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The Course of Instruction
When the letter came, inviting Alexander to attend an unspecified course of instruction, he somehow felt oddly compelled to attend. From that moment on, his world changed, all of his certainties and logic called into question.
No-one at the institution in the small provincial town was able—or willing—to tell him what his course was supposed to be, and life there seemed eerily ambiguous. Ideas and standards were different from anything he had experienced in the past, everything was slightly out of focus, and gradually, in the face of the nightmare reality that confronted him, he was forced to call everything into question and learn again.
But perhaps it was already too late...
No-one at the institution in the small provincial town was able—or willing—to tell him what his course was supposed to be, and life there seemed eerily ambiguous. Ideas and standards were different from anything he had experienced in the past, everything was slightly out of focus, and gradually, in the face of the nightmare reality that confronted him, he was forced to call everything into question and learn again.
But perhaps it was already too late...
- GenresFiction
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 4, 2022
"Kafkaesque" is such an overused descriptor that I hesitate to use it here, but if any book deserves the label it's this one (and the works of the late British author David Wheldon in general). It captures near perfectly the feeling of being trapped in an illogical nightmare world where communication with others is next to impossible, either due to everyone being on a slightly different wavelength, simple misunderstandings, the incompetence of others, or perhaps more nefarious reasons.
At it's most basic level, this novel is about a man who receives a vague letter stating he has been invited to attend a "course of instruction." He has no idea what this entails and, when he arrives at the large house where this instruction is to take place, none of the staff do either, and he becomes trapped in an endless series of false leads and getting the runaround, and it's difficult to discern whether it's intentional on the staff's part or not. Or is it all a part of this elusive "course?"
At times it was nearly as frustrating for me as it was for the main character, but thankfully, at only 173 pages, it never overstays its welcome, and I was engaged with the story the entire time despite the lack of any real stakes due to the utter strangeness of it all. It's not exactly surreal, as it's mostly grounded in a semi-real world, only a dementia-ridden world that's slightly off-kilter and forgetful, where seemingly nothing can get accomplished since the gods or fate itself is against you. And no one is willing or capable of helping you or even understanding you.
It's humorous at times, maddening at others, but I enjoyed it enough to pick up all of David Wheldon's work I could find, which unfortunately isn't very much.
At it's most basic level, this novel is about a man who receives a vague letter stating he has been invited to attend a "course of instruction." He has no idea what this entails and, when he arrives at the large house where this instruction is to take place, none of the staff do either, and he becomes trapped in an endless series of false leads and getting the runaround, and it's difficult to discern whether it's intentional on the staff's part or not. Or is it all a part of this elusive "course?"
At times it was nearly as frustrating for me as it was for the main character, but thankfully, at only 173 pages, it never overstays its welcome, and I was engaged with the story the entire time despite the lack of any real stakes due to the utter strangeness of it all. It's not exactly surreal, as it's mostly grounded in a semi-real world, only a dementia-ridden world that's slightly off-kilter and forgetful, where seemingly nothing can get accomplished since the gods or fate itself is against you. And no one is willing or capable of helping you or even understanding you.
It's humorous at times, maddening at others, but I enjoyed it enough to pick up all of David Wheldon's work I could find, which unfortunately isn't very much.
December 30, 2013
I first read this book a long time ago and it has had a haunting effect on me. I read his “The Viaduct” first and then bought this one.
A man receives a letter inviting him to attend an unspecified course of instruction. His boss – the director of the lab – indifferently supposes it must be important, and allows him time off.
The man, Alexander, travels to the institution in the small provincial town where the course is to be held. He goes to the address given and from the outset encounters annoying incompetence and useless advice. The staff at the institution, if that is what it is, accept that the letter is important, and Alexander spends some effort trying to get in contact with someone who will give him definitive information.
This I think is key to the secret power which drives the novel. The people Alexandar encounters are very real, and often petty and squabbling with each other. They give Alexander real advice, and have real insights into his character. And yet a sense of eeriness begins to pervade the narrative. Alexander gets lost in obscure discussions of matters which are of no importance. He loses track of the larger picture. The reader wants to shout at him: “Just leave. Get out of there.”
And in fact he does just that. He visits the church, checks out the train timetable, tries to find a cheap hotel for the night, goes for a few pints in the local pub. It seems that after all he is living in the normal world. He gets drunk and gets invited to a lock-in session with several salesmen.
He ends up back in the house. The servants and staff help find him a place to sleep for the night. He meets a woman, the girlfriend of one of the officials, and falls into an allusive argument with her. He cuts the argument short impatiently:
‘Do you think I’m restrained in this house like a dog? I can do as I wish; when it’s necessary for me to go back, then I’ll go back. … You are speaking nonsense.’
Nobody threatens him, there is no evil secret, and yet a feeling of horror grows in the reader. Maybe not every reader. This book is in many respects like the letter Alex receives in the first chapter. Some readers will enjoy it briefly as a mystery story. Others will read meanings into it – and maybe dismiss it as being of interest to youngish people going through an existential phase. (As did one reviewer.) Others will take it seriously, and maybe get annoyed with it at a later stage, even while admitting it’s a compelling read.
In this novel Wheldon captures and distils a notion – a feeling – which I have seen only hinted at in other fiction. The horror of self-forgetting and lapsing into an everyday exteriority. A horror which can occur unnoticed even by those dearest to us. It is hard to find anything to compare to Wheldon’s work – Kafka will gives rise to only lazy comparisons.
I'm not sure why this novel seems to be so little known. Perhaps because the author didn't follow it up with other works. I don't know, but it is a strange and powerful work and very hard to find anything to compare it to.
A man receives a letter inviting him to attend an unspecified course of instruction. His boss – the director of the lab – indifferently supposes it must be important, and allows him time off.
The man, Alexander, travels to the institution in the small provincial town where the course is to be held. He goes to the address given and from the outset encounters annoying incompetence and useless advice. The staff at the institution, if that is what it is, accept that the letter is important, and Alexander spends some effort trying to get in contact with someone who will give him definitive information.
This I think is key to the secret power which drives the novel. The people Alexandar encounters are very real, and often petty and squabbling with each other. They give Alexander real advice, and have real insights into his character. And yet a sense of eeriness begins to pervade the narrative. Alexander gets lost in obscure discussions of matters which are of no importance. He loses track of the larger picture. The reader wants to shout at him: “Just leave. Get out of there.”
And in fact he does just that. He visits the church, checks out the train timetable, tries to find a cheap hotel for the night, goes for a few pints in the local pub. It seems that after all he is living in the normal world. He gets drunk and gets invited to a lock-in session with several salesmen.
He ends up back in the house. The servants and staff help find him a place to sleep for the night. He meets a woman, the girlfriend of one of the officials, and falls into an allusive argument with her. He cuts the argument short impatiently:
‘Do you think I’m restrained in this house like a dog? I can do as I wish; when it’s necessary for me to go back, then I’ll go back. … You are speaking nonsense.’
Nobody threatens him, there is no evil secret, and yet a feeling of horror grows in the reader. Maybe not every reader. This book is in many respects like the letter Alex receives in the first chapter. Some readers will enjoy it briefly as a mystery story. Others will read meanings into it – and maybe dismiss it as being of interest to youngish people going through an existential phase. (As did one reviewer.) Others will take it seriously, and maybe get annoyed with it at a later stage, even while admitting it’s a compelling read.
In this novel Wheldon captures and distils a notion – a feeling – which I have seen only hinted at in other fiction. The horror of self-forgetting and lapsing into an everyday exteriority. A horror which can occur unnoticed even by those dearest to us. It is hard to find anything to compare to Wheldon’s work – Kafka will gives rise to only lazy comparisons.
I'm not sure why this novel seems to be so little known. Perhaps because the author didn't follow it up with other works. I don't know, but it is a strange and powerful work and very hard to find anything to compare it to.
December 4, 2023
[The Bodley Head] (1984). HB/DJ. 1/1. 171 Pages. Bought from Cotswold Internet Books.
The brilliant author’s second published novel. Like The Viaduct, a plainly written, brief tale.
Absurdist, perhaps - contrary to the title implication, there are certainly no clear instructions in evidence… It’s easy to distill an attack on organised religion, but arguments in that direction could be deciphered from a fruit bowl still life.
Still, one observes, in no particular order: tradition, convention, procedure, hogwash, inconsistency, opacity, cant, fakery, indoctrination, ambiguous (sometimes lurid) imagery, hierarchies, catechisms, hypocrisy, emotional terrorism, hollow promises, grooming, corruption, exploitation, brainwashing, deprivation, deceit, prejudice, faith, mystery, pettiness, cultivated dependency, dislocation, surveillance, institutionalisation… If the cap fits?
A very interesting and, at points, highly amusing work.
The early dialogue, surrounding bell usage and attendant responses, reads like ‘Kafka concentrate’ - deadpan, confounding, ridiculous, loaded with poker-faced nonsense…
Per the late author’s own web-site:
“Simply and sparely written, rapid in its progress, often very funny, The Course of Instruction has been compared to the satirical novels of Jonathan Swift. It gives a good entry into David Wheldon’s work.”
www.DavidWheldon.co.uk
“A servant is only… a visitor who no longer bothers to examine himself…”
The brilliant author’s second published novel. Like The Viaduct, a plainly written, brief tale.
Absurdist, perhaps - contrary to the title implication, there are certainly no clear instructions in evidence… It’s easy to distill an attack on organised religion, but arguments in that direction could be deciphered from a fruit bowl still life.
Still, one observes, in no particular order: tradition, convention, procedure, hogwash, inconsistency, opacity, cant, fakery, indoctrination, ambiguous (sometimes lurid) imagery, hierarchies, catechisms, hypocrisy, emotional terrorism, hollow promises, grooming, corruption, exploitation, brainwashing, deprivation, deceit, prejudice, faith, mystery, pettiness, cultivated dependency, dislocation, surveillance, institutionalisation… If the cap fits?
A very interesting and, at points, highly amusing work.
The early dialogue, surrounding bell usage and attendant responses, reads like ‘Kafka concentrate’ - deadpan, confounding, ridiculous, loaded with poker-faced nonsense…
Per the late author’s own web-site:
“Simply and sparely written, rapid in its progress, often very funny, The Course of Instruction has been compared to the satirical novels of Jonathan Swift. It gives a good entry into David Wheldon’s work.”
www.DavidWheldon.co.uk
“A servant is only… a visitor who no longer bothers to examine himself…”
January 15, 2025
A very interesting, yet skull-numbingly dull book. Existential, I suppose you could say this is intended to be. I imagine there is some line between Kafkaesque and just plain tedious.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews