The Rehearsal (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Rehearsal is the debut novel
by Eleanor Catton
. It was released by Victoria University Press
in New Zealand in 2008. The Rehearsal was later bought by Granta Books in the UK and released there in July 2009.
Isolde, Victoria's sister, tries to resume normal life at school and becomes intrigued by fellow student Julia who in the counselling sessions provided by the school deliberately provokes the councillor by defending the affair. Isolde and Victoria both are taught by a private Saxophone teacher who obsessively follows their lives while regretting her own failed love affair with her friend Patsy. Bridget a depressed and awkward teacher is also taught by the Saxophone teacher who openly declares Bridget her least favourite student.
Consecutive with this story is local boy Stanley who enrols in the prestigious Institute (a drama school) and soon becomes obsessed with proving himself. Their final piece is to be improvised and the students decide to base their performance on the local scandal, unaware of Isolde's true identity Stanley and Isolde begin to develop a relationship. Bridget dies in a sudden car accident but she is swiftly forgotten when Victoria returns to school.
The Saxophone teacher tries to sabotage Stanley and Isolde's relationship by informing the Institute who quickly make the connection between the final piece and Isolde's identity. The Head of Acting has to reveal to a horrified Stanley who Isolde really is but it is too late to stop the performance. Skipping out on her own saxophone recital and abandoning Julie, Isolde comes with her family to surprise Stanley on his first night.
The novel ends with Victoria and Julia talking in their common room, and Victoria suspiciously questions Julia about what went on between her and Isolde, finishing by 'I'd be happy if you told me just enough of the facts so I could imagine it. So I could recreate it for myself. So I could imagine I was really there'.
The Rehearsal received positive overseas reviews. Ed Caesar in The Times speaks of The Rehearsal as imperfect, but praises “a starburst of talent”. Author Joshua Ferris
called it "a glimpse into the future of the novel itself".
The novel also won a range of awards including the 2007 Adam Award in Creative Writing, the 2009 Betty Trask Award
and 2009New Zealand Society of Authors Hubert Church (Montana)
Best First Book Award for Fiction
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
by Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand author best known for her 2007 debut novel, The Rehearsal. The book deals with reactions to an affair between a male teacher and Victoria, a girl at his secondary school, as well as the more muted response to the death of another pupil...
. It was released by Victoria University Press
Victoria University Press
Victoria University Press founded in the 1970s, is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.It publishes new fiction and poetry and specialises in New Zealand history, biography and essays.-Sources:...
in New Zealand in 2008. The Rehearsal was later bought by Granta Books in the UK and released there in July 2009.
Plot summary
In the aftermath of a local scandal involving a young female student, Victoria's affair with her music teacher Mr Saladin, the novel follows the affects on several different characters using a non linear plot.Isolde, Victoria's sister, tries to resume normal life at school and becomes intrigued by fellow student Julia who in the counselling sessions provided by the school deliberately provokes the councillor by defending the affair. Isolde and Victoria both are taught by a private Saxophone teacher who obsessively follows their lives while regretting her own failed love affair with her friend Patsy. Bridget a depressed and awkward teacher is also taught by the Saxophone teacher who openly declares Bridget her least favourite student.
Consecutive with this story is local boy Stanley who enrols in the prestigious Institute (a drama school) and soon becomes obsessed with proving himself. Their final piece is to be improvised and the students decide to base their performance on the local scandal, unaware of Isolde's true identity Stanley and Isolde begin to develop a relationship. Bridget dies in a sudden car accident but she is swiftly forgotten when Victoria returns to school.
The Saxophone teacher tries to sabotage Stanley and Isolde's relationship by informing the Institute who quickly make the connection between the final piece and Isolde's identity. The Head of Acting has to reveal to a horrified Stanley who Isolde really is but it is too late to stop the performance. Skipping out on her own saxophone recital and abandoning Julie, Isolde comes with her family to surprise Stanley on his first night.
The novel ends with Victoria and Julia talking in their common room, and Victoria suspiciously questions Julia about what went on between her and Isolde, finishing by 'I'd be happy if you told me just enough of the facts so I could imagine it. So I could recreate it for myself. So I could imagine I was really there'.
Themes
The Rehearsal describes theatric technique in great detail and uses what Catton describes as "themes of performance and performativity".Critical reaction
The initial reaction in New Zealand was positive, but with reservations. Louise O'Brien in the Listener wrote of, "a new talent who has arrived fully formed, with an accomplished, confident and mature voice. This is a startling novel, striking and strange and brave." However, O'Brien thought that characterisation impaired the reader’s emotional involvement.The Rehearsal received positive overseas reviews. Ed Caesar in The Times speaks of The Rehearsal as imperfect, but praises “a starburst of talent”. Author Joshua Ferris
Joshua Ferris
Joshua Ferris is an American author best known for his debut 2007 novel Then We Came to the End. The book is a comedy about the American workplace, told in the first-person plural...
called it "a glimpse into the future of the novel itself".
The novel also won a range of awards including the 2007 Adam Award in Creative Writing, the 2009 Betty Trask Award
Betty Trask Award
The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. The awards were established in 1984 by the Society of Authors, at the bequest of the late Betty Trask, a reclusive author of over thirty romance novels...
and 2009New Zealand Society of Authors Hubert Church (Montana)
Montana New Zealand Book Awards
The New Zealand Post Book Awards are a series of literary awards to works of New Zealand citizens. They were created in 1996, as a merge of the two previously most relevant awards in New Zealand: the Montana Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards...
Best First Book Award for Fiction