Astonishing Splashes of Colour By Clare Morall

Astonishing Splashes is a debut novel and was short listed for Man Booker Prize in 2003. One of the high points of this compelling novel is its strong narrative. The narrator Kitty Wellington is very perceptive , she draws the reader into her world , her own realm , her own emotional sphere. Morall with her simple style apparently presents a disturbing work of fiction. But the narrative tends to be least depressing and far from melodramatic with its matter-of-fact voice.


But the narrative tends to be least depressing and far from melodramatic with its matter-of-fact voice. The plot starts off with Kitty feeling empty within craving for a child and in need of a mother. She tries to build a family around herself , the elusive comfort zone. The motif of the novel throughout its length is - loss. She is brought up in a motherless family of a painter father and four brothers - Adrian , Paul , Jake and Martin. These characters are refreshingly built with each one of them having his own eccentricities. This male dominated family leads to Kitty searching for herself and her lost mother. It is apt when she describes herself as a pet in the house , some one non functional. As in , some one who exists and has to be taken care of. period . Her attempts to voyage into the family’s past are thwarted. What she ends up with are bits and pieces of the past. But the bombshell is thrown at her when truth arrives right before her in all its force. The day comes along when she is left to cope with not just the loss of her mother but with not knowing what the true identity of her mother is. Truth skims along in vivid splashes of colour. Synaesthesia chases her a wee bit more ardently then , a condition in which emotions are seen. Clare Morall’s writing even at this stage remains simple , the reader must think a second thought to notice Kitty’s internal turmoil.


The story comes a circle , it ends where it all began. It regains its initial momentum. So, one might just wonder what the whole point of the novel is. But through the length of the story , Morall does a good job in showing the dynamics of Kitty’s mind and her daily life. The way Kitty starts off with her journey afresh is quietly shaking. The contrast between Kitty’s and James’ personality is stark. Her cluttered colourful world as compared to his spacious black and white world deserves a good dekko. On the whole, a moving piece of fiction.

By

Lakshmi Vishwanathan