Glissando:a Melodrama By David Musgrave

The semi-formal tone of the narrator of this novel somehow subverts the proclaimed melodrama of this bizarre but witty and hugely enjoyable book. The early twentieth century voice holds the improbable events and bizarre characters we meet in its pages together. We willingly suspend our disbelief as the characters and plot devices of high melodrama are revealed: almost twins abandoned to an aloof guardian who in turn leaves them at a series of isolated farms in western NSW; a lost promissory note; a wealthy grandfather who builds house after improbable house leaving behind a journal of his adventures in architecture and exploration; blood on the boards from protracted theatre wars; a First Critic with a court of Critics-in-waiting, Apprentice Critics, Pages and a Cook buzzing around him.
Musgrave, a critic himself, intersperses the narrator's autobiography with excerpts from the grandfather's journal and, a twist on the theatrical themes in the book, a script of the First Critic's dinner conversation. The grandfather is allowed to present his architectural dreams and their realisations for himself. His grandson stands in for us seeing the physical representations of the journals and following in the steps of his grandfather's peregrinations across the country. We are also able to witness the grandfather's mental collapse from within while we see the effects on his wife through the grandson's eyes.
A brother, who after an accident becomes a musical savant, parallels the mental coning down of his grandfather into architecture, an enormous housekeeper prefigures the gargantuan critic with the comedic name Basil Pilbeam, various sycophants, lost lovers, stolen Aboriginal children, actors and plodding policemen make up an entertaining cast. The script subverts our notions of sanity and normalcy, while inviting us to see how artificial and ridiculous our own societal norms and aspirations are when seen from a distance.
I highly recommend a romp through this book. Spare a few moments afterward to reflect on the truths melodrama and indeed any good comedy expose about our own culture.