A Particular Man by Lesley Glaister

Bloodhound Press (2024) £11.99

A Review by Cynthia Rogerson

I’ve read all of Glaister’s novels, which now number 17. They are always a guaranteed good read. Like Helen Dunmore, she manages to combine a poetic style, convincing characters, a gripping plot - and somehow knits these all together into a thrilling page turner.  Though A Particular Man is not quite like this. Nor can it be summed up as a historical novel or a romance or a book of sexual misadventures, even while all these elements are in it.

It has darkness of course, because no authentic portrayal of human life can avoid a sliver of darkness, but it is the first Glaister I’ve read which is not also frightening.  A Particular Man is not the stuff of nightmares, but of something much more profound and moving. At a steady un-melodramatic pace, it delivers a stream of convincing post-war angst and grief, sexual secrets and a multitude of complicated broken hearts. 

The book does not portend to sum up the legacy of post-war trauma on prisoners of war and their families back in the UK.  Rather, A Particular Man is quite literally that: the story of one particular young man, Leonard Starling, who is abundantly not a cliché. He represents no one but himself. A soldier smitten in a socially unacceptable way and drenched with grief - not only because his love was never realised when it could be, but because it can now never be realised. Layers upon layers of bleakness and isolation, and there is not always a sense that Starling’s intelligence and sensitivity will prevail. This makes him a riveting character.

The other main character, Aida, is likewise drawn with such quirky and original detail, it seems impossible she is not based on a real person. This, of course, is the victory of a talented writer. Aida’s many flaws become endearing, not because she is also pretty and well-meaning, but because often enough she is neither of these things. She lies, she likes impulsive sex, she hates her job, she’s a bit funny looking, she smokes and drinks and she despairs of her well-meaning parents.

Perhaps this is a page turner after all. I kept reading, not to see who gets killed or caught, but to see if Starling and Aida find some solace in the world. I worried (and worry still) about them, because they are lovable and vulnerable. The book ends, like all good literary books, raggedly. No tidy resolutions, no sense of final contentment for either character.  Luckily for readers, Glaister is writing a sequel.  Aida and Starling will have another airing!

I urge you to buy this book. It adds something important to our understanding of what love is; of what it can (and can’t) do.  And that is no mean feat.