As in, "Athena", the events of the novel are told primarily in the first person by Victor. The difference this time through is that Victor is a historically based individual, as are many others in the novel. Victor is one of,"The Cambridge 5", the group of Soviet Spies that maintained there cover for so very long, with the 5th man not being identified publicly until many decades after others had fled to the Soviet Union. Victor is not the name of one of the spies as they existed for so many years, and the names placed on the others are not precise either. If you have read about this group or even one of its more flamboyant members, Kim Philby for example, all the players become readily recognizable.
Mr. Banville delivers a remarkable mosaic of what this particular man may have written had he placed his memories on paper. Victor never wavered from viewing himself as a Royalist, yet he worked for the Communists, without pay. He also worked for the King arranging the Royal Art Collection. His sexuality produced a marriage that lasted until his wife's death, produced two children, while he was discovering and acknowledging his homosexuality. He was raised a Catholic, he married a Jewish woman, and was amazed when she was buried in the traditional Jewish manner, and that his children were conversant in their Mother's religion as well. Even his wife, referred to as Baby until she had one of her own, was able to pass as a man dressed in formal wear and her androgyny. There is nothing about this man that is simple, he is not publicly exposed as a spy until he has ceased from the activity for over 30 years.
I found this to be the finest study of an individual by Mr. Banville, with the possible exception of his, "Doctor Copernicus". The latter is not necessarily better, and which you prefer may depend on the historical period during which their lives take place.
This is an excellent piece of work, and yet another example of this Author's range and depth of knowledge. Whether he is dealing with Kepler, Copernicus, 17th Century Flemish Art, or World War Two, his competency is absolute.
"The Untouchable" is the first person narrative of Victor Maskell, Royalist and Marxist, art curator for the English monarchy and spy for the Soviet Union. Maskell's narrative begins in the 1980s, when he is in his seventies, sick with cancer. It is then that his past is suddenly and unexpectedly made public, the prominent, seemingly conservative intellectual revealed to be a man leading a double life, a traitor to his country. The reality, of course, is much more complex, for Maskell's motives, beliefs and actions, like those of all humans, are uncertain, clouded by conflicting memories, versions and perspectives. Married and the father of two children, Maskell is a homosexual. Ostensibly a Marxist and supporter of the great Soviet experiment, he is deeply attached to England and, in very personal ways, to the Royal family. Presumably acting for many years as a spy for the Soviets, the practical value of his activities is largely confined to being a symbolic trophy for his spymasters in the Kremlin, someone who rubs elbows with the highest levels of the British government while providing little in the way of truly useful information.
Drawing on the historical facts surrounding the Cambridge spies, "The Untouchable" is a brilliantly imagined, vividly realistic fictional memoir of the complex and often perplexing life of such a spy. Banville's prose is flawless, his narrative voice is always at perfect pitch, and his characters and story are a masterpiece of verisimilitude.
I didn't mean that to sound elitist, but it's my guess that if you are pretty straight-forward with your choice of media e.g. listen to Maria Carey, watch romantic comedies with Meg Ryan in etc., you probably will not see the point of this book. If however you wouldn't like to pigeonhole yourself in that way (or indeed any way), then it is unlikely that you are going to be averse to looking at life in a few different ways.
The book reflects what is rewarding in what is not immediately accessible. I have read books with more suspense, action and am still written well. I have never read books with more liquid lyricism than the books by this author or other comparable authors i.e. Julian Barnes esp. Flaubert's Parrot.
