The Minotaur

First let me say that I love the difference in writing style when Ruth Rendell writes as Barbara Vine. The gothic tone of this book lets you know that something bad took place and it is slowly revealed page by page, but in a deliberate manner.

When I reached the end of this book, I was a little frustrated because there was no clear "whodunit" conclusion. Then I realized what a stroke of genius it is to leave the conclusion open ended and let the reader imagine it instead of tying everything up in a neat little package.

Kerstin Kvist takes a position at the home of Mrs. Julia Cosway to care for her son John who is described as schizophrenic. Also living in the family home are John's sisters Ida, Winifred, Ella, and Zorah all dysfunctional show more in their own right, but none of them are as bad as their mother who appears to show no maternal feeling whatsoever toward her now middle aged children.

Their mother is intent on keeping her son John heavily medicated so that she doesn't have to be bothered with him. Unfortunately, she keeps him around only because her late husband left the estate and the majority of his income in trust for his son while his mother receives a small annuity.

Kerstin in due time realizes that John is autistic, not schizophrenic and plans to leave the house as soon as she is able and perhaps get John the help that he needs instead of watching him become more and more lifeless before her eyes. Just as she is planning on what her next move will be, a shocking event takes place that will change everyone's lives forever. show less

Absolutely impeccable gothic mystery, packed with secrets and incidents. A Swedish caregiver stays with a family which is SCREWED. UP.

The pacing and characterization are perfect, the prose is rich in imagery and horror. I'm grateful for the reading experiences I've been getting from Rendell and her Vines.

The Minotaur by Barbara Vine could best be described as a Gothic-mystery / psychological thriller. Despite a lack of experience in psychiatric nursing, Kerstin Kvist, decided to take a position with the Cosway family at the imposing Virginia creeper-entwined Lydstep Old Hall. John Cosway, her new "charge," is a 39-year-old man man being treated for schizophrenia. He lives in a perpetual drug-induced stupor, with his mother and four sisters.

The family matriarch, Julia Cosway is a tyrannical woman who appears to approve of nothing and no one. She does not believe that there is any need for a nurse at the Hall, and immediately makes sure Kerstin is made aware of her opinions. Her eldest daughter Ida Cosway is, well, what do you call a show more housewife who is not a wife? She basically does all of the cooking and most of the cleaning at Lydstep Old Hall, and seems to be resigned to that appointment. Winifred Cosway appears to be a prim and proper church-going lady. She is a caterer by trade, and has just become engaged to Eric Dawson, the town Vicar. Ella Cosway is an unmarried teacher, and part-time party girl, and the youngest Cosway "child" Zorah is an independently wealthy widow.

Lydstep Old Hall is awash with tension, secrets, and locked rooms full of mystery. An observant student of human nature, Kerstin soon finds herself in possession of uncomfortable information about the Cosways - knowledge that when illuminated after a terrible family tragedy, may prove to be the undoing of the Cosway family.

The Minotaur is a haunting masterpiece of psychological suspense. Vine's carefully constructed story is incredibly absorbing, and full of labyrinthine twists and turns that will draw you in to this maze of deceit.

The plot is fairly obvious, but the build-up of the story is truly superb. The Minotaur is not really a "who-dun-it" type of mystery, and so will not likely appeal to fans of that sub-genre. Vine is much more interested in the "why" aspect of the crime - the psychological reasons behind the family tragedy - and thus is able to create a thoroughly delicious and engrossing read. show less

This book is based on how autism was sometimes viewed, misunderstood and mistreated over 50 years ago, as typified by an old-fashioned doctor and the boy's aged mother and how autism in women was completely unrecognised. Set in a dysfunctional family (other family members on the spectrum?) with only small funds accessible to them as observed by their Scandinavian "au pair/nurse". I normally enjoy Rendell (writing as Vine) books, but I found this one rather tedious.

This reminded me of A Dark, Adapted Eye in a couple of ways - the rural English setting and the enduring mystery. Vine is up to her usual standard of giving us characters we like, those we don't and those we can sympathize with despite not likiing them. Her portrayal of an Autistic person seemed to be accurate without pitying, which shows a deft touch. Good pacing and interesting dialogue and her usual batch of weirdos.

Barbara Vine is a pseudonym of Ruth Rendell. A gripping, perceptive novel about a dysfunctional family and their adult but psychologically damaged son John, viewed through the eyes of Kerstin, a young Swedish nurse brought in to help the family manage John. Kerstin is quickly intrigued by the family’s flaws, and how they are treating the errant son, who is not, she thinks, schitzophrenic as they claim. Things go progressively wrong in the family, and John begins to emerge from the repressions he has been under.

I enjoyed reading this a great deal.

Kerstin (pronounced ‘Shashtin’) Kvist is a Swedish nurse hired to care for schizophrenic John Cosway in an English country house. Soon after her arrival it becomes clear there is little for her to do other than accompany the silent Cosway on his walks and ensure he gets his medication. Living in the house are Cosway’s mother and his four adult sisters and, although it is the early 1960’s, the household is reminiscent of the Bennett’s in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in the way it is run and the obsession with getting at least one of the women ‘married off’.

Vine/Rendell is a great story teller and here she has weaved a story that, despite not being full of murders or chase scenes, did manage to capture my attention. show more Told in the first person narrative by Kerstin the tale is an intricate observation of a dysfunctional family and the few outsiders they deal with and is, in its quiet way, absorbing. The characters, though not terribly unique, are interesting enough and I would happily have immersed myself in the goings on at Lydstep Hall with a deal of relish if it weren’t for the fact this is a very poorly written book.

There are some horrendously annoying things here, made all the more difficult to swallow because a writer of Vine’s undoubted talent doesn’t, or didn’t used to, have to resort to them. Firstly there are the constant, unnecessary reminders within the text that the book is reminiscent of Jane Austen’s England. The story, indeed the writing itself, literally scream Austen-esque. Read the introduction of Mr Dunsford at the start of Chapter 9 and even if your only exposure to Jane Austen has been to see the movie Clueless you’ll get the reference and won’t need to be endlessly reminded with such clumsy methods as the narrator likening herself to Elizabeth Bennett being interrogated by Lady Catherine de Burgh.

Secondly, and even more annoying, are the vague references about big events still to happen. The narrator’s tale is told in the present day reminiscing about the events of her time spent in the Cosway household. It’s not a spoiler to suggest that the most dramatic event of the book takes place towards the end but until that point there are so many “if only I’d known then what was to come” lines that I would cheerfully have thrown the book at a wall if only it wasn’t so heavy. The written equivalent of a movie-maker’s Da Da Dunnnn has always been a bugbear of mine and what it did to this book was remove the last hint or suggestion of suspense.

Without that it was a pretty humdrum story about some people who were insular, isolated and a little odd but not nearly intriguing enough to carry an entire book of awkward prose. show less