Review: A Month in the Country

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Month in the Country by J.L. Carson is not only a satire about manners and customs, but it is also prose verging on poetry. Set in the English countryside during the early twentieth century, Tom Birkin, a veteran of the Great War, leaves behind his hectic and broken life in the city of London and begins work revealing a medieval masterpiece hidden behind whitewash in an unassuming country parish. Birkin lives a Spartan existence while he resides in Oxgodby, and he becomes acquainted with a small circle of residents - each with quirks vaguely hidden behind appropriate yet absurd manners. As he reveals a painting based on the Last Judgment, Birkin evolves from an anxious man scarred by the war and an unhappy marriage to a man at peace with himself. As a survivor of the war, his experiences mirrored the hell he discovers in the painting. When his work is complete, the beauty of the masterpiece arises a cathartic peace that manifests itself physically when his facial tick ceases to contort his face. Birkin is not a religious man, but he sees how life continues to march forward despite the ugliness and the expectations of society. In every instance of death mentioned in the story, there is a common theme of the continuation of life. For example, the original medieval painter did not complete his masterpiece but fell from the scaffold to his death and yet the painting was completed. Another example are the soldiers who perished in the Great War and yet Birkin survived when so many others did not. When Birkin arrived at Oxgodby, he concludes that life is made up of small meaningless moments impacted by events out of our control:

"As far as I'm concerned he might just as well have gone round the corner and died. But that goes for most of us, doesn't it? We look blankly at each other. Here I am, here you are. What are we doing here? What do you suppose it's all about? Let's dream on.... I go to work at eight and come home at five-thirty.... Now you know all about me. Go away: I've forgotten you already.”

By the time Birkin leaves Oxgodby, he is more optimistic about life:

"If I'd stayed there, would I always have been happy? No, I suppose not. People move away, grow older, die, and the bright belief that there will be another marvelous thing around each corner fades. It is now or never; we must snatch at happiness as it flies."

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