Gil Hates Everything

“G.” by John Berger.

Oh thank god. This tale of a repressed young man who becomes what you might call a crap Casanova is at least interesting and has some history going on in it, specifically the whole business of Trieste getting annexed to Italy in 1921. No, shut up, it’s interesting.

There’s also an excellent sequence about early aviators attempting to fly over the Alps which brings home how brave and stupid they were. And interspersed with this, G. (the only name he’s given) romances the ladies, for no obvious reason other than that he has the power to do it, and the power to ignore them afterwards. He’s a nasty piece of work despite being the focal character, and he comes to a sticky end, and that’s not a bad thing.

And, happily, this isn’t a bad book, not in the slightest. I enjoyed this, despite a somewhat shaky start, and the setting is fascinating.