Customer Reviews

The Amalgamation Polka (Vintage Contemporaries)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With this opening sentence, the reader knows immediately that this Civil War novel is no Gone With the Wind. Dense, suggestive, and impressionistic in style, it focuses on the Fish family--Thatcher Fish, a traveling preacher and abolitionist from Delphi, New York; his wife Roxana, formerly of Redemption Hall in Charleston, South Carolina; and their son Liberty, around whom most of the action revolves. Dividing the novel into three parts, the author first shows Liberty as a child absorbing his parents' values, sometimes being ostracized by other children, and, in his loneliness, finding comfort with Euclid, an escaped slave who lives in the family's root cellar.

Wright is particularly effective in revealing life from the point of view of Liberty, a child whose house is an "enchanted domain," filled with hidden passageways, sliding panels, floor traps, and peepholes, all part of "the train Mother told me about, that runs under the ground." Moving back and forth through Liberty's childhood and that of his mother, the narrative is filled with extravagant descriptions and quirky characters--Uncle Potter, who is always seeking excitement; Ma'am L'Orange, Liberty's mad teacher; Arthur Fife, aged 146, a former pirate who lives in a hole in the ground; Captain Erastus Whelkington of the canal boat Croesus; and Stumpy, the hoggee, a child who keeps the mules moving along the towpath of the Erie Canal.

Liberty's enlistment in the Union army when he is sixteen begins the second part of the book, filled with the carnage of battle, the devastating accidents of fate, and the horrors of hand-to-hand combat. Following "Uncle Billy" Sherman, Liberty joins Major Pickles, who travels with his own casket (filled with whiskey).

Liberty's discovery of the devastated Redemption Hall and his crazed maternal grandfather constitute the final section of this compelling novel, which achieves additional dramatic strength through the black humor and horror evoked by the unconscionable behavior of Asa Maury, Liberty's grandfather. Long a practitioner of eugenics, Maury has lost all touch with reality, and the torments he inflicts upon his slaves go beyond anything one may ever have read before.

The energy of author Stephen Wright never flags. A parade of oddball characters engaging in wild episodes constantly entertains the reader, but Wright never lets the humor overshadow his serious themes and his message about the emancipation. His descriptions are brilliant and full of local color, and Liberty's emotional reactions to the physical details around him enhance the mood and intensity of each scene. Though the conclusion is a bit didactic, the moralizing occurs within the context of some outrageous concluding scenes, which soften the lesson and make it less obvious. Ultimately upbeat, the novel breaks new ground in historical fiction. n Mary Whipple

Pro-slavery Americans used the term amalgamation polka to describe what they saw as the inevitable mixing of the white and black races, should abolition occur. Using this as a backdrop, Wright shows Liberty Fish growing up in an Abolitionist household in upstate New York, when amalgamation fears were common. Then, he shows Liberty fighting for the North at Antietam and foraging with Sherman's army, before joining his grandfather, Asa, in the Carolinas. Asa is a violent and sadistic slaveholder and a literal amalgamist, who has an insane and incestuous vision of eliminating Africans from America.

Unfortunately, the stories of these two characters misfire in combination, as the cipher-like Liberty interacts with his Freddy Krueger-like grandfather. Certainly, Wright creates a plausible coming-of-age narrative about Liberty and his three years of military service during the Civil War. But then, the crazed Asa appears and we see a warped and sadistic Southerner trying to cope with his culture and slavery, as well as his anger at his daughter. In a seminar, a professor might tease out the connections. But as a reading experience, Wright seems to seek resolution of Liberty's story with an implausible and gothic tale. The final third of this book certainly has vivid characters. But it felt unconvincing as Wright desperately sought to find the end of his story.

Nonetheless, Wright's writing is often terrific and even Faulknerian at the end of some chapters. Liberty fighting in the Battle of Antietam (Pages 171-191) is excellent. Still, the story seems arbitrary and bizarre when it's driven by Asa. And Liberty, the protagonist, is as flat as a slogan.

Wow!

Came home 2 weeks ago and this book was between my doors. I didn't order any books this week, I thought to myself. I opened it and immediately thought it was a book by the comedian of the same name. This will at least be amusing, I thought. But the insert provided from the New York Times book review caught my eye and tweaked my curiosity. Who is this guy?

First let me say that for anyone who dreams of becoming a writer, this book will do one of two thing for you: it will inspire you to be the best possible writer you can be or it will totally discourage you from ever attempting to bring pen to paper. How the hell can anyone top this? Every paragraph is a carefully crafted work of art unto itself. His mastery of the English language simply defies description.

The tale of Liberty Fish's coming of age in the time of the Civil War jumps off the page in a three-dimensional sensory onslaught that simply transcends the written word. Of contemporary fiction writers, only Anne Rice comes close; and she isn't even in this gentleman's league. How Mr. Wright breathes life and complexity into so many characters within the confines of a 300-page codex is something I'm sure that even he can't rationally break down and explain to the most cerebral listener. This man is the buried treasure for any reader looking to be entertained and inspired while vicariously living his characters' experiences. You feel the emotion, the happiness, the pain. You see and smell and hear and feel all of it. Not a word wasted.

It's not so much where the book takes you as how it arrives there. I was reading it at a local pub where the patrons routinely share new books and authors with each other when I was asked about "The Amalgamation Polka". At this point, I was near the middle of the book. "What's it about?" I was queried. My answer? "I don't know yet, but it's phenomenal." My opinion carries much weight in this makeshift "book club" as I have been the one to introduce the likes of Christopher Moore, Joe R. Lansdale and Chuck Palahniuk (to name a few) to the mostly "best-seller" mind set that pervades the group. And introducing Stephen Wright has been an epiphany. Copies of his first three books are wildly making the rounds as I write this! A typical reaction to his work would be "How is it that I've never heard of this guy?" How is that, indeed.

Writers come and go, but is seems that once or twice a generation a writer comes along whose work leaves us breathless and wanting more and more. Stephen Wright is that author for our generation. He is not Vonnegut, nor Steinbeck, nor Twain, nor Dostoevsky, nor Orwell. He is Wright. And he is sublime.

"The Amalgamation Polka" is for the reader who does not mind rambling discourses upon the Civil War era nor be dependent upon linear story-telling. In his own style, Mr. Wright resembles more of Victor Hugo or Leo Tolstoy with his digressions and views his novel as a journey through life and not as a destination narrative to be finished. It has the added attraction of being significantly shorter than, say, "Les Miserables" or "War and Peace."

The unusual title and book jacket tells the reader that this historical novel is going to be different than other Civil War books like "The March" by E.L. Doctorow (2005). The title refers to a political cartoon of that period that has blacks and whites dancing the polka together (it was not meant to be a compliment either). Mr. Wright seems to have a copyright on eccentric characters and his protagonist has the unique moniker of Liberty Fish (in the context of the story, the name makes sense). Mr. Wright is an acquired taste and certainly not for everyone, but, for the reader who perseveres, "The Amalgamation Polka" is a delight.

I enjoy historical fiction and the cover caught my eye in the book store as did the first line. After that, I admit, I had a bit of trouble getting into the story and getting used to the author's style; however, it didn't take long for me to realize what a skilled writer Wright is. His sentences are way long and sometimes had to be reread, but it was well worth it.

The story has a slightly different look at the Civil War than most novels set in this time. Some of the characters are almost "over the top" but are always believable. The character of Asa Maury is one of the most dispicable I've ever encountered in a book.

Having just read "Team of Rivals" the non-fiction account of Lincoln's cabinet; this book provided another look. "Team of Rivals" examining the "important players" in the War; "Amalgamation Polka" examining the "real people" -- those who only saw their viewpoint of the conflict. It's truly a wonder our nation survived that terrible wound which the Civil War caused. Even though "Polka" ends on a hopeful note, this book gives some insight as to why those wounds are still felt today. A good read -- highly recommended as thoughtful, interesting, and well written

"Wright's title refers to a racist editorial cartoon of the period, which depicted "an amalgamation polka," where whites and blacks dance together in genteel costumes. This was meant to suggest, one presumes, that other mutually enjoyable physical activities might occur between the races later in the evening. Race mixing was the great shibboleth of slavery advocates and segregationists from the dawn of American history almost to our own time and many of the characters in Wright's novel are obsessed with it." Andrew O'Hehir

Stephen Wright is one of my favorite authors. I was introduced to him by my best friend who recommended his book "Going Native". I read this book in almost one sitting ten months ago but left the last chapter until now. I wanted to be able to leave the last chapter for a time when I needed solace and understanding. Who else will tell you that our country is screwed, always has been and always will be. Who else, as in most of his novels, infers that this 'is both the real thing and a merciless parody'? And, who else writes such marvelous prose? Exactly, maybe no one.

Liberty Fish, yes that is his real name, grows up in a house used as a station on the Underground Railroad, but his mother was raised on a large South Carolina plantation and his father is the son of a Northern industrial family that has profited greatly from the slave trade. Liberty's parents want to destroy the institution that made their families rich, and this perversity runs through the book. When Liberty visits the devastated Redemption Hall, his mother's birthplace, and meets his maternal grandfather, Asa Maury, the old man is a bitter, angry, hardened bigot. Yet, faced with the destruction of slavery, he is facing the racial dilemma, and is trying to solve it. Liberty survives the horrors of war at Antietam. He is taken prisoner by the rebels, then deserts from the Union Army to go find grandfather Asa. There he works with his grandfather to escape the collapsing Confederacy and hijack a ship for Brazil, where slavery remains alive and well. This harkens us back to Liberty's childhood where he is educated by a one-eyed former slave named Euclid, taken carousing by his Uncle Potter and sworn into the secret fraternity of pirates by a strange character Fife. Where does this all take us? That journey, my friend, is for you take.

Stephen Wright may see bloodshed and tumult of the Civil War period as good examples of our American madness. Despite the parody or maybe because of it, Stephen Wright gives us a new vocabulary, 'sheconnery', 'buckra, and 'gallinipers'. Fitting words for the occasion. What do they mean? You decide.

One of the characters, a southern lady sums this book up the best 'This war,'" she says to Liberty, "'this horrible evil war, it's never going to end. You do understand that, don't you? Even after it's over it will continue to go on without the flags and the trumpets and the armies, do you understand?'

There is so much to say about this novel. Stephen Wright may be having as much difficulty as we are in understanding what is happening in our world today, but he is able to articulate his thoughts in remarkable prose. I do not have the words to express the mastery of Stephen Wright's prose,nor will I try. Suffice it to say that he has led Liberty to the conclusion that "Life ... makes mongrels of us all." So Very, Very Highly Recommended.
prisrob 1-25-07

As soon as I read the title I knew I was going to love this book. This is a rollicking, madcap, tune filled songbook of a novel, with Mister Wright loonily letting out all the stops on the big, bad Wurlitzer. This is literature at its craziest, yet at the same time, it's finest, most lyrical and most hightened. I absolutely devoured this book. I read most of it in one sitting, then, when I had one short chapter to go, I let it sit on the table, unread for two days. I truly didn't want it to end.

I also have to admit that Mr Wright is my favorite contemporary author. When I heard that he had a new novel coming out after a ten year hiatus, I about had a teen-age like fit. I've relished his earlier works. Meditations in Green is on the absolutely shortest list of great Vietnam War novels. M31: A Family Romance is....well, I'm not sure what it is, but it's definitely different. And then there's Going Native, Wright's last departure point into the dark night of the American Soul. A book that should be in every serious reader's consciousness by now. It deserves to be labelled a modern classic and discussed in Lit classes across the land.

So I indeed feel that The Amalgamation Polka was worth the ten year wait. Hopefully, this will be the novel that gets Wright the recognition he deserves. The reviews have been uniformly great and he has people like Pynchon and Delilo on the dust jacket, justifiably signing the book's praises.

Wright is an author who will definitely keep you guessing, off balance, but always entertained. Critics compare hime quite often to Delilo, but I would say he's more like Vonnegut or Kesey, but definitely altered. His is an original voice. His is a unique vision. He examines the underbelly of American culture in much the same manner manner as Twain did in Huck Finn. And also like Twain, he shines a harsh light on slavery, that curious institution that brought the nation to its knees in bloody genuflection. Wright even provides us a ratcheted up version of Simon Legree in the figure of Asa Maury, the protagonist's maternal grandfather, who performs weirdly construed experiments on his slaves, in order to "whiten" them. He has to be one of the most vividly etched villains in modern literature.

Which leads to another thought about the novel. It really is a throwback in many ways to books of yore. Tha characters are very much, both literally and figuratively, black and white. There's not much ambiguity about them and I'm sure this is intentional on Wright's part. This is a morality tale. It's also a fairly by-the-numbers picaresque novel, again a la Huck Finn. Young man lights out for the territories (or in this instance, the Civil War) and enters the American heart of darkness. Wright is a genius at blending the realistic with the phantasmagoric. You know as soon as you've begun the first chapter that you're not in Kansas anymore, yet he keeps you grounded enough that you're never going to be too far from it. In fact, a particularly violent passage actually does occur in Kansas territory.

This is Wright's big canvas novel. His Guernica. If you've read any of his earlier works, you know the man can write. He's one of our top lyricists and imagists. One can tell that he spent Flaubertian labors chiseling away on these words and sentences. This is prose at its finest and most luminescent. For a transcendental reading experience, pick up a copy of this wonderful work, as soon as earthly possible.

BEK

This book came with high praise emblazoned on the jacket-which sometimes precipitates disaster!-but I soon warmed to this lyrical and expressive book; similar in style to EL Doctorow.
Like a polka the novel flitted from time and place to begin with,but the chapters of Liberty on the packet ship and Roxanas life on the plantation are superbly told.
Yes, the book does fall away a bit in the last quarter where Liberty visits Redemption Hall to encounter the deranged madness, but the book is still worth a read and keeps you aware that the amalgamation polka is still being played.

The Amalgamation Polka by Stephen Wright starts out in the clouds of literary bluster, like the billowing smoke rolling across the battlefields in this imaginary tale of Civil War veteran Liberty Fish. Listening to the first chapter or several challenged my auditory mind to focus through the mushrooming cadences of adjectives and adverbs to find the storyline.

But once I did, I was hooked on the vivid characters and riveting plot of an abolitionist finding his way through the bloody caldron of war to explore his slaveholding maternal roots, only to emerge from the experience a better man for it, and more resolved to the inalienable rights of all men.

I highly recommend this enjoyable book. It is well worth the read.

It is the rare work of literature that has the ability to transfix the reader by the sheer brilliance of the author. Very few books have the ability to capture a mood in a way that allows the reader to actually feel that he is part of the scene he or she is reading about.

The Amalgamation Polka by Stephen Wright is precisely such a book.

The Amalgamation Polka describes the activities of the Fish and Maury Families of Upstate New York and South Carolina (respectively) in the period before and after the American Civil War.

Liberty Fish, is the son of extreme abolitionists living in New York. His mother is the estranged daughter of slave-holding parents in South Carolina. Liberty provides our link between the two radically different families as we travel with him during his childhood and as he grows up, enlists with the Union army and subsequently deserts his unit to search for his Grandparents.

The skill of this book is to provide the reader with a vivid account of the chaotic scenes before, during and after the civil war. The book opens with a scene of "bearded ladies dancing in the mud" who then chase a slave girl and molest her. The reader soon becomes aware that these are actually Union soldiers that have looted a mansion in the deep South (presumably during Sherman's March to the Sea). We do not encounter the "bearded ladies" again but this first glimpse allows the reader to know that we will be taken out of our usual comfort zone as we confront what might otherwise be stale stereotypes.

Ultimately, Stephen Wright is successful in describing how (in the face of monumental changes and horrific events) people change the way they look at the world to explain to themselves, why they should still hold on to their precious preconceived notions.

This is most aptly shown in his depiction of Liberty's Grandfather, Asa. A staunch advocate of slavery who has gone mad and is attempting to perform experiments to turn black slaves white in a strange attempt to justify his proclivity towards amalgamation.

Others have commented that the storyline is convoluted and rambling, but I feel that this is precisely the effect that Mr. Wright attempts to convey in order to describe the psychological upheaval American's faced in confronting and beginning to dismantle the system of slavery in this country. Indeed, the insightful reader will find much in this book which will shed light into the motivations of individuals in the current political arena.

After reading this book, I have become even more interested in digging deeper into the history of Civil War era in the U.S.

An excellent set of books to read before The Amalgamation Polka would be Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Red Badge of Courage. Both of these books capture the sense of upheaval that is perfected by Wright in The Amalgamation Polka.