Mistler's Exit by
Louis Begley

Nominated by:

Thomas Mistler has always thought himself a "... happy man, as the world goes." A scion of old money, he made his own fortune in advertising and is now poised to sell the company he founded for a fabulous price. But when a medical examination reveals the presence in his liver of a fatal intruder, "... preposterously, unmistakably, he begins to rejoice," with a feeling of having been set free. But free from what? He will seek the answer surreptitously, without revealing his illness to his family, during a last reprieve, a moment of grace in "the one place on earth where nothing irritates him." But amidst the surreal beauties of Venice, he finds bitterness and chaos as he allows himself to drift for the first time. His halfhearted efforts to seize the day and its present pleasures - first with a striving young photographer and later with a love of his youth who never loved him - cannot compete with his need to commune with the living and the dead that crowd his life: his father and uncle, pillars of the Establishment, sources of the "genetic puritanism" he has never tried to resist; his son, Sam, whose love he has only barely salvaged; his wife, once perfectly "beautiful and suitable," now humiliated by him and half-scorned. and the one woman who embodies everything he might have wished for, a woman he "never had and never lost." Deeply poignant yet mordantly funny, Mistler's Exit brilliantly discloses the pleasures and miseries of having it all. A masterly revelation of the complexities of the heart.
Louis Begley lives in New York City. His previous novels are Wartime Lies, The Man Who Was Late, As Max Saw It, and About Schmidt, which was nominated for the 1998 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Here's what the members of the Reading Group based at our Raheny branch library think of Mistler's Exit:

Thomas Mistler is a wealthy businessman in his sixties and founder of a successful Manhattan advertising agency. He has just been diagnosed with liver cancer and opts to forgo treatment that might prolong his life by some months but in a more weakened dependent state. He decides to go alone to Venice before he tells his wife and son about his illness. Initially, Mistler comes off the page as urbane, sophisticated and cultivated, courtesy of his patrician background but he is also revealed as cold, detached and quite ruthless in the way he manages both his business and personal life. As the days pass in Venice (first in a brief fling with a young American woman and later with some old acquaintances) he reflects on the past - in particular on his father's failures both in business and marriage but also on his strengths as a loving, compassionate man. Mistler's only affection appears to be for his son and his late father. He neither loves nor respects his wife, her only worth being her suitability and background for their business and social circles. Much of the novel is in flashback which works well. The writing is crisp and clear-cut, if somewhat old-fashioned. But it conveys Mistler's world-weariness as he ponders the ephemeral nature of his life's work - no footprints in the sands of time. The book also conveys a wonderful sense of place - Venice, the city on the water, a tranquil place.
(Member of Raheny Library Reading Group)

Here's what the members of the Reading Group based at our Raheny branch library think of Master Georgie:

Louis Begley has written skilfully on a bleak topic. Mistler is dying of cancer, hasn't told his wife or son and decides to indulge himself by having a week of peace in his beloved Venice. By normal standards his life is a success story - a well-educated businessman with a 'suitable' marriage. Yet the prospect of death feels like liberation. His sojourn in Venice follows a different agenda to what had been planned but allows him to reflect on his marriage to Clara and to assess his relationship with his son Sam. A chance encounter with Bella, a friend from college days poses questions on what might have been. The author captures the essence of Venice, its decayed elegance masking the enduring quality of its buildings and treasures. By contrast Mistler's outward appearance belies his internal decay and imminent death. A rather stark work but nonetheless thought provoking.
(Member of Raheny Library Reading Group)