Set in the month of birth, At Hawthorn Time begins with and culminates in the obliteration of human life, positing a contrast between the cycle of nature and the lives of men. This is a very unconventional novel, writes MEHA PANDE
In the wake of the advancement of spring, author Melissa Harrison unfolds a tale of interaction, progression and devastation of the lives of her characters. At Hawthorn Time is centred on four principal characters inhabiting the fictional countryside of lodeshill and its vicinity. Howard and Kitty — a couple from london seek retirement in the town, Jack is a trespasser, a wanderer who longs to experience liberty in the village he inhabits and Jamie is a resident of lodeshill by birth who finds it difficult to connect to the village after he moves out for work.
Through each of its characters, the novel addresses the pertinence and necessity of freedom — both social and personal. For Kitty, the need to be free from the city life of london so she could fulfil her dream of painting the countryside is what brings her to lodeshill but she finds herself constrained even when she inhabits the space she always dreamt of. Howard, on the other hand, frequently finds himself desiring freedom from the unmoving country life at lodeshill. Howard and Kitty’s marriage which lacks communication and is viewed by both as more of an appearance for their children culminates in a decision to be free — to want to give up the charade and start afresh. Jack wants the freedom of movement — a position which enables him ‘to go where he likes’; he desires to live the life of a free man without any restraint in so far as ‘his land’ is concerned. Jamie finds himself tangled in the memories of Alex and the Culverkeys Farm and expects to be empty of them one day. For him, the village is ‘a site from which meaning had become fugitive.’
The countryside is often believed to be the space which offers refuge. It is the safe haven, a space ideal for shelter and retreat. The novel challenges this stereotypical association of the countryside as the space of ultimate harmony and tranquillity by addressing what lies within the landscape. All of Harrison’s characters inhabit the space, traditionally read as the ‘pastoral’ — a space which by its nature must offer an alternative to everything that the city embodies. Being inhabitants of such a space Jack, Jamie, Kitty and Howard display a recurrent yearning to be free of their bondages, exuding an orientation bent towards escaping not only their present state but also the memories of past which haunt them time and again. Their incessant attempts towards assimilation most often encounter a continual desire to break free, resulting in the state of turmoil each of them find themselves in.
Most of the characters are disordered one way or the other, the reasons for which lie in their own personal histories. The past life of each character is essential to the advancement of the plot, more so, because of how Harrison unties her novel — unfolding it by beginning with the tragic end. The novel moves to and fro making its readers a spectator to the history of each of the characters. We are a witness to each ones past life-a grand- tragic but historically pertinent past for some like Jamie’s grandfather and an interiorised, rather personal one for others like Jack, Jamie, Howard and Kitty. An insight into each one’s history is pertinent in establishing an understanding of their fragmented conditions. Memory, often invoked along with the progression of spring, is an appropriate and necessary tool for narration because of the novel’s reliance on past. A site of disaster, the violent accident, is shown to the readers at the very onset — it is only memory which guides the plot then on.
Harrison’s novel also briefly addresses some essential questions on art. The meaning, nature and technique of art, its objective and method are put forth through Kitty’s character. She repeatedly struggles with the paintings she makes. There is a sense of dissatisfaction and lack in so far as her opinion of her own paintings is concerned. It is this discontent which lends an entry point to the novel for its reminiscence on art. Harrison combines the classical art form of painting with the contemporary art form of photography and brings us a combination of both, working together, in synchronisation to produce the desired work.
Just as in her previous novel Clay, nature plays a significant role in this novel as well. Jack — the melancholy, solitary, vagrant offender is intrinsically linked to the land and the advancement of the cycle of spring. He thrives on the remembrance of an elegiac past and his connection to the soil and land of the village. Harrison’s novel is diverse from most contemporary novels. It addresses nature as much as it addresses the characters she constructs. However, nature often overpowers the narrative and one comes across long passages describing the soil or hedgerows which, for me, made the reading slightly tedious and lengthy. This also leaves the principal characters slightly neglected towards the middle of the book. The book paces with its characters more expressive, clear and insightful towards the end. Kitty and Howard move to having a conversation, Jamie moves in search of his grandfather and Jack’s aimless wandering is halted by his interaction with Jamie’s grandfather. The strength of the book lies in its ability to convince its readers to keep moving on to discover what is half-revealed at the beginning.
Set in the month of birth, the novel begins with and culminates in the obliteration of human life, positing a contrast between the cycle of nature and the lives of men. Overall, I would call At Hawthorn Time an unconventional book. Unconventional in how it incorporates nature into its plot, how it presents a spectacle of its violent end towards the beginning through a prologue, and in how its end speaks to its readers, making them a part of the accident via their engagement with the personal history of its characters.