Great fun
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Wise Children is a bawdy, hilarious romp through the history of the Hazard family. The irrepressible narrator, Dora Chance, one of identical twins and half of the Lucky Chances, takes us on a whirlwind tour of this great theatrical dynasty.
Skeletons tumble out of the closet, with illegitimate twins, dubious paternity, and a questionable approach to incest jostling for space on the pages. Born on the wrong side of the blanket, the fortunes of Dora and her sister, Nora, are nevertheless inextricably linked to the "legitimate" branch of the family, from their close relationship with thier uncle, Peregrine, to their big theatrical and Hollywood breaks. Parallels are also drawn between the "legitimate" or high cultural world inhabited by their father, Melchior, and the vulgar, low class music halls and pantos that earn the Lucky Chances their crust. Only Peregrine seems to have the ability to move effortlessly between the two worlds.
No one could deny that the plot is a little far fetched at times. But the characters are hugely enjoyable, whether you love them or you hate them, and the narrative, spanning over a century, whips along at an irresistable pace, conjuring up evocative portraits of the eras it crosses. It's bawdy, comical, rip-roaring fun - just don't take it any more seriously than it takes itself!
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"It's every woman's tragedy that after a certain age, she looks like female impersonator."
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Originally published in 1991 and newly released in paperback, this final novel by Angela Carter (1940 - 1992) is a riotous, non-stop farce, as filled with twists, turns, travails--and twins-- as anything Shakespeare ever dreamed of. Told by Dora Chance at the age of seventy-five, the novel flashes back to the wildly iconoclastic childhood she shared with her twin sister Nora. "Chance by name. Chance by nature. We were not planned," Dora comments, explaining why they were unacknowledged and ignored by their father Melchior Hazard, the most famous Shakespearean actor of his day. ("The Hazards belonged to everyone," she declares. "They were a national treasure.")
Though their father may have been a "national treasure," he was also a self-centered and irresponsible hedonist, and Nora and Dora considered the doting Peregrine Hazard, Melchior's twin brother, their true "father." Brought up by their "Grandma" Chance, a "naturist" who claimed to be descended from the Booth family, the twins were surrounded by a bizarre assortment of "relatives," the result of their father's several marriages, which led to additional sets of Hazard twins who also adopted show business careers. As Dora describes her sexual coming-of-age, along with that of Nora, in bawdy and unapologetic language, she simultaneously describes their entry into show business as a song-and-dance team, a career that led to Hollywood.
As Dora's reminiscences continue at a manic pace--always exuberant, confident, and full of high emotion--the family's passion and love for life in all its variety become the real story here. With vibrant dialogue, the novel resembles an off-the-wall play, full of non-stop action, entrances, exits, asides, and even a Dramatis Personae, allowing the reader to keep track of all the characters and their relationships. The changing of partners and the game of "musical beds" keep the romantic aspect of the novel front and center, even as the family's dramatic contributions, some of them more significant than others, are celebrated.
Dora's story races headlong toward the climax--the 100th birthday celebration of Melchior Hazard's life, when the twins are in their mid-seventies--and the final fifty pages of the novel are as slapstick, ironic, and full of surprises as any comedy ever written. Eventually, the mysteries of their lives and the unanswered questions are resolved, not that Dora cares much. At the age of seventy-five, she believes that "A mother is always a mother, since a mother is a biological fact, whilst a father is a movable feast." Life is to be lived, without wasting a moment, and if the reader has a hard time keeping up with the high-octane action in this novel, then the reader needs to get with Dora's program. One must look, not on the bright side, but at reality. Ultimately, Carter tells us, through Dora, "Comedy is tragedy that happens to OTHER people." Mary Whipple
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A sick, unintresting and overall a poor book
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At time now of having to read through it for my English Lit A-level exam in January, and i have to say at first by the sounds of it i thought it would be boring, and well my thoughts unfortunately came true, for about 4 months now i have been bored out of my head reading and talking about this book. Wise Children? More like a disgusting 75 year old woman craving sex all of time, not written well at all and not many good ideas that come up throughout the whole of the text, just hope i can be wise and pass my exams, although i wouldnt pass this book onto even my worst enemy.
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A book you should avoid.
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Along with thousands of others, i was forced into the arduous task of wading through this mess of a book at A-level English Literature.
What annoys me most is that this novel is not about anything, at all. It makes several stabs at half-baked pseudo-philosophical ideas, such as 'carnivalesque'. There is no relevance of this theme, because there is nothing to be relevant to in the first place. Carter could stick any old idea in here and pass it off as part of the story by using magic realism.
There is only one author who should be allowed to use magic realism, and that is Mikhail Bulgakov - the man can actually handle a complex story and come out of it smiling.
I've gleaned more insight on society and human expectations from reading a lottery ticket.
Another reviewer here said: 'Practically every line is an allusion to a different text, every event has significance, and every character is there for a very important reason.'
I can't even remember how many characters there are, and what they did exactly. What's the point of introducing 30~ 'vital' characters through one batty old woman's warped memory?
You only ever read through her perspective, yet she manages to somehow produce (just like magic, haha) intricate knowledge of events that very probably didn't occur.
You know what they say, 'too many cooks spoil the broth'.
The fact that Carter was a feminist is not lost on the reader, with the males in the novel being portrayed as sexual monsters, lunatics, drunkards, or just crude and untrustworthy in general. Even the 'nice guy', Perry, has some black-as-sin flaws.
Wise Children is like trying to comprehend the 12th dimension. How anyone can enjoy this is beyond me. Reviewers who gave this 5 stars either did not understand it, were paid, or are trying to look intellectual. If you carefully read what they've written, you'll discover a pattern of similarly vague praise and hype, while managing to give inconsistent reviews on what exactly it's about at the same time.
You'll find yourself tearing out pages and gluing them back in where they ought to be, scribbling notes and arrows across the book. By the time you reach the end you might as well have replaced Carter's name with yours.
This is the literary equivalent of Marmite.
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Best read for pure pleasure.
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A beautiful, charming book. Angela Carter gently takes you on an exquisite journey into the nature of human desires and familial relationships.
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