The Disorder of Longing (Hardcover)

by Natasha Bauman (Author) "It was officially spring, yet the sun had been stingy, staying hidden away for weeks..." (more)
Key Phrases: orchid society, labiata vera, orchid hunter, Orchid House, New York, African Meeting House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In Bauman's overwrought debut, 1890s Bostonian Ada Pryce longs to escape the restrictions of a sexually frustrating, socially constricting marriage with tyrannical Edward, a gentleman hobbyist. Though he is an advocate of Karezza (spiritual purity through sexual deprivation), Edward can't suppress Ada's physical desire, first unleashed in a premarital affair with her college Shakespeare professor, nor can he rein in her intellectual tendencies, encouraged by friends but frowned upon by Ada's Boston society matron mother. When Edward brings home a trio of orchid hunters—William Parrish, Walter Kebble and Jao da Cunha—opportunity for an Amazonian adventure knocks at Ada's door. Bauman's spirited heroine, range of settings and intimate knowledge of turn-of-the-century society impress, but they get smothered in descriptions of sexual dissatisfaction and rhapsodies on the erotic beauty of exotic plants. The overripe language may be meant to dramatize Ada's unrequited passions, but the humidity makes for more squish than swoon. (June)
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From Booklist
Like the orchids at the center of the plot, there is something both disturbing and seductive about this enjoyable yet flawed novel. In 1890s Boston, Ada Pryce is a would-be suffragist, hampered by her loyalty to her husband. When Ada learns that her husband may be involved in a murder plot, her already unconventional behavior becomes increasingly hard to control. This novel hits on all the tropes of women’s studies classes, including rest cures, connections between the plights of African Americans and women, and sexual double standards. Ada is an appealing and complicated character, but the roots of her unconventional views and behavior are never convincingly explained. Her husband’s descent from loving and respectful to murderous and evil is also never explained. As the novel progresses, the plotline becomes less plausible but remains interesting and compelling. A strong first novel that promises better things to come from the author. --Marta Segal Block

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (June 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154957
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154959
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #939,240 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Victorian woman takes her life into her own hands when the urge to fight or flee her husband becomes essential to live, September 8, 2008

By	Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Recently I had the pleasure of seeing an orchid in bloom. I don't know enough about the plants to say more than it was purple and exquisitely beautiful and delicate and I was afraid to touch it in case I might damage it in some way. For a long time my step-mother has had one or two orchids but they're tricky plants if you aren't a specialists. Too much light or too much water or the wrong temperature could easily kill them. But in spite of (or perhaps because of) their finicky nature these plants have become somewhat of an obsession for serious collectors and amateur gardeners around the globe.

"The Disorder of Longing" is a novel that combines the essential human nature to escape an environment that isn't conducive to growth (literal or personal) and the incredible sensuality of orchids, especially when the trade was first beginnings and procuring these pants required much more effort (and danger) then simple cultivation today. The overall effect is a sensual novel with a main character that unfurls like a blossoming flower itself.

Ada isn't exactly a typical American Victorian woman. She went to college, had a married lover and participated (if half-heartedly) in the woman's suffrage movement. But she made a mistake that would dictate the rest of her life. She slept with a man she was seeing, and, as a man of the age and her high social station, he saw no other option then to marry. And so she did.

For years Ada has been a housewife and has gained some minimal satisfaction from the role. But as her husbands Edward becomes more and more controlling (and obsessed with practicing only Tantric sex which as described in the book sounds just awful and pointless) and critical of her every action. Every minor protest to his total control of her life, every longing for friendship, adventure, love or a simple touch is added to a list of transgressions until Ada is being treated for hysteria. And yes, I mean that old Victorian treatment which if practiced today would get a doctor prosecuted for sex crimes.

But Edward's growing interest in orchids and his contacts with orchid hunters has inspired a kind of longing in Ada to be free, to see the beautiful and unusual plants in their natural environment- Brazil. And when of the hunters brings a terrible side of Edward to light it only cements that Ada can see no option but to die or escape. And it is to the jungles she heads, dressed as a man and free for the first time in her life.

But a Victorian woman had the same legal status as a child, lunatic or criminal and Ada has no legal right to do anything her husband doesn't want her to do. Can she out run him in his obsession to control her and both free and find herself amidst the green jungles and competitive orchid hunters of Brazil-or is there nowhere safe from his influence?

This is a novel of complex characters in a time when men had every right and women none-if they married. When lines between races were extreme and the search for a rare flower was motive for spending a fortune, or ordering a murder. Sensual portrayed and highly in tune with the human flight or fight reaction this is a novel that no only shows exactly how far we have come in gender and race relations, but will inspire you to find your true self, whatever it may be and however it may be perceived and to run off to the deep jungles of Brazil and hunt rare and lovely flowers.

Four stars.

For other novels about hysteria and its treatment's check out An Inconvenient Wife.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Journey, July 14, 2008

By	Virginia Reiser (Cape Cod) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ada Caswell Price's journey from 1890's Boston to the Amazon jungle brings her not only half-way around the world in search of the rarest of orchids, but to the exploration of her own heart and what it truly means to be herself. What she finds is that a woman's longing for fulfillment lies not in the men around her, but in the exploration of her own nature and abilities. Even if it means learning to live as a man. Natasha Bauman, with impeccable research and beautiful prose, evokes accurate Victorian repression as she depicts Ada, an accomplished young woman, who winds up married to a man who gives her gowns and jewels, but deprives her of her soul and spirit. When Edward begins collecting orchids, Ada finds herself entranced, wanting to know more about them, and herself. Entombed by Victorian mores and customs in her own Back Bay mansion, much as Edward's orchids can now exist only in their hothouse, Ada yearns to see the flowers in the natural environment their rareness and beauty deserve. Fascinated by the orchid hunters Edward hires, Ada eventually finds a way to determine her own future with the help of the African-American William and his Brazilian partner, Jao.
Where most authors would lead Ada only on a journey of the heart, Bauman fearlessly takes Ada to the depths of her soul. Longing is not just a sensual reference, although Ada remains a very passionate woman, always attracted to men. Desire and longing, in Bauman's skilled hands, become metaphors for a life lived differently, one outside social customs and the complacency of the expected. In can't-stop-reading prose, one woman's disorder becomes a window for all women.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orchids, and Proper Ladies, Victorian Times, July 16, 2008

By	Janie Spataro (Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ms. Bauman's novel takes us to the restrictive world of Bostonian Ada Pryce whose life is ruled by her overbearing husband and Victorian times when women were expected to not speak their mind and to suppress their sensuality. Headstrong, educated and beautiful, Ada seeks liberation from her husband Edward, an avid orchid collector. Shedding her corset, Ava disguises herself as a man and travels from Boston to Brazil in search of a rare orchid.

While the novel gives readers an insider's view of the most intimate details of a Victorian couple, it also gives a glimpse of Boston society in the late 1890's when the fight for women's suffrage was at full steam,and a strong middle class African American population had developed in Beacon Hill.

Author Bauman's care and attention shows, resulting in a well-researched, highly readable first novel that should appeal to orchid lovers, and voyeurs into the peculiar Victorian times.