The Hippopotamus

Stephen Fry
1995
ISBN 0-09-918961-5

Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanising, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too.

So begins the blurb on the back of this paperback, and right away you get a sense of just how sour and cynical Ted is. The first chunk of the story is told from his point of view, and while he is an outspoken grump, he does have some redeeming qualities. Agreeing to take large sums of money from his dying goddaughter, he leaves the city to stay at the country lodge of an old friend, to spy and record what he sees for her, with instructions to keep an eye out for anything strange.

Strange things - and people - seem to flock to Swafford, and before long there is a large cast of weird and strange characters, beginning with the family themselves. Even Ted, in his self-centred drunken mess, starts to notice that things aren't quite right at Swafford, and resolves to find out what it is.

Much of the first part of the story is told through letters from various people to each other, and it's interesting to see the way they present one face to the person they are writing to and another completely to everyone there (Patricia especially). As the mystery deepens, the tale switches to third-person, flitting from character to character, but it's easy to follow, and the ending builds up into a bit of a deflating climax that you can't put down.

I love the language used in this; it's more formal than most paperbacks, and so easy to lose yourself in.

Date Finished: 28/12/07
Year Total: 45