South Wind

Norman Douglas was an early 20th century bon vivant, distantly related to royalty. This is a semi-autobiographical novel about hedonism, set on the fictitious island of Nepanthe, modeled on Capri. It naturally falls into the category of modernism, and its style of prose is experimental, as well as its subject matter, often expansive and digressive (to satisfy the personal whims of Douglas). Authors from Graham Greene to Anthony Burgess owe something to Douglas. Religion and alcohol, perhaps unsurprisingly, play key roles in this book. Further, all the characters on Nepanthe seem — per Douglas — to be running away from something or someone. A murder is the dramatic high point of the novel, but the loss of faith of Bishop Heard perhaps more interesting. The eccentricities of the assembled cast, and perhaps their outmoded morés (combined with some cultural references lost on me — the book had no footnotes) did not always make this an easy or fully enjoyable read. At 430 pages, it's also long. There is a satisfaction derived from persevering, and I will perhaps look back on South Wind with some fondness. (NB: the eponymous “South Wind” on the island is said to induce ill-temper in its inhabitants, perhaps a justification for some of the more outlandish behaviour.)

By Norman Douglas