Spoiler Alert
As far as I am concerned Tóibín could have stopped writing after the first part of his novel. The sorrow and despair of queen Clytemnestra is vibrant, it touches you, it makes you feel for her. The other parts do not maintain this level of intensity.
I did not know the story but Tóibín re-tells the myth of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, Electra and Orestes. In short: Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia in the hope that the Gods will reward him with victory; Clytemnestra is torn apart by grief and despair and kills her husband when he returns home; daughter Electra does not understand why her mother acts this way en has her brother Orestes, upon returning after years of imprisonment, kill his mother.
Tóibín starts House of Names when Agamemnon has his daughter sacrificed. His wife’s despair does not count. The next 100 pages are filled with raw grief and despair, Clytemnestra being blinded completely by the thought of revenge. She sacrifices everything, including the well-being of her fragile daughter Electra, to having her husband killed. After this first part filled with tangible emotions Tóibín switches to Orestes and at that point his novel lands into difficulties. Though the story is still interesting – Orestes and his friend / lover escaping their kidnappers, living in hiding for years, on return discovering that their world has changed completely – Orestes himself is just not strong enough, not decisive enough to have him carry the story. He has no mind of his own, he simply follows Leander and Electra. He is a not too bright spectator in his own world.
Despite Orestes’ lack of characterHouse of Names remains interesting for two reasons: Tóibín’s incredible skill in writing and him showing us a world in which the lack of communication leads to misunderstandings, misconceptions, tricking people and eventually murder. Not understanding one another is the core of the novel and leads to violence from start to finish. There were moments I wished I could have told Clytemnestra, Electra and Orestes to start listening for once, to start wondering why their family react as they react.
I am in doubt whether I appreciate the end of the novel. House of Names ends with Leander and Orestes waiting for Leander’s nephew to be born. For the first time in many months their intimate friendship re-surfaces. As a result the novel, though ending in hope, kind of trickles away softly. One might focus on the novel not ending as enigmatically as it started, one might also focus on the powerful message of hope. In this novel about raw emotions and lack of communications that might be the better option.
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