Men and Wives by I. Compton-Burnett (1931)

This accomplished novel has all the hallmarks I am beginning to associate with the author. It has a severe, biting, theatrical small scene where a group of very intense characters have a tendency to bounce one another with surprises, be they lies or truth. The characters in this instance almost flay one another with home truths, all expressed infinitely politely, or at least with an infinite gloss of politeness. Compton-Burnett's theme here is suicide and murder on the outside, but it's really about means of control. This is realised in contrasting ways and exemplified by two main characters, Harriet and Godfrey, who, though married, and well aware of each other's frame of reference in the world, are also at odds temperamentally. While Harriet is weak externally, and prey to nervous tension, she is able to control forcefully a lot of what goes on around her. Godfrey is externally hale and voluble, but temptable and dithering within, and a consistent changer of the story to suit his intentions - he always seems to know that some wholesale change of fortune or interpretation was what he had been thinking all along. The standard Compton-Burnett caveats apply - this book is no more easy reading than the Dalai Lama is a bullfighter.