The Bellweather Revivals

The Bellwether Revivals

Benjamin Wood
Viking, 2012

Nursing assistant Oscar Lowe has an ordinary, if not lonely, life. He works at an assistance living facility for the elderly, has few friends, and is not close to his family. One day he hears beautiful organ music coming from a church near Cambridge and is drawn to enter even though he is not religious. That is where he meets and falls in love with Iris Bellwether, who is the sister of the musical genius Eden. The Bellwether family is wealthy, prominent, and influential – and Oscar feels totally out of his element. He has always been more of a working class guy, who never had the money or the opportunities to attend college or have as much leisure time as the Bellwethers and their circle of friends do.

Eden is rather an odd bird but very intelligent, talented and charismatic. He is convinced that he can heal the sick with the music of an obscure baroque composer and tries to prove his theory with a series of bizarre and abusive experiments on his sister and friends, including a very disturbing experience with Oliver. Iris believes that Eden is mentally ill with a little known and difficult to diagnose condition, and she enlists Oliver’s help to convince a doctor who specializes in this particular disorder to examine Eden. As the situation escalates, Oliver becomes more entrenched in the dysfunctional dynamic between Iris and Eden and he soon realizes that Eden’s mental illness could prove dangerous to those around him.

Since this novel’s preface describes a crime scene, it is no secret that the perceived danger surrounding Eden’s strange theories is very real and threatening. However, the novel’s opening chapters sets a steadier and measured approach to the action as it slowly builds the tension and suspense. Oscar is mesmerized by Eden and Iris in the beginning – he enjoys living the opulent lifestyle as part of the inner circle of friends invited for holidays, suppers, and the like. The author does a nice job of drawing the reader into the novel as Oscar is drawn into the mentally unstable and charismatic influence of Eden. I enjoyed the British setting of this novel as well as the fascinating characters and psychological situations. Oscar was likeable and sympathetic – a realistic portrayal of a hero who tries his best to make things right in a world that has gone horribly wrong.

Rating:

This is the author’s first novel.


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