Summary:
Jake Donaghue, garrulous artist, meets Hugo Belfounder, silent philosopher.
Jake, hack writer and sponger, now penniless flat-hunter, seeks out an old girlfriend, Anna Quentin, and her glamorous actress sister, Sadie.
He resumes acquaintance with formidable Hugo, whose ‘philosophy’ he once presumptuously dared to interpret. These meetings involve Jake and his eccentric servant-companion, Finn, in a series of adventures that include the kidnapping of a film-star dog and a political riot in a film-set of ancient Rome.
Jake, fascinated, longs to learn Hugo’s secret. Perhaps Hugo’s secret is Hugo himself? Admonished, enlightened, Jake hopes at last to become a real writer.
My Review:
It’s always astonishing to me when I’m exposed to a book I would never have picked up and find myself lost in it, and that’s the very reason I have been working my way through the 1001 Books list.
In UNDER THE NET Jake Donaghue is a failure of a writer, a bum, a leech on his friends and, despite being an adult, views the world almost as a child does. He never thinks an action through to the consequence, he treats his friendships lightly – taking them for granted or doing stupid, silly things to sabotage them.
This book isn’t about action and adventure. It’s a slow, quietly witty journey through a period in Jake’s life. It explores friendships, loves, jobs and heartbreaks. It has quiet humor – in fact, in a way this book reminds me of the few Nick Hornby books I’ve read (minus the language).
Despite being written in the 50′s, UNDER THE NET is not dated and it’s very easy to relate the story to modern day times. It’s a short novel – so if you are worried that a meandering journey might be something that would bore you don’t worry… it’ll hold your interest and give you a good dose of philosophy to boot.
