An ancient university town is rapidly swallowed by chaotic growth, with flamevine, bougainvillea, wisteria, and magnolia creating an oppressive, decaying atmosphere. A fraternity of mysterious gardeners tries to control the vegetation but is blocked by a bitter conflict with university officials, triggering power games and proxy battles. The story unfolds in a hot summer where revolution feels imminent. Agathe, a cynical young woman, treats everyone as a tragic case and believes nothing separates her from the same fate except her ability to see through others’ self-deceptions. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, her mother becomes mute and paralyzed, and her father blames Agathe for the marriage’s breakdown, forcing her to care for her mother through regular walks. On the first walk, the situation begins to shift.
"The Vivisectors is set in an ancient and unnamed university town we could call it Oxford or Cambridge, but let's not which is rapidly being overwhelmed by vegetation: avenues lined with orange columns of flamevine and purple bougainvillea, arches dripping with wisteria, the inescapable stink of a distant magnolia. A fraternity of mysterious gardeners seek to keep the chaotic foliage in check, but they are hamstrung by a bitter dispute with university officials. Power games and proxy battles ensue. It is a hot summer and decay is rampant: revolution is in the air."
"The locus of the novel's intensity is its narrator, Agathe, an alarmingly cynical young woman. She views everyone she meets as a tragic case, and knows that nothing lies between her and the same sad designation but her ability to see through the stories they're telling themselves. She rejects self-expression and desire, refusing anything that might compromise her sense of separation and superiority. Her judgments are swift, conclusive and brutal."
"After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Agathe's mother is left mute and paralysed. Hearing the news, Agathe feels nothing but annoyance at how her routine has been interrupted. In the wake of this, Agathe's father a well-known writer, famous for his insight takes the opportunity to rant at length about how she was the root of all the problems in her parents' marriage. He demands that Agathe spend time with her mother, who is now in a wheelchair; she is told to take her for regular walks."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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