Completed in 1962, first published in 1972, Tom Mallin's third novel Erowina is an encyclopaedic portrait of the titular troubled heroine, whose traumatic experiences in childhood and adolescence are transformed in adulthood into self-hatred and wild abandonment to erotic and sadomasochistic activities, ending with her suicide at thirty-six. Over twenty chapters, Erowina utilises a stunning range of styles and forms, from an autopsy report, confessional stream-of-consciousness, theological conversations, surreal symbolical stories, third-person accounts, scenes in dialogue riddled with puns and wordplays, short plays, copious lists, and sections with newspaper headlines, sealing the novel's indebtedness and homage to Joyce's Ulysses. A dark, ambitious, stimulating, and challenging novel, Erowina is Tom Mallin's masterpiece, and a work that remains surprising, fresh and vital.
