I read Sebastian Faulk's novel Charlotte Gray almost a decade ago. It is an historical novel of the best kind both for its historical accuracy and its dramatic characterization.
In reading Engleby I found a psychological novel where characterization is brought to the fore with the presentation in the first person. That person, Mike Engleby, gradually becomes several characters as the novel progresses. Much like Dickens, notably in David Copperfield and Great Expectations, Sebastian Faulks's protagonist adopts different names for his persona over the course of the novel. The reader gradually begins to doubt the reliability of Engleby as narrator of his life story and with good cause, as he develops psychological characteristics that one may only categorize as pathological. Where these lead him I will leave to those readers interested in finding our for themselves. I found his story suspenseful, even as it began to repulse me. My interest was also piqued by his recurrent meditations like this one on time:

"What is this present then? It's an illusion; it's not reality if it can't be held. What therefore is there to fear in it?"(p. 65)

This is early in the novel, he has later meditations on the nature of thinking itself, and you gradually wonder if these are not symptoms of his gradual loss of the ability to distinguish reality from imagination. His pathology includes a variant of voyeurism that allow the author to incorporate diaries and other documents into the narrative - perhaps to confirm Engleby's own views. The combinatorial effect of the narrative techniques made this an intriguing psychological novel and raised the author in my estimation. I look forward to reading more of his novels. ( )

I liked this book. It covers an era very similar to mine albeit in the antipodes. Public school, university, music . He covers a lot of ground with insights into Law, journalism, Mental Health, education theory ... which were well thought out and expressed. The tangled and disjointed narrative captures the schizoid personality well. Most enjoyable and well crafted. I will search out his other books now. ( )

Very clever, builds suspense, a good picture of a mentally ill psycho ( )

I agree with Jinster that this one loses its way somewhat towards the end, though for me this was less because of the bemoaning of modern Britain and more to do with the exploration pyschological science, something which Faulks is clearly far more interested in than I am. Don't misunderstand me though, this is a good piece of literary fiction. It takes a good writer to create a thoroughly dislikeable character and yet make you sympathetic enough to stick with his story.

Am I mistaken or does the author make a cameo appearance in this book? When, during his journalistic career, Engleby considers joining the new national newspaper that became The Independent, one of the things that puts him off is an encounter with a bearded bloke when he goes for interview. Is this the bearded Sebastian Faulks who worked for that newspaper for several years? ( )

Haunting, well written, sad and funny ( )