Gabriel was a child abandoned by his ' mummy ' and lived the next 30 years into adulthood despising his father and meeting his unexpected half-siblings.
His father ( the wonderful, horrible Ozzie ) bequeaths Gabriel a box , which Gabriel can't bear to open until he is in another place . And that place and the people in it help him to be himself ( a personality which is resolutely unrecognized in the text). If it wasn't for 'them' his life would have been wasted.
Or would it ? Is Gabriel the sap that he seems or are his coping mechanisms pretty strong ?
Gabriel leads an authentic waster's life as a drudge and shop-assistant and his life is pain, but it's a patient heart-warming pain...and as he is obviously a bright boy, it teaches him a lot.
We end up reconsidering Ozzie's relationship to his son, and Gabriel's relationship to his mother... and everything around him...
He was bibbling along on the bottom and then he had to start again...
And again...
Fabulous book !
http://www.gilraen.blog.co.uk
30/06/08 @ 23:41