Fans of Monty Python and Stanley Kubrick will not be disappointed when they find the comedic and surreal novel ‘Madness Took me’ on their bookshelves. The novel centres round the protagonist Rigley – lovelorn and devastated, who has decided that life is just not worth living after long term friend, Trish, tell him some bitter truths and then goes missing.
The novel opens in a sombre way but this is soon turned on its head with the advent of ebullient neighbour, Mrs. Giddion – a Julie Walters, Acorn Antiques-esque character who paves the way for much of the humour in the novel, mirroring the lovelorn theme and who has a penchant for talking to the germs that live in the wall – most notably, one she names Steve.
The novel started life as a stage play, which the author has adapted, lending a melodramatic and slap stick aspect to the action. The character Dr. Cromby is a stock villain – a narcissistic character who is drawn so finely, the reader feels the compulsion to boo and hiss at his ill-advised and badly thought out evil plans.
The lovelorn theme continues with No. 25, ’the indescribable pharmacist’, who through their unrequited love for Dr. Cromby, becomes drawn into dark and shadowy schemes. No. 25 punctures the surrealism with unconcerned and hilarious terms of endearment such as ‘Ok, love muffin’ when instructed with yet another heinous undertaking.
The novel ends where it begins, focussing on a reflective Rigley writing a letter – a calm ending after a story line that breaks all the expected tropes, providing a roller coaster of laughs, dark comedy and unforgettable characters.
This review was published in the June edition of Yeovil Press
