Daniel Shindler's Reviews > The Performance
The Performance
by
by
The Performance is a thoughtful and deftly constructed book that turns one’s thoughts inward while contemplating how we connect to the outward world. Three women come to the theatre in Melbourne to watch a performance of Samuel Beckett’s play Happy Days. Each of them is at a different chronological and emotional stage of their life experiences. Margot, approximately in her late sixties,is a literature professor nearing retirement. Summer, an usher in the the theatre, is a drama student at university in her early twenties. Ivy, a philanthropist who supports theater,is in her forties.
Each of these women represent a different stage of the life cycle. Scattered around different parts of the theatre, they maintain the outward calm and quietude required at a theatrical event. Their interior musings, though, are a cauldron of activity. The author employs phrases and scenes from Beckett’s play as a trigger for each woman , in alternating chapters, to contemplate their relationships,regrets and choices throughout their lives. There is very little external action in this novel.The action primarily comes in the ferment of each character’s mind as they sit cocooned in silence during the play.
Ms Thomas employs language in a sparse yet evocative manner.Her use of language is a perfect offset to Beckett’s play, which eschews action and maximizes imagery to stimulate audience thought.There are a host of themes throughout the book. It was striking to me how we can be physically proximate to another person yet inhabit a totally different world of sensibilities. We can have physical stillness while our thoughts quietly stampede inside. This novel explores these contradictions while revealing the arc of each woman’s journey to their current life point. This work is not to be read quickly and may not be for every reader. As I wandered through this novel, it slowly grew on me. By the end of my reading, I was reminded of a famous line in a Carl Sandberg poem where he emotes that” the fog came in on little cat feet.” If this novel suits your temperament, it just might sneak up and envelop your thoughts.
Each of these women represent a different stage of the life cycle. Scattered around different parts of the theatre, they maintain the outward calm and quietude required at a theatrical event. Their interior musings, though, are a cauldron of activity. The author employs phrases and scenes from Beckett’s play as a trigger for each woman , in alternating chapters, to contemplate their relationships,regrets and choices throughout their lives. There is very little external action in this novel.The action primarily comes in the ferment of each character’s mind as they sit cocooned in silence during the play.
Ms Thomas employs language in a sparse yet evocative manner.Her use of language is a perfect offset to Beckett’s play, which eschews action and maximizes imagery to stimulate audience thought.There are a host of themes throughout the book. It was striking to me how we can be physically proximate to another person yet inhabit a totally different world of sensibilities. We can have physical stillness while our thoughts quietly stampede inside. This novel explores these contradictions while revealing the arc of each woman’s journey to their current life point. This work is not to be read quickly and may not be for every reader. As I wandered through this novel, it slowly grew on me. By the end of my reading, I was reminded of a famous line in a Carl Sandberg poem where he emotes that” the fog came in on little cat feet.” If this novel suits your temperament, it just might sneak up and envelop your thoughts.
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