The Law of Enclosures [Paperback]

Dale Peck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

The story of a forty-year marriage follows the turbulence and joys shared by Henry and Beatrice, who in the emotional fallout of their relationship discover that they still have mutual feelings of love for each other. Reprint. NYT.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This lyrical and boldly constructed novel contains a powerful 50-page childhood reminiscence by a narrator named Dale Peck wedged into a bifurcated portrait of a tortured marriage. In his first novel, the well-received Martin and John, Peck used incandescent prose and idiosyncratic narrative shifts to tell a story about family dysfunction and the scourge of AIDS; he goes many giant steps further here. The Dale Peck passages tell searingly of a violently displaced upbringing-abusive father, mother dead when he was only three; three successive stepmothers, each increasingly bizarre. This apparently autobiographical narrative is surrounded by two accounts of a marriage. Each concerns a couple called Henry and Beatrice, and each is set in the 1990s. But one deals with the couple's early years in Long Island, while the other relates their retirement in the Finger Lakes region. The juxtaposition of these two narratives allows Peck to say much about love, boredom, desire and betrayal. This is writing not as entertainment or an attempt to capture experience, but as an effort to surmount experience, to overcome memory and the lack of it in order to be free. Though the book's fractured structure may frustrate readers looking for a controlled exposition, it seems the only form true to the harrowing emotional landscape it encompasses. The "law" of the "enclosures" of the title suggests two interpretations: the breaking of the rules of family trust, and the flouting of the conventions that dictate the form of most novels. Not only an unblinking look at the dark chambers of the human heart, this is also, and above all, a brave artistic gamble-one that, ultimately, comes up spades. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

As he did so dramatically in his first novel, Martin and John, Peck once again challenges our perception of what a novel is. Disdaining a linear narrative, skipping back and forth in time and place, and offering us differing versions of events, Peck limns the vicissitudes of Beatrice and Henry's difficult and damaged 40-year relationship as the two meet, fall in love, marry, and grow old together. These stories, or variations on a theme, enclose a long autobiographical section about the horrendous childhood of a young man named Dale Peck, a childhood that included his mother's death, three abusive stepmothers, and a hard-drinking and violent father. Peck's talent is undeniable, and readers willing to take on an unconventional novel will find much to admire. It is filled with powerful writing, unforgettable sentences (for example, "That night Beatrice stumbled over death, but it was dark, and she was tired, and she believed she had stumbled across love." ), and perceptions on love and betrayal that are so painfully acute it is hard to believe Peck is only in his late twenties. Nancy Pearl --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067100347X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671003470
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,965,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing introspective drama fizzles in the end..., February 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Law of Enclosures (Paperback)

I was gripped by the emotional significance of the book from the very beginning. His brutality and honesty are what set him apart from many post-hip nineties fru-fru authors, and it is what makes him especially appealing for those of us willing to accept life's inherent brutality. The end, alone, left me extremely unsatisfied... it wasn't well-paced, and left nothing resolved in my mind's eye. Perhaps that's what was intended.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars honest, emotional portrait of a marriage, October 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Law of Enclosures (Paperback)

Dale Peck's "The Law of Enclosures" tells the story of the relationship between Henry and Beatrice from the moment they meet until they are both in their later years. The structure of the story, alternating between the present and the past, provides a startling contrast in the emotions they share over time. One chapter relates their youthful love and energy and the next shows what happens after a lifetime of stress and living together. The middle section where Peck speaks to and about his own family, especially his father, lets the reader understand the relationship between his fictional characters even better. All in all, an extremely effective and emotional tale. I highly recommend it!

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most definatly a thought provoking novel, March 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Law of Enclosures (Paperback)

After months of putting off reading "the law of enclusures" I sat down and read it in one Saturday. With an amazing writing style, and an invitation to look into Dale Peck's childhood, it was hard to even take a break to eat. The authors amazing discriptions of Henry's and Beatrices heavenly and hellish relationship make for deep thinking on the readers view of love. More then once I needed to stop and just reflect not just on the book, but on my life as well. This book is definatly worthy of reading again.