The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold

By: Evelyn Waugh

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

"The very model of the modern paranoid novel" (New York Times) and an ambitious work of semi-autobiographical fiction from one of England's greatest novelists.

Gilbert Pinfold is a reclusive Catholic novelist suffering from acute inertia. In an attempt to defeat insomnia he has been imbibing an unappetizing cocktail of bromide, chloral, and creme de menthe. He books a passage on the SS Caliban and, as it cruises towards Ceylon, rapidly slips into madness.

Almost as soon as the gangplank lifts, Pinfold hears sounds coming out of the ceiling of his cabin: wild jazz bands, barking dogs, and loud revival meetings. He is convinced that an erratic public-address system is letting him hear everything that goes on aboard ship . . . until instead of just sounds he hears voices. And not just any voices. These voices are talking, in the most frighteningly intimate way, about him!

Late Waugh Turning His Satirical Eye upon Himself

This is a wonderful reading of a powerful comic novel. War describes his own terrifying experience of hallucinations without any trace of self-pity. He treats himself as he treats the subjects of his earlier, great satirical novels. The book is a good read at a window into the awful experience of hearing voices that turn out to be hallucinations.

A wonderful depiction of the nastiness of hallucinations

In one of his speeches, Dr. Oliver Sacks mentioned his reading of this book and the wonderfully unnerving descriptions of withdrawals it possesses. Fortunately, I located it on Audible and even more fortunately discovered it was narrated by the sonorous voice of Simon Prebble. I went through this very quickly and expect any one who starts it likely to do the same. An incredible book with an equally incredible narration!