Corrigan by Caroline Blackwood (New York Review of Books, 2002; originally published by William Heinemann in 1984)

 

An odd, compelling book, ambitiously and originally conceived but rather repetitively executed.

Mrs Devina Blunt is a genteel and well-off British widow who lives in a charming house in Wiltshire, where she and her late husband, the Colonel, landed after living in India for most of their lives.  She is devastated by the loss of her beloved husband, and inexplicably estranged from her daughter, Nadine, who lives in London with her insufferable husband (Justin) and their unruly and spoiled twins.

One day a man in a wheelchair -- Corrigan -- arrives at Mrs Blunt's door collecting for charity, and an odd symbiotic relationship evolves between them.  Corrigan pushes Mrs Blunt to happily  re-invent herself, all the while swindling her out of thousands of pounds.  The book's exploration of how people affect one another regardless of their intentions is complex and ingeniously observed, but the book itself is diminished  by its static narrative: the dynamic between the characters never changes despite how long and how often they communicate, and the reader wishes a good editor would cut a third of the book, leaving intact a swift and thrilling book about the complexities of good and evil.