Book Review: Mother's Boy by Patrick Gale

I always make a point of reading anything by Patrick Gale – I love his writing for its warmth, humour and perception. He has a knack for presenting characters with all their flaws and yet they also make for oddly likeable company. We find out what makes them special and ordinary at the same time.

Gale’s latest book, Mother’s Boy is about Charles Causley, a favourite Cornish poet, and takes us back to the years just before World War I, and the meeting of Charles's parents. Both were working in service at the time, Laura as a maid and Charlie driving a pony and trap for the local doctor. World War I is just getting going when the two marry, their son born in 1917.

Charlie is shipped home from the army with TB, dying a few years later, leaving Laura to bring up her son alone. With no one else in the family, Charles and his mother have a close relationship despite the widening gap between them when it comes to education and culture.

Charles wins a place at grammar school, is clever with words and as he gets older, becomes a gifted pianist, playing for local theatre productions. But soon another war is about to begin, and with his quick mind he’s selected as a coder for the Navy. Early friendships, as well as those he makes through the war, uncover in Charles an awareness of his sexuality – something he’s never quite sure how to deal with.

The story bounces through the years, each chapter capturing a different period, the book finishing a few years after peace is declared. It’s a compelling read – not just describing the life of the poet; just as interesting is Laura – her war at home; her back-breaking laundry work; her feelings as a mother. And while there’s a new social mobility – the old class system upended by two world wars – ideas about sexuality and race have yet to change.

The novel leaves us with a small scene which will define Charles’s life to come, and which brought a lump to my throat. Patrick Gale’s novels have a way of sneaking up on you like that. Gale has done a ton of research for the book, leaving you with a lot to think about beyond the last page. I can imagine this could be an interesting choice for a book group and cannot recommend it highly enough.

Posted by JAM

24 May 2023

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