Staying On - Paul Scott

Published by Arrow Books: London, England, 2005 (1977).

Staying On opens with the statement “Tusker Smalley died…”, which would seem to be an odd choice – a spoiler - considering that the majority of the novel is about Tusker and his wife Lilly. Yet, by letting the audience in on the conclusion, Scott injects a sense of inevitability and tragedy into the story, which is about missed opportunities, and a couple who, rather than working on the issues they face, are more content to antagonise or conceal from one another. Even in their best intentions, Tusker and Lilly manage to clash more than connect: Lilly assumes Tusker will not want a visitor, so conceals an impending arrival from him in order to “spare his pride”. Meanwhile, Tusker seeks to reconnect with Lilly, but rather than talking directly with her, insists on setting up meetings and events, which Lilly cannot bring herself to attend.

The title Staying On, then, works on a number of levels. The Smalleys live in India, in a bungalow attached to a run-down hotel, a British couple who have chosen to “stay on” after the hand-over of the country to the Indian nationals. And in the same way the Smalleys themselves are “staying on” with one another. Their dreams for life, both separately and together, have not worked out how they hoped, and the love they had in the early days of their relationship has mellowed into mutual tolerance.

The hotel itself, and particularly its Mousey manager, Mr Bhoolabhoy, have also “stayed on” past their golden era, with a new hotel next door now taking the majority of travellers, and even the attention of Mrs Bhoolabhoy, the old hotel’s owner. Their dysfunctional relationship is the most explicit part of the book and a bit of a put-off at times.

Staying On is by turns humorous, melancholic, occasionally coarse, and intriguing. Not only is the reader given insight into the shifting cultures of India following independence, but they are also given a realistic look into a relationship that now is running on autopilot.

Completed 23 May 2017.

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