Hangover Square is one of the most depressing, grim novels I think I’ve ever read. Oddly though, that bleakness is what makes it so compelling.
Hamilton’s narrative is focused on George Harvey Bone, a gentle, naive man trapped in a cycle of hope and despair that the object of his love — a would-be actress called Netta Longdon — will return his affection.
Netta however manipulates the poor man mercilessly, trading on George’s evident devotion to extract money from him when she needs another drink or pay off her debts. She also plays him off against other men-friends, at one time taking a lover in a bedroom next to George’s when they meet for a weekend in Brighton.
Essentially, she and her cohort of heavy drinking, Fascist sympathising mates, view George as a joke, the “dumb butt of their unfriendly wit”. They know he can be relied upon to bankroll their next binge but easily tossed aside when a more attractive opportunity comes along.
Hangover Square is a fascinating portrayal of a tragic figure. George is a lonely figure, living from one moment to the next in the hope Netta will show him some affection. The poor man gets excited about the smallest things — a round of 68 on a Brighton golf course; the stray cat who snuggles up to him in his lodging house bed and the kiss on the cheek Netta grants him one day.
Such pleasures are not enough to counter his despair however. It’s George’s tragedy that in his more lucid , alcohol-free moments, he knows he’s being duped, mocked and used. And yet he’s so obsessed by this woman that he can’t bring himself to severe all connections with Netta. He adores her but also hates this greedy, manipulative woman.
Hamilton offers an unflinching portrayal of a man in the throes of a mental and psychological breakdown. George suffers episodes when something goes “click” in his head and he goes into what he calls one of his “dead moods.” When he comes to again, it is to the realisation that he must kill Netta and then get to Maidenhead, the only place he can ever recall being happy.
Hamilton presents these episodes with detached precision, never sensationalising George’s condition but instead creating a deeply affecting depiction of mental illness. A disintegrating personality. Alcohol dependency. Dwindling finances. Obsessive love. With everything stacking up against poor George it’s hard to believe that things can possibly end well.
Yes, all this makes for an atmosphere that is relentlessly oppressive and depressing. Hamilton puts his characters into a world of seedy London pubs and shabby boarding houses. His people aspire to become writers and actors but instead they spend each day in an alcohol-induced fug. War is coming however, and the world they inhabit is about to collapse.
So a gloomy tale for sure but once you start reading Hangover Square it’s impossible to stop.
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