Class Trash

And just what is class trash? As far as I’m concerned it’s a book like Godchildren, Brit novelist Nicholas Coleridge’s 2002 saga about a self-made billionaire, Marcus Brand, and his six godchildren. Although there are many differences between out-and-out trash and something better, an ability to write and the sophistication of the narrative voice are key. Coleridge, for instance, endows his characters autonomy while simultaneously viewing them ironically, thus giving readers license to be absorbed in the lives of totally useless people, conscience free—we align ourselves with the narrative voice’s implicit moral superiority.
Meanwhile the (obviously) above-it-all reader is free to enjoy all the mouthwatering features of real trash—exotic settings, the best brand names, sexual high jinks; you name it, it’s here. The novel unfolds chronologically and centers on the rare times when Brand, purportedly childless, gathers together his godchildren in places like the Bahamas, Paris and finally, Bali. The story moves back and forth between the godchildren, following them from early childhood until adulthood. Among them are Charlie, the boorish son of a titled but decrepit Scots family, Stuart, the determined middle-class achiever, Jamie the charming drifter, and Saffron, the beautiful daughter of a mother who specializes in sleeping around. The plot follows them through school, first jobs, marriage, and their complicated relationships with each other. Meanwhile Brand is consolidating his fortune and often unbeknownst to them, manipulating the godchildren. In time it turns out that he is connected to most of them in ways well beyond having sprinkled water on their heads in a church.
Aside from his ability as a writer, what saves the novel from inanity is Coleridge’s sharp eye for social nuances. If nothing else, the book is a primer to what was smart in London in 2002. This reader was caught between feeling guilty for enjoying a book that adds up to precisely nothing and turning the pages hypnotically. Reading Godchildren is like eating too many expensive chocolates, a lot of fun in the doing but kind of a letdown afterwards.