307. Undermajordomo Minor
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Recommended by: Kathy Hewitt
Author: Patrick deWitt
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Humor
224 pages, published September 8, 2015
Reading Format: Book
Summary
Lucy (aka Lucien) Minor has been hired to work under the Major Domo in the dilapidated Castle Van Aux which is inhabited by a mysterious Baron who spends his time pining for his Baroness who abandoned him long ago. While trying to figure out life in the castle and life in general, Lucy meets the beautiful Klara, a poor local girl with whom he falls deeply in love. Things turn problematic when Adolphus, a brutish soldier, returns to the village and tries to claim Klara.
Quotes
“I find the constant upkeep of the body woefully fatiguing, don’t you?”
“She wasn’t precisely sure what she was walking toward but she wouldn’t have turned around for the world.”
“As it happens, I’m chasing after a girl, Father. For it has come to pass that I’ve fallen in love.” Father Raymond leaned in. “In love, you say?” “Just so.” “And what is that like? I’ve often wondered about it.” Lucy said, “It is a glory and a torment.” “Really? Would you not recommend it, then?” “I would recommend it highly. Just to say it’s not for the faint of heart.”
“Easier asked than answered,” said Mr. Olderglough. “For our days here are varied, and so our needs are also varied. On the whole, I think you’ll find the workload to be light in that you will surely have ample free time. But then there comes the question of what one does with his free time. I have occasionally felt that this was the most difficult part of the job; indeed, the most difficult part of being alive, wouldn’t you say, boy?”
“Let us look within ourselves and search out the dormant warrior.” “Mine is dormant to the point of non-existence, sir.”
“We must try again,” said Lucy. “Must we?” Tomas asked. “Of course we must. Otherwise we’ll die here.” Here Tomas spoke gently, and with tranquil understanding. “That’s not how we see it, Lucy.” “How do you see it?” “We’ll live here.”
“You always bring God into arguments you know you’re losing, for the liar is lonely, and welcomes all manner of company.”
“A man accepts an inferior cup of tea, telling himself it is only a small thing. But what comes next? Do you see?”
“Walking away on the springy legs of a foal he thought, How remarkable a thing a lie is. He wondered if it wasn’t man’s finest achievement, and after some consideration, he decided it was.”
“And yet he held his tongue, wanting his farewell with Marina to be peaceable, not out of any magnanimity, but so that after Tor ruined her—he felt confident Tor would ruin her—and she was once more alone, she would think of Lucy’s graciousness and feel the long-lingering sting of bitter regret.”
“He wandered here and there over rolling hills.
He never saw the ocean but
dreamed of it often enough.”
My Take
Much like his previous book The Sisters Brothers, Undermajordomo Minor is a peculiar, but fascinating book. In his twisting of the fable format, Patrick deWitt explores such universal themes as the agony and ecstasy of love, man’s search for meaning, the futility of war, standing up for what you believe, and even sexual perversion (from an extremely bizarre section that came out of nowhere). While it’s a strange brew of a book that mixes all of this together amidst the backdrop of a small village in 19th Century Europe, I found it to be a quick and compelling read.
