1 out of 4 stars
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Guardian of Deceit by William H. Cole is a fiction novel that introduces orphaned teenager Darwin as he moves into his professional footballer cousin’s mansion, detailing his new life there over the following years. The book is often described as ‘other’ fiction, and justly so, as it fails to fall neatly into a particular genre. Beginning with a distinctly YA premise, it progresses to a more adult realist work, with brief affairs in grittier crime and seductive mystery. Darwin’s life explores numerous themes, such as drug abuse, sexuality, jealousy, domestic abuse, social standing, and consent.
The novel begins with a teenage Darwin being taken aback, as an old woman demands his window seat (successfully) on a plane. On his way to live with his new – famous – guardian Luther, he is both apprehensive and hopeful. On arrival he meets the mansion staff; housekeeper Mrs Thomas, driver Lazlo, and his grandmother (who is simply referred to as Granny). Unfortunately, it is here that Darwin’s character first becomes questionable. More concerned with his inheritance than his blood-relations, he worries constantly about how he will cope without money. Luther decides that Darwin should “work” for his money – a fact that infuriates the latter. The difficulty with Darwin’s character is that, as a regular middle-class citizen, it was difficult to form any kind of empathy for a boy who gets ten dollars for bringing a coffee up to his cousin’s bed, and then rags on the injustice of it.
Throughout the novel, Darwin’s character becomes more and more unlikeable. He grows into from an entitled teenager into a downright hypocrite who makes irrational assumptions about everyone he encounters. He chastises all other characters for their morality, but proceeds to adhere to very questionable ethics himself. The rest of the rather overcrowded cast does not make up for this disappointment, as the majority of male characters are abusive woman-haters, while the females are hysterical and fickle. The only character with any kind of pull is Darwin’s college-mate Dominique, and even she proceeds to lose this saving grace in the final moments of the book.
Despite the main thread of Darwin’s integration into Luther’s life, I felt that the novel has far too many plotlines to actually flesh any out to their full potential. The extensive web of stories failed to capture the attention that the unlikeable characters left available and did not serve to hide the sinister undertones of the book.
In fact, several moments are downright anti-feminist. I was actually outraged at particular scenes (something that rarely occurs, as I try to immerse myself in another’s viewpoint when reading), but ploughed on, hoping that it was all in the name of a great reveal of justice at the end. I hoped that the finish would enable the previous chapters to make sense. However, this simply did not happen. The book ended true to the rest of its content, with derogatory comments and a perverted view of women. Without spoiling content for those who have not read it, I can speak to those who have about the gym-girl, Sweeney, Betsy, Pearlstein, Coral and Helen. They are sexualised constantly, as well as characterised as irrational, foolish people, while Darwin is presented as some kind of moral compass despite his unfeeling, cold nature and inability to feel any real love.
I cannot rate this book more than 1 out of 4 stars due to this. Throughout I wanted to be able to give it a 2. I ignored rambling run-on sentences, overlooked detestable Darwin, and pretended that characters weren’t blatantly changing between paragraphs (Mrs Thomas is “carved out of stone”, even as she argues caringly for Darwin’s good). But I cannot recommend content that treats women in such a bleak fashion. The book had potential, but it is tossed aside for cheap gags and resolutions. I really hope that it was not intended to be so downbeat in regards to femininity, and that others agree with the patterns I saw.
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Guardian of Deceit
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