Customer Reviews

Folly: A Novel

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

 

 

Susan Minot's prose is so lyrical, so musical and rapturous, it's a wonder one can pay attention to the story.
Folly, however, IS a story, one that harkens back to memories of The Awakening, Yellow Wallpaper, and other stories of women trapped in imperfect, unfulfilling marriages during an era when even to admit such a thought could lead to one's downfall. When forced to make a choice, Lillian's world opens to self-discovery. Folly is an elegant examination of the inner workings of the heart of a woman.

"Folly" by Susan Minot is a wonderfully written tale of a woman's choice in a time when a woman's marriage is everything. This tale of heartbreak and intrigue is fabulous. I was fascinated by this decision a wonderfully charismatic woman must make. It has a tremendous amount of charm and heart. It's very well written with a lot of emotion and power. There are moments of "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton (which is a classic and can't be surpassed) but, this novel certainly has a lot going for it. I was very happy with my read. I recommend it.

Is it possible to write a tragicomedy of manners without descending into the literary equivalent of Merchant and Ivory territory? Susan Minot's Folly makes a courageous try, aided by a sparse, unemphatic prose style. Ms. Minot's prose style underscores the sharp contrast between the spare passages and her rare flights into extended fantasy or metaphor.

The plot commences in 1917, leading us through a few decades in the life of a Boston well-to-do woman. The "real story", as so often is the case, is the effect of the social milieu upon all its denizens. Although in "social content" Folly brings to mind the novels of Edith Wharton, it must be said that Ms. Minot is unwilling to draw the simple solutions to the social issues she raises that Ms. Wharton might have painted two generations ago. No swift damnations come to those who people this novel merely as a result of their station, nor is easy salvation to be found in flight to a more "free" way of life. Instead, the story is laced with a pleasing ambiguity--perhaps an escape is possible, but the exits are not clearly marked.

"Literary fiction", that sad refugee of obscure collegiate publications, has evolved into a stylized genre no more aesthetically pleasing (and a good bit less entertaining) than, say, science fiction or a well-crafted mystery. Ms. Minot can justly be accused of writing a version of the "MFA litmag" novel, yet she shows the form is not without its virtues. The near-gamesmanship with which she crafts each sentence to achieve studied, quiet precision in her style and ideas makes this story eminently readable and in its own way quite evocative. One might not wish for the slow, gentle satire and complex despair of Folly in every novel one reads, but Folly is certainly worth the effort. Ms. Minot's work, though bearing the stigmata of "literary fiction", suggests that practitioners of this dour form can resurrect interest by placing precise execution of a worthwhile plot first, and saving the "cute" turns of phrase and wails of despair for the literary seminars. Although not everyone will like Folly, it is very satisfying for those who wish a "good read" with a modern sensibility.

In what might otherwise be a boring story, the great writing and perfect details make this compelling reading. An amazingly talented writer.

Folly is a literary novel in the less consumer-oriented meaning of the word. The reader will be impressed by author Susan Minot's prose style - in Hollywood mash-up terminology, it's Henry James meets Hemingway. Also impressive is the author's grasp of the period, wielding Edwardian attitudes and mores without ostentation but with authority. It's a slim volume to tell the story of a woman's journey through adulthood, slim because not a lot happens and even strong emotions are infrequent.

Lillian Eliot is born into a wealthy Boston family - not that money is ever discussed. Her family's position is in the middle of the pack. She has independent income, but her first and second homes are modestly furnished, if well located. She is eighteen in 1917, and because she is surrounded by self-satisfaction in every aspect of life, is neither spoiled nor introspective. The first young man to awaken her heart is Walter Vail, a little "fast" (from New York, not Boston, don't you know), but headed off to France and the war. He doesn't come back, and she hears he has married a French woman. Walter Vail is the emblem in her mind for sensuality and feeling, and she naturally and irrationally carries a torch for him for some time. Nearly ten years later a nice man from a good family shows interest in her, she encourages herself to develop feelings for him, and they start their own proper Bostonian household. After a dozen years of marriage (not a bed of roses) to Gilbert Finch, who should drift back into her life but Walter Vail. Lillian needs to make the first wide-awake choice in her life between her staid upper class Boston life with Gilbert Finch and the infinite possibilities of an unknown future with Walter Vail.

Minot shows us portrayals of wealthy women from the 1920s and 30s and they ring true: they have few rights but many privileges and show little interest in the male sphere of life. Lillian Elliot lives through so many momentous changes during those years, yet they hardly affect her life or merit a mention in her story. Compare this with And Ladies of the Club, for example (with about six times more pages) where every societal development and modern convenience is highlighted in the lives of the participants. The prose in Folly is compact and elegant, although I'm fond of the use of quotation marks, which Minot has dispensed with.

Despite living in Boston and being familiar with the places and buildings in Folly, I didn't really connect with the characters or story. If you like Henry James (I admit I find him unreadable; I'm sure it's my fault) and Merchant-Ivory films you might really like Folly.

Folly appeals to the mind, bringing a fresh way of approaching the importance of choosing a husband in 1920's Boston. Beautifully crafted, Lilian Eliot is a character that most women can identify with and charms more and more with every chapter

In 1992, long before these times of clicking and buying books online with ease, I walked into a now-defunct bookstore and stumbled upon this "new arrival." From the first paragraph, it was clear that Susan Minot in "Folly" had broken entirely new ground as the very best American Literature had to offer. Although commonplace today, Minot grasped the simple fact that elegant and gorgeous prose flows with poetic ease when it is unencumbered by an author's obsession with gymnastics in delivering perfect grammar, punctuation, and the like. As a result, the book itself (along with the reader) is able to breathe in and enjoy the literary nuance of color, tone, music, and light - the likes of which few writers have ever mastered. Also, the themes embodied by her characters reach far beyond the female-as-victim of this-that-and-everything-else. Instead, the title "Folly" is the real story at its core. As Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote (paraphrasing here) the tragedy of any life can be that one can ultimately become...the booth where folly holds its fair.

I kept trying to persuade myself that this book was going to improve and reach some kind of climax. It however proved very disappointing. My worst read for this year so far. Terribly boring - no point to it really.