LitPicks - September '07

The Novel of Ideas: these works masquerade as fiction. They tell a good story, but underneath the narrative mask of plot and character lie academic and social issues—serious ideas the author wants to work out. But don't let that scare you off! These are terrific stories.

A Lighter Touch | Wonderfully Written | Great Works       




The War Against Miss Winter
Kathryn Miller Haines, 2007
pp. 317

By Molly Lundquist
Rosie Winter is master of the cool quip and cocky comeback—trademarks of the "hard-boiled" detective genre of the 1920's and '30's. Conjure up an image of Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, correct for gender by tossing in Rosalind Russell from His Girl Friday, and you've got Rosie.

She's the smart and smart-mouthed heroine of this clever new crime story set in New York against the backdrop of World War II. In fact, war and violence are played out everywhere in this story: on the world stage, the New York stage, and in Rosie's life.

It's the New Year, and poor Rosie, a young actress down on her luck, hasn't landed a part in quite a while. But when her part-time detective boss commits suicide—by hanging himself with his hands tied behind his back—Rosie takes on the leading role as gumshoe to find his murderer. Kathryn Miller Haines uses her knowledge of theater—both practical and academic—to create a terrific plot with enough twists and turns to keep a dancer on her toes.

Start with the Shakespeare line quoted by one of the characters: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players," and you've got a front row seat. On stage of off, no one is who or what he seems; everyone plays a role.

Miss Winter is a delightful, smart, fast-paced read, moving back and forth from light-hearted and funny to serious and academic. The book attempts to be both entertaining crime caper and novel of ideas, and sometimes the tone shifts are jarring: Rosie-street-smart turns into Rosie-academic-theoretician. Yet all that's minor. In the end, Haines ties it all together...and leaves room for a sequel in the making. I'm waiting.

See our Reading Group Guide for The War Against Miss Winter.

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On Beauty
Zadie Smith, 2005
445 pp.

By Molly Lundquist
Somewhere in the middle of this book, a character wonders "was anyone ever genuinely attached to anything?" She hits on the problem readers may encounter: it's hard at first to feel "genuinely attached" to this book—because none of the characters seem to love anything or anyone, least of all themselves. Yet ironically, that question became the tipping point for me. From then on it was impossible to put On Beauty down.
   
As it turns out the characters are far more compelling than first realized. They are, in fact, "genuinely attached" to everyone and everything—intensely, sublimely human. And at every turn another insight, description, or idea surprises with revelations about our own state of humanness. Finally, there's Zadie Smith's wickedly brilliant humor.

The story revolves around two families, academic rivals, who become deeply entwined with one another over the span of a year. The fall-out from their tangled relationships comprises the primary plot. The book fairly bulges with characters, relationships, and ideas—about politics, class, race, family, authenticity, and beauty.

On Beauty is Smith’s homage to E.M. Forster’s Howards End (1910). Right from it’s opening line (even down to the protagonist’s first name), structurally and thematically, her book mirrors its forbear.

My recommendation is to read On Beauty—after you've read Howards End (below) because you’ll gain a greater sense of what Smith is attempting. You’ll enjoy the game and Smith’s sly humor, but also her serious examination of what, as individuals and a society, we truly value—and what we claim to value. Caution: this is not necessarily an easy read, but it is rewarding.

Be sure to see our Reading Guide for On Beauty.

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Howards End
E. M. Forster, 1910
355 pp.

By Molly Lundquist
It took the lushly produced Merchant-Ivory* films to springboard E.M. Forster into a literary household name. Before that, he occupied a well-regarded but quiet niche in the pantheon of English authors.

We appreciate Forster because he tells such darn good stories while tackling serious social issues, primarily England's rigid class system, colonialism, homosexuality—and, always, hypocrisy.

In Howards End Forster sets up two opposing forces: a life of intellect versus materialism. Lest you think the work is a dry compendium of ideas, Forster throws in a cast of engaging characters and a delicious social milieu set in Edwardian England.

The Schlegel family represents a life of spiritual, creative, and intellectual values; the Wilcox family represents a life devoted to acquisition of wealth that ignores any responsibility for the greater public good. Margaret Schlegel, the eldest sister, becomes the book's central character as she attempts to bridge the gap between the two worlds.

Forster uses metaphors to reinforce his themes; some are heavy handed, but there's one I love— the ancient wych elm that towers over the Howards End house. Symbols (see LitCourse 9) represent concepts hard to pin down with precise language, something I'm afraid to try here. But for starters think of rootedness that stretches skyward, connecting nurturing soil with the powerful sun. Start there...but don't stop there.

Somehow though, absent the Hollywood films—and his masterpiece, A Passage to India—I’m not sure we’d still be reading a whole lot of E.M. Forster today. Howard’s End in particular doesn’t really plumb the ideas he puts forth, doesn’t do the digging of a first-rate writer. And some of the writing, at times, feels a bit overwrought and unimaginative.

Perhaps that's just being crabby because, overall, I enjoyed Howards End and recommend it. So read it! And then, for a real workout, read On Beauty— Zadie Smith's brilliant take on Howards End, her favorite book. (See above).

Also, be sure to watch (after you've read it...come on!) the 1992 Howards End film with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. It's terrific.

* Merchant-Ivory films: Room with a View (1986); Maurice (1987), Howards End (1992). A Passage to India (1984) was directed by David Lean.


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