Nina Allan's The Harlequin was published by Sandstone Press in September 2015.
Information about Nina Allan:
Nina Allan lives in North Devon and is a previous winner of the British Science Fiction Award in 2014 with her novella Spin. In the same year, her second novella The Gateway was shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Award/Prize. Her debut novel The Race was shortlisted for the Kitschies Red Tentacle, the British Science Fiction Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 2015.
Click here to visit her official website.
Information about The Harlequin:
The armistice is months past but the memories won’t go away.
‘A harlequin, leaning against a tree stump and with a goblet of ale clasped in one outstretched hand. Beaumont felt chilled suddenly, in spite of the fire... Most likely it was the thing's mouth, red-lipped and fiendishly grinning, or maybe its face, which was white, expressionless, the face of a clown in full greasepaint.’
Dennis Beaumont drove an ambulance in World War One. He returns home to London, hoping to pick up his studies at Oxford and rediscover the love he once felt for his fiancée Lucy. But nothing is as it once was. Mentally scarred by his experiences in the trenches, Beaumont finds himself wandering further into darkness. What really happened to the injured soldier he tried to save? Who is the figure that lurks in the shadows? How much do they know of Beaumont, and the secrets he keeps?
A REVIEW OF NINA ALLAN'S THE HARLEQUIN
Nina Allan's The Harlequin is a harrowingly dark novella that won The Novella Award 2015. It's one of the finest novellas I've read this year. It's a beautifully written and elegantly told story that kept me spellbound until the last word.
This novella has quiet and tender beauty that is nicely balanced by darkness and brutality. Because this kind of a combination has always appealed to me, I was impressed by the story and its atmosphere. I found the story touching, beautiful and harrowing, and I enjoyed its speculative fiction elements.
The Harlequin is a story about Dennis Beaumont and his gradual descent into darkness. It's a gripping story that hooks the reader with its realistic vision of post-WWI England. As you read it, it grows on you and you'll notice that you won't be able to forget about what you've read, because the author writes effectively about the protagonist and his feelings.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
Dennis Beaumont drove ambulance in World War One and tried desperately to save a soldier called Stephen Lovell. After the war he returns to his house on Kennington Lane and meets his fiancée, Lucy, who seems to have changed and matured since he last saw her. A bit later Beaumont goes to see the woman whom the dead soldier loved and tells her of his final moments, because he promised to do so. He meets a woman called Billie and has a secret affair with her. Billie's porcelain harlequin intrigues and terrifies him... This is the beginning of a dark story.
The Harlequin showcases Nina Allan's strengths and writing skills in a perfect way, because it's firmly rooted in reality, but is speckled with darkness. It's a haunting glimpse into the mind of a troubled man who tries to make sense of his life and tries to deal with what happened to the soldier he tried to save.
The characterisation works well, because the characters come wonderfully alive on the pages of this novella. All of the important characters are wonderfully drawn and there are intriguing tensions between them.
Dennis Beaumont is an interesting and realistic protagonist whose life has changed a lot, because World War One interrupted everything that he was about to do. He had to put his life on hold because of the war. When he returned from the war, he was a different man and darkness had taken hold of him. He noticed that his relationship with Lucy changed during the war, because there was a distance between them.
I like the way the author writes about Beaumont's life and his problems. She has created a protagonist who is haunted and troubled by what happened during the war. It was interesting for me to read about his problems, because he had been altered by the war. All the violent acts that he witnessed changed him permanently - he was mentally scarred by what he experienced in the trenches.
I enjoyed reading about what happened between Beaumont and a man called Vladek, because they tried to save the soldier in the ambulance. These scenes were excellent.
It's nice that the author doesn't glorify violence and the horrors of war in this novella, but describes everything as realistically as possible. The horrors of World War One are described in a vivid way as the protagonist reminisces about the happenings. The author writes excellently about these things, because she never resorts to using overly sentimental prose that would ruin the story. She keeps the story stark and realistic, but deftly hints at something strange.
The brutal and murderous act committed by Beaumont is one of the highlights of this novella. It shows how much Beaumont has changed as a person and how far he can go when facing an impossible situation. The events leading to this heinous act were handled perfectly, because Beaumont suddenly had to deal with something unexpected and felt cornered.
One of the best things about this novella is that Nina Allan masterfully evokes a distinct sense of place and time and leads the reader into early 20th century England with her prose. She writes about the places, people and happenings with confidence and style. I can guarantee that when you read this novella, you'll be totally immersed into it and you'll be caught by surprise by the passing of time while reading it.
It was a pleasure to read Nina Allan's prose, because she writes engaging prose with an emphasis on creating a realistic and unsettling atmosphere. The prose is full of nuances that emphasise the gradually deepening atmosphere and the protagonist's descent into darkness. The gradually deepening atmosphere and the descriptions of the protagonist's life and actions captivated me throughout the story.
In my opinion, the author writes observant prose and her descriptions of different people are fascinatingly accurate and believable. She has a talent for creating good characters in novella-length stories.
This novella is akin to classic weird tales, because Nina Allan builds up the atmosphere in a similar way as old masters of weird fiction did in their works and hints at certain things, but never underlines anything or underestimates her readership's intelligence by giving easy answers. This novella has a faint touch of Arthur Machen and Robert Aickman, so it will please those who have read classic weird tales. It's kind of like a sophisticatedly modern yet old-fashioned take on classic weird fiction with a strong nod towards literary fiction.
This novella also reminded me slightly of the atmospheric and excellently acted British horror film Deathwatch (2002). The story is totally different from the film in terms of characters and happenings, but there are a few fascinating similarities between them, because they both tell of what happened during World War One.
If you've never read anything by Nina Allan yet, The Harlequin is a perfect entry point to the author's fiction. If you enjoy find yourself enjoying this novella, please take a look at the author's other works, because they're worth reading.
Nina Allan's The Harlequin is a fascinating, unsettling and memorable glimpse into the mind of a man whose life has been altered by war and whose experiences have deeply scarred him. Don't hesitate to read this novella, because it's something special.
Highly recommended!