Affinity by Sarah Waters

From The Week of May 23, 2010

Affinity may plod along at times as Ms. Waters does her level best to keep a number of literary balls in the air at once, but an outstanding final third of this dark, Gothic novel is well worth the wait.

Set in Victorian London of the 1870s, our story concerns one Margaret Prior, a thoroughly miserable young woman who, despite her upperclass privilege, has attempted suicide at least once. Though the true cause of Margaret's unhappiness does not out until later in the novel, it's immediately clear that her disposition hasn't been helped by the death of her father. Her mother only worsens the situation by treating Margaret like an invalid, stripping away the young lady's autonomy out of a fear that she'll upset herself and attempt again to end her life. As a result, young Margaret wastes away inside her house, which might as well be a prison, dying a little with each day that passes and generally seeing little light on the horizon.

If one were to compile a list of ideas on how to cheer up a depressed girl, sending her to tour a prison wouldn't be anywhere near my top ten, but this is Victorian England where at least the notion of piety towards the lower classes is encouraged among the well-off. And anyway, visiting, as its called, offers Margaret an opportunity to get out in the world, to seize her own initiative, to be her own woman by engaging with the female prisoners of Millbank. Quickly, Margaret takes a liking to these wretches. In a way, she's quite like them, a societal outcast among a group of societal outcasts. Perhaps this new arrangement will work out for Margaret and give her hope for the future, unless of course her passions run away with her and she gets in too deep with the wrong inmate, an inmate just waiting for an opportunity to reclaim her lost powers.

This is an excellent piece of fiction which channels the Bronte sisters and filters it through the lens of the late 20th century inclination for graphic detail. If Ms. Waters had been just a bit more circumspect in her subject matter, this could have been a 19th century Gothic novel. The prose is wonderfully period and the sense of creeping despair is pitch perfect. My primary quibble here is with Selina Dawes, the inmate with whom Margaret entangles. Quality character, but the flashbacks to her past, while probably necessary, slowed the novel considerably. Ms. Waters clearly wanted to explore the spiritualism of the period, but it always seemed too disconnected from the main, narrative thrust. It certainly never animated as the rest of the piece did. All in all, a great read if you like a little non-gory horror. And as mentioned, the final act is absolutely first class. (3/5 Stars)