one-time companion, personify different aspects of being a woman alone. The bleakness of the themes of loneliness, family separation, and thwarted expectations sits in counterpoise to several couples’ deep love and the creativity that produces innovative art.

The Vexations was published in August 2019 by Little, Brown; I'd reviewed it for Booklist's July issue. I confess I hadn't run across Erik Satie before picking up the novel and have since read that he's considerably more familiar a name in Europe than in the US. Louise, Erik's sister, is apparently so little-known that she isn't mentioned in Satie's Wikipedia entry; reading it, you'd think Conrad was his only sibling. I found her story the most poignant and was glad to discover it.

11 comments:

  1. This has been on my tbr list, but it doesn't appear to be on Kindle and the book is almost $40 Canadian, so it will have to wait a bit.

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  2. You're right, and that's so strange. I guess this book isn't distributed in Canada, which is unfortunate.

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    1. Yes, just found out it's only available as an audio here.

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    2. I went over the border Tuesday, bought a copy, reading it now. I've not gone so far to get a book in years!

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    3. Wow, I hope you like it!

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  3. Thank you for the review. The book and story is totally new to me.

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  4. Glad I wasn't the only one!

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    1. Glad you thought so, Jim! It's a unique novel that doesn't seem to be getting the attention it deserves.

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  6. Probably you have heard Erik Satie's gorgeous Gymnopedie #1, even if you didn't know the name. It's quite popular and would be a great accompaniment to the book.

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    1. I had heard that Gymnopedie #1 was well known, but it wasn't familiar to me at all, strangely. Although I do like it a lot...

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