Bordeaux by Paul Torday

"Bordeaux" is quite a unique and extraordinary novel by the author of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," Paul Torday. This is my first experience reading this author and I look forward to reading more by him.

The way this novel is structured is one of the unique elements, as well as the way the author plumbs the depths of the psyche of the main character, Frank Wilberforce. Each section of the book goes back a year in time. So the in the first section, 2006, we find out that Wilberforce is in seriously ill-health due to alcoholism and still in denial about his habit. It does not seem as if he has more than a few months to live, and may already have suffered irreversible dementia and other damage as a result of a 4 bottles of wine per day habit that has gone on for around 3 years. That first part is really quite painful to read, especially for anyone who likes to drink wine regularly.

The earlier chapters are easier to read because the first person chronicle makes a little more sense to the reader. Still, one catches Wilberforce in a tangle of illogical thinking and self-lies that become his reality over time. By the time one reads the last section, for the year 2002, it is easy to put all the puzzle pieces together to see how Wilberforce ends up the way he does.

This is not a particularly enjoyable book to read, but it is an instructional cautionary tale and one that could well save lives for current alcoholics and their friends and family.

Liz Nichols