Gabriel's Lament
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| Author | Paul Bailey |
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| Published | Penguin Books, 1986 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 336 |
| Awards | Man Booker Nominee for shortlist 1986 |
| ISBN | |
Gabriel's Lament by Paul Bailey is a novel written in prose style focusing on familial relationships in flux.
Narrated by Gabriel Harvey, this novel is about the boy whose life is fine. And then his father gets rich (inheriting a lot of money), becoming a snob. At the same time, his mother (who happens to be 35 years his father's junior), just disappears. Gabriel doesn't for a moment imagine that his mother's leaving is anything more than temporary, but as we turn the pages of the book we see that he starts to realize that indeed it is. In the book we see how Gabriel gradually comes to terms with her disappearance being a complete separation.
According to an article written by Jasper Rees, "mined some of [Bailey's] early experiences." He added, "You don't need to be Sigmund Freud to work out that Gabriel's Lament...find[s] Bailey still working through a sense of bereavement."
Kirkus Reviews calls Gabriel's Lament "a handsome if tortured effort" and sees that "Bailey has a true, well-nigh Dickensian gift for characterization and an ability to write roundly entertaining comic monologues." while Publishers Weekly describes it as "an exotic blend of elements that, like strong English tea, leaves a powerful aftertaste."
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