Barbara Pym's Centenary

This post is dedicated to my friend B., who loves Barbara Pym's novels as much as I do.... I have mentioned writer Barbara Pym two or three times in this blog, but not in any detail. I am prompted to do so now by a 6/23/13 essay by Laura Shapiro in the New York Times Book Review, titled “Pride and Perseverance,” on the occasion of the centenary of Pym’s birth. This wonderful British novelist first wrote “six modestly successful novels” but in 1963, her publisher declined to publish more. Perhaps she seemed anachronistic in the 1960s; as Shapiro puts it so well: “Pym specialized in a minor-key world far from fiction’s cutting edge. Her characters tend to be unmarried women in sensible shoes, fond of musing over Anglican hymns and scraps of English poetry. They help out at the church jumble sale, offer cups of Ovaltine at moments of late-night crisis….” Pym herself, as well as her loyal readers, was shocked by this turn of events, and she was a discouraged writer for many years. It was only 1977 Times Literary Supplement statements by famed British writers Philip Larkin and Lord David Cecil that Pym was the most underrated author that brought her back to the spotlight. Then her recent books were published, her older books were reprinted, and she was interviewed and celebrated. Unfortunately she died three years later of cancer. It is terrible that she had those 12 years of obscurity, and that she died so soon after her work was published again, but it is a great thing that she lived to see her work rediscovered and celebrated. I am personally a huge fan of her novels, having read all of them, some several times. They have great titles: “Excellent Women,” “A Glass of Blessings,” “No Fond Return of Love,” “The Sweet Dove Died,” and “An Unsuitable Attachment,” to name a few; there are about a dozen in all. The low-key aspect of her topics does not indicate low-key writing. Her work is witty, in an unassuming, musing way. She draws her characters sharply, with details and conversations that reveal much in a few words. Her understanding of human motivations and self-delusions approaches that of the great Jane Austen. Her novels, like Austen’s, are often labeled “domestic” dramas, and although in a sense that is accurate, it doesn’t begin to show how whole worlds can be found in domestic scenes. Sometimes reading Pym makes me laugh out loud at her humorous perceptivity. Pym’s women characters are sometimes sad, but good at cheering themselves up, finding ways to encourage themselves, often through helping others (but not in a goody-goody way). One of the later works, "Quartet in Autumn," is definitely darker than the others, as it takes a close look at ageing. I find myself somewhat at a loss to convey the unique and compelling qualities of this writer’s fiction. I strongly urge readers to just find and read one of her novels; I suggest “Excellent Women” to start, but really any of the novels will do.

"Little Sinners," by Karen Brown

I feel happy when I think I have “discovered” a “new” writer whose work I find I like very much. I had never heard of the writer Karen Brown before, but when I saw her small collection of short stories, “Little Sinners” (University of Nebraska Press, 2012) on the “new book shelf” of my university library, something told me to pick it up and check it out. Perhaps it was the contrast between its modest, university-press appearance, its author's common name, and, on the other hand, the provocative title. This book won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, and I can see why. (Of course a book that has won a prize and been published cannot be said to need “discovering” by me, but the work is just new enough, and as far as I can tell, not reviewed in the major newspapers and magazines, that I will preserve the feeling of having “discovered” Brown, at least for myself!) The stories are a fascinating blend of the very concrete and the slightly mysterious. The situations seem both real and just beyond one’s understanding. They are psychologically intriguing, character-focused, yet with compelling plots. Most of the stories take place in East Coast suburbs and small towns, some of them with working class roots, some not. There are many secrets and much pain. Yet the overall feeling of the book is not all sad and depressing; there are notes of hope. Even the characters in bad situations don’t necessarily seem desperate, and in fact sometimes seem curious to see what will happen next. Some of the stories have an elegiac tone. The overriding feeling, though, is of matters strange and haunting. Throughout, I had the sense that I was in very good hands, and that Karen Brown is a writer to watch out for. I hope to read more by her.

"The True Secret of Writing," by Natalie Goldberg

Almost any writer, or would-be writer, of the past twenty-five years has read or at least knows of Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing Down the Bones.” That book is a guide for writers, but more than that, it is a guide for life. Goldberg has written many books since then; her new book, “The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language” (Atria, 2013), is a kind of update of her first book. The organizing structure of her book is recounting how she runs her “True Secret of Writing” intensive workshops, which are also retreats in the tradition of Zen Buddhism as interpreted by Goldberg, a longtime Zen student who is also influenced by her Jewish heritage. These retreats are held in Taos, New Mexico, and are Goldberg’s own amalgam of meditation, walking, hiking, doing simple chores, keeping silence for big lengths of time, reading, speaking, and of course writing. Two boiled-down summaries of Goldberg’s directions are “Sit. Walk. Write” and “Shut up and write” (stop putting it off, and do it – advice that I, for one, sorely need to follow!). There are many examples of how the days go, and stories of individual attendees, some of whom have become longtime friends of Goldberg’s. Along the way we get excerpts from some of the author’s favorite books and poetry (an eclectic selection, also listed in a useful appendix), as well as from her students’ writing. Although Goldberg’s students mainly write fiction or memoir, and I mainly write academic articles and books, I found much inspiration and even useful specific suggestions in this book. But more useful than anything specific was an immersion in the life of writers, and Goldberg’s bedrock belief in the power of writing. I am not tempted to do one of her workshops or retreats (all that sitting with my legs crossed and meditating…I admire those who do it, but it is probably not for me…), but I am glad I read the book, and feel I both learned from it and was inspired and energized by it.

"Island Girls," by Nancy Thayer

It’s the summer! Time for summer reading, otherwise known as “beach reads.” By now I have a pretty good sense of how beachy I want my beach reads to be. They have to be light, undemanding, and full of stories of family, friends, leisure time, and romantic relationships. Groups gathered in summer vacation places, especially those on oceans or lakes -- in other words, literally beach reads -- are bonuses. But I want even my “summer reading” to be well written. Not necessarily "high" literature, but reasonably well written. I just read a novel that almost perfectly fulfills all these requirements. I have read several novels by Nancy Thayer over the years, ever since I read her second novel, “Three Women at the Water’s Edge,” soon after it was published in 1981. Thayer’s work is reliably enjoyable. The one I have just read is “Island Girls” (Ballantine, 2013), and it was great fun to read. A charming and successful man dies, and in his will states that his three daughters from three different marriages must live together in his Nantucket house for a whole summer before they can sell the house and share the profits. Because of various resentments about the several marriages and child custody arrangements, the sisters are not at all close, so there is some grumbling about this stipulation in the will. But they all move into the house, and gradually become closer. There is much about careers, families, and of course romances. All of this, of course, is in the beautiful, irresistible setting of Nantucket. What can I say but that the novel is great fun and very satisfying, a nearly perfect example of “summer reading” and a delicious “beach read.”

"The Tell," by Hester Kaplan

I was very taken with Hester Kaplan’s collection of short stories, “The Edge of Marriage,” which I wrote about here on 2/5/13. So I was happy to read that she had a new novel, “The Tell” (Harper Perennial, 2013). This is a rich, “thick” (to use the anthropological term) description of a marriage, a marriage that seems to be very good, but turns out to be vulnerable to danger, in this case in the form of an aging male former television star who moves in next door. Mira is an artist; Owen is a teacher. They are not terribly prosperous, but they are doing fine, living in the house she grew up in, and seem quite happy. When Wilton becomes their neighbor, he insinuates himself into their lives, although it isn’t clear what he wants beyond company, and sympathy about his estrangement from his adult daughter. Gradually he -- purposely or unconsciously -- precipitates a rift in their marriage, as Mira becomes drawn into his quest to win back the estranged daughter, and as she joins him on his frequent trips to a casino. It is unclear if there is a sexual element in Mira and Wilton’s relationship, but if there is, that is not the main issue in the rift. The main problem is the erosion of trust, the lack of honesty that enters Mira’s and Owen’s marriage. Wilton too has his demons, which he tries to address not only with gambling and with usurping Mira's time and attention, but with compulsively rewatching episodes of the old television show in which he starred; in a disturbing counterpoint, Mira too watches these episodes over and over, late at night as well. Yet Kaplan does not make Wilton a pure villain; we see his sadness and we sympathize with him too. He had his moments in the bright light of fame, and now – although financially secure – he subsists emotionally on the recognition he occasionally receives from, say, a woman in the supermarket who excitedly remembers him and his television show, and perhaps asks for his autograph. There is a sad and unsettling tension between the initial seeming normality of the three main characters, and the increasing abnormality of their behavior and the way they live and relate to each other and to the world. Kaplan shows enormous insight into the motivations of her characters, although never over-explaining. She is a wonderful writer. I found the book powerful, but (and?) I was somewhat shaken by the story, itself a proof of the effectiveness of Kaplan’s writing.

"The Practice of Deceit," by Elizabeth Benedict

“The Practice of Deceit” (Mariner, 2005), by Elizabeth Benedict, made me feel itchy. The novel definitely caught and kept my interest, but it felt slightly disturbing, slightly uncomfortable, slightly off-putting. Well, perhaps that was the point. Psychotherapist Eric, a lifelong bachelor, meets and is not very subtly seduced by lawyer Colleen Golden, who also has a cute, sweet daughter. Colleen convinces Eric that they should move to Scarsdale. Every step of the way, she is controlling him, yet he does not realize it for quite some time – too long, in my opinion. For a therapist, he seems remarkably dense about Colleen’s motivations and actions. But -- partial spoiler alert ahead -- eventually Eric is shocked to find everything falling apart, and realizes he has been had, so to speak. The main interest of the novel is finding out the details of how this happens, and hoping against hope that justice will be restored. I won’t tell you the ending, but I will say that the novel is a page turner. And it still left me feeling itchy….

"Last Friends," by Jane Gardam

I was thrilled when I saw that the third novel in Jane Gardam’s “Old Filth” trilogy had been published. The first two volumes were “Old Filth” and “The Man in the Wooden Hat,” and the new novel is “Last Friends” (Europa Editions, 2013). Together they tell the story of British characters of a particular type: expatriates in Asia, yet loyal English citizens. They are Edward Feathers, his wife Betty, and Terence Veneering, who was Feathers’ rival and Betty’s lover. Each book focuses on one of the characters, but is complete in and of itself. However, reading all three allows one to see the events and relationships from different angles. These three characters, along with their colleagues and friends, lived a colonial life in what was known then as the Far East, and then retired back to England. Their lives are tangled with each other’s, and they are part of the Old Guard of post World War II, although they seem rooted in an even earlier, more colonial time period. The first novel focused on Feathers, and the second one on Betty. This latest novel, “Last Friends,” focuses on Veneering, who has retired near where Feathers retired. The second novel revealed that long after Betty’s death, these two rivals reconciled and became friends. But then Feathers died. This third novel brings in other characters who had known each other in the East but now live near each other, or visit each other, in England, including Fiscal-Smith and Dulcie. All are now elderly, and sometimes a bit forgetful, but still remember the old days and keep their old (mixed) feelings about each other. A few new younger characters are introduced as well. But none of my description can capture the wonders of Gardam’s writing; she is quite simply a genius in the strength and depth of her writing, and in the way she captures this particular world and the nuances of the characteristics of each person, and the relationships among them. Her writing is evocative but never sentimental; it is descriptive without going overboard; she involves readers without pandering to them. For me there is a special connection because of my life as the child of missionaries in India, so there are resonances there. But this novel would appeal to anyone who admires and savors masterful writing. Kudos too to Europa for the beautifully produced paperback version, with its eye-catching cover. Highly recommended. (But consider reading the other two novels first….)