Van Gogh's Room at Arles (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) [Paperback]

Stanley Elkin (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Literature (Dalkey Archive) | Publication Date: September 2002

The three novellas collected in Van Gogh's Room at Arles demonstrate once again Stanley Elkin's mastery of the English language, with exuberant rants on almost every page, unexpected plot twists, and jokes that leave readers torn between laughter and tears. "Her Sense of Timing" relates a destructive day in the life of a wheelchair-bound professor who is abandoned by his wife at the worst possible time, leaving him to preside -- helplessly -- over a party for his students that careens out of control. The second story in this collection tells of an unsuspecting commoner catapulted into royalty when she catches the wandering eye of Prince Larry of Wales. And in the title story, a community college professor searches for his scholarly identity in a land of academic giants while staying in Van Gogh's famous room at Arles and avoiding run-ins with the Club of the Portraits of the Descendants of the People Painted by Vincent Van Gogh.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Elkin portrays the rich and convoluted inner monologues of individuals constrained by physical, social and intellectual circumstances.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In "Her Sense of Timing," a professor of political geography paralyzed by a "degenerative neurological disease" (obviously the multiple sclerosis that also affects Elkin) tries to host a party without the assistance of his wife, who has just left him. In the book's title story, an inept associate professor from an obscure community college finds himself at a scholarly retreat in Arles with some of the biggest names in academe (including a crippled geographer). Inexplicably, he has been assigned the most desirable accommodations: Van Gogh's old room. Sandwiched between these two classic Elkin works is a British tabloid parody, "Town Crier Exclusive, Confessions of a Princess Manque," clearly something of a technical exercise for an author who has built his reputation on his mastery of American idioms. This well-balanced collection stands as a worthy companion to Elkin's first three-novella set, Search es and Seizures.
- Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press; First Dalkey Archive Edition edition (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564782808
• ISBN-13: 978-1564782809
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #810,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stanley Elkin (1930-1995) was an award-winning author of novels, short stories, and essays. Born in the Bronx, Elkin received his BA and PhD from the University of Illinois and in 1960 became a professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis where he taught until his death. His critically acclaimed works include the National Book Critics Circle Award-winners George Mills (1982) and Mrs. Ted Bliss (1995), as well as the National Book Award finalists The Dick Gibson Show (1972), Searches & Seizures (1974), and The MacGuffin (1991). His book of novellas, Van Gogh's Room at Arles, was a finalist for the PEN Faulkner Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely clever., February 13, 2010

By 

Ted Byrd - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Gogh's Room at Arles (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) (Paperback)

This book of three novellas, my first contact with the works of Stanley Elkin, leaves me with the impression that Elkin deserves to be more widely read and appreciated. It seems that he has been given more recognition by his fellow writers than by the reading public. According to the liner notes, authors such as Robert Coover, John Gardner and Richard Ford "have rhapsodized...over Elkin's dazzling originality of theme and spellbinding, playful command of language." I am not yet familiar with the works of authors Ford and Coover, but words of approval from John Gardner carry a great deal of authority for me, as he is a writer I much admire.

It is interesting that Gardner would have had such high esteem for Elkin, because, based on the reading I have done in each writer's output, they differ greatly in technique and emphasis. I find it useful to compare the two; this gives me a clearer idea of the salient traits of each. Gardner's work suggests a semi-mythic approach in his rendition of life, with characters having qualities of both real human beings as well as those of archetypes or symbols. By contrast, Elkin's characters(at least in the book being reviewed)seem entirely human. It's true that Elkin's characters are confronted with the same sort of unfathomable conditions of life as Gardner's, such as alienation, luck of the draw, and the inability to control one's environment or fate. But whereas Gardner's stories have that overlay of symbolism, which gives to them touches of the heroic, and of tragic irony, we are described the world of Elkin's characters through internal monologues of unceasing chatter which reveal the truth of the inner person, warts and all.

Frankly, I found this style of Elkin's to be a turn-off when I first started reading the book. Why, I thought, should I spend my time reading about a character whose inner musings seem to be composed of a continual sing-song of the mundane, the ignoble, the self-serving and seamy reflections with which he defines his existence?

The first novella of the book, 'Her Sense of Timing', I saw, would likely determine whether my association with Elkin's work would be long or abbreviated. It deals with a wheelchair-bound university Professor of Political Geography, whose debilitating illness has left him almost wholly dependent on the aid and goodwill of others. A curmudgeon by nature, his needy condition has left him even more unattractive to others. Being a curmudgeon when you have full use of your faculties is vastly easier than when you become dependent on others for your every need, he finds. When his wife of thirty-seven years, who has evidently had enough of him, abruptly leaves him to his own devices, he finds his vulnerability exacerbated to another level of magnitude, for now he must depend on the kindness of complete strangers.

Professor Jack Schiff, in trying to hang on to a semblance of personal dignity, craftily resorts to attempted manipulation of people who basically have no interest in his welfare. Mentally he is constantly appraising prospective helpers and estimating what buttons he needs to push to get what he wants. This 6o-year old member of Academia, who no doubt has considerable intellectual abilities, doesn't spend much time pondering to himself Man's Place In The Universe or other abstract ponderables, but is mainly concerned with the logistics of getting to the bathroom on time, maintaining personal sanitation, getting fed, and getting up or down stairs.

The thing that began to draw me in to this story was the growing realization that this was a very honest rendering of the Professor's struggle to deal with his handicap. The third-person narration makes the contents of his mind transparent to the reader. We see the world through his eyes, but unedited by him. Therefore, there is no glamorizing or idealizing of his cunning machinations, no censoring of his prurient fancies. Even though most of the Professor's stratagems end up as flops, and his attempt to host his annual teacher-student dinner without his wife's usual assistance ends up as an unmitigated disaster, there is still a sense that here is a guy putting up a valiant struggle to remain viable.

As the above-quoted liner notes proclaim, the story is rendered in an original style which utilizes language in intriguing ways to get its points across. There is a constant, subtly amusing tone to the Professor's ruminations, though his predicament is extremely serious. There are word associations, surprising combinations of words, rhyming words, double meanings,etc, salted throughout his ongoing inner monologue, along with a liberal amount of sarcasm. There are no momentous conclusions to be derived from this story; simply that, whether there are gods or there are not gods, this is the situation which was faced by one individual, and the words generated by the mind of this person comprise the text with which he explains to himself(and us)the realities of that situation.

After finishing the story my estimation of Elkin's writing was that it deserved a good solid three stars for originality, but was not really meaningful or memorable enough to merit higher. But on reading the following two novellas, my opinion changed progressively to four, and then five stars, hence the four star rating, as an average. Unfortunately, I have been too long-winded to say much about those other two stories, but I thought the second one - 'Confessions of a Princess Manque' - was very good, and showed even more originality in it's presentation than the first one. The third novella - 'Van Gogh's Room at Arles' - I thought, was extremely good, and of the three, seemed the one which most nearly approached a revelatory conclusion about life, although it's story is presented through the eyes of a character who is very unexceptional - or is he?

What started out seeming initially to be a rather bland mode of storytelling opened up many avenues of contemplation to me as I became accustomed to the unfamiliar style. I dwelt heavily on the first novella because I suspect that, for other people new to this author, this first confrontation with his style may take some getting used to. I just wanted to suggest there may be more there than first meets the mind's eye. At the same time, there are no doubt many who will never appreciate this author. I hope I have given both sides a clue as to whether they should invest their money.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three involving, surprise-filled tales, November 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Gogh's Room at Arles (American Literature (Dalkey Archive)) (Paperback)

Van Gogh's Room At Arles is a collection of three original novellas by Stanley Elkin. A wheelchair-bound professor is overwhelmed by a student party that catapults to extravagant heights; a commoner suddenly becomes enmeshed in the world of royalty when Prince Larry of Wales falls for her; and a community college professor overshadowed by Van Gogh embarks on a quest for his own identity. The three involving, surprise-filled tales comprising Van Gogh's Room At Arles admirably showcases the work of a true literary master of tragedy and comedy.