Praise for Instances
of the Number 3
The
eternal triangle of love, longing, and loss.
The "eternal triangle" of cliché implies a multitude
of griefs as well as tabloid love-exposes. Behind the everyday
infidelities of your average two timing rat is a wealth of symbolism
as ancient and complex as human desire itself. The triple deities
of Egyptian mythology, the three Graces as personification of
grace and beauty, the doctrine of the Trinity… all these
are instances of the number three, fittingly accompanied by
the lightly mocking music of that triangle which is at once
a simple instrument for children yet the symbol for the halo
of God the Father. The three-legged stool may seem to sit stoutly
on the floor, but I wouldn't trust its stability if I were
you.
Many writers have approached the theme of infidelity through
an examination of the relationship between a wife and a mistress
after the man's death, and Salley Vickers approaches the theme
with unusual subtlety. Peter Hansome is a man loved by two women:
his wife Bridget and his mistress Frances. When he dies in a
car crash they become uneasy friends, though each claims superior
knowledge of the man himself. He haunts the novel on two levels,
both in their memories, and as a soul in Purgatory whom only
the wife can see (and in the end) talk to.
Of course, neither the wife nor the mistress knew the secret
darker side to Peter's character, and when an odd, beautiful
Iranian boy called Zahin appears on the scene this third relic
of Peter's life holds the clue to a yet more complex mystery.
Salley Vickers again allows the wife, not the mistress, discover,
to discover the truth. Frances may end up unexpectedly blessed
with the conventional pleasures of domesticity, but is he one
fettered to Peter by the bonds of holy matrimony who is granted
access to knowledge.
Bridget Hansome is a well-rounded creation who makes Frances
Slater seem somewhat two-dimensional in contrast. Her evolving
relationship with Stanley Godwit is described with reticence
and grace. This late flowering love is an affair as much of
literature as of the heart, yet one feels it to be all the more
powerful because of that.
Those who admired Salley Vickers's accomplished first novel,
Miss Garnet's Angel will expect Instances of the number 3 the
same gentleness of perception and sharpness of intellect, and
they will not be disappointed. This is not a novel grand passion;
the tone is one controlled politeness with which Vickers describes
the emotions of her characters. If at times this strains credulity
it is a small price to pay for the realisation that all things
can be understood, and all forgiven- the redemptive "Ripeness
is all" which sustains you long after the last page.
Bel
Mooney, The Times, 01/08/01,
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