Natural History: A Novel [Paperback]

Maureen Howard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

An enchanting, realistic, and profound story that has been compared to James Joyce's Dubliners, Natural History is about home truths and convenient lies, the American hunger for spectacle, and binding love and redemption. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A compelling tour de force, Howard's ( Expensive Habits ) latest novel shows this immensely talented writer at her inventive best. Her glance keen and her hand sure, Howard depicts the Irish Catholic Bray family: county detective Billy Bray, his gentility-obsessed wife Nell, their son, reckless and charming James, and their daughter, pious and pudgy Catherine. Howard gives their lives solidity and depth against the background of her own hometown, Bridgeport, Conn., a city so accurately and specifically rendered that readers with a map could pinpoint every reference to streets, restaurants, stores, churches and movie theaters; social nuances are revealed with equal clarity. The fuguelike first section traces the movements of each of the Brays on one Saturday during WW II, when James breezes through a clarinet lesson, Cath is humiliated at a Girl Scout jamboree, Nell strives to achieve family harmony and Billy becomes involved in a sensational murder case in which a society woman shoots a soldier home on leave. Echoes of James Joyce become more resonant in the novel's middle section, where Howard switches to a cinematic, elliptical narrative device as James, now an actor of middling success, returns to Bridgeport to make a movie about that notorious murder, but spinster Cath intends to foil his plan by revealing a family secret. As counterpoint to this deliberately fragmented narrative, on alternate (facing) pages, is a long, loosely constructed series of vignettes that encapsulate Bridgeport's history and decline, along with tart comments about the novel's characters (who include a nun turned social worker, a vulgar movie producer and James's valiant wife, an ex-rodeo queen). The section reproduces newspaper clippings about the Park City's famous sons (P. T. Barnum, Walt Kelley, Robert Mitchum); quotations from the likes of Freud, Lewis Mumford and William James; literary allusions slipped in without pretension; and 30 photos and line drawings. It is a kind of intellectual doodling--idiosyncratic and whimsical. Howard tells readers that they have "no obligation" to read the insert; "when it is unamusing, just go on . . . with the story." Howard's vigorous prose--at once earthy and sophisticated--is a graceful, arresting mix of metaphor and demotic idiom, ironic humor and glistening images, all employed in astute observation of her cultural and intellectual world. If the cinematic format and the flip, clipped narration tend to hold the reader at an emotional remove, the work is made buoyant by the larky digression, yet effectively anchored by the traditionally narrated sections. In form and substance, this powerful novel places Howard squarely among the outstanding practitioners of late-20th-century fiction. 35,000 first printing; major ad promo; author tour. (Nov.) .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With analytic eye but forgiving heart, Howard relates the tortured history of the Brays, an Irish-American family living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at the close of World War II. As adults, James and Catherine leave home but cannot come to terms with their lives, for they are trapped in the shadow of their bigger-than-life father. Howard wraps this story in a virtuoso display of literary fireworks: Conventional narrative alternates with filmic montage and actor's monolog, and a long section juxtaposes the storyline with facts and myths about Bridgeport notables, among them P.T. Barnum, Robert Mitchum, and Walt Kelly of Pogo fame. Unfortunately, these experimental parts do not always work, and they seem peripheral to the central action. Comparison with William Kennedy's Ironweed is inevitable but misleading. Whereas Kennedy's seemingly effortless experimentation works to unfold character and nudge along the story, Howard's virtuosity often intrudes; the seams show, detracting from the narrative strength of an otherwise fine novel. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/92.
- David Keymer, California State Univ., Stanislaus
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 393 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060975695
• ISBN-13: 978-0060975692
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,314,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Different type of murder mystery, December 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Natural History (Paperback)

"Natural History" offered a totally different reading experience. It was like 2 books in one; one printed on the even numbered pages and one printed on the odd numbered pages; one in a narrative style and the other in a newsprint/scrapbook type style (including pictures).

The story is as much about family relations as it is about a murder mystery. As Billy Bray uncovers more about the murder he slowly uncovers more of his family's secrets. The novel covers the family dynamics involved in unearthing the past.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, January 29, 2010

By 

Shane Shogren (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natural History (Paperback)

World War II is winding down when detective Billy Bray is called in to investigate because a society tramp has killed a soldier. During his investigation Bray discovers a current of crime and sex that threatens to affect his Bridgeport, Irish family, which has enough of it's own problems and traumas to deal with. This book was hard for me to get into, but once I was there it was even harder for me to get out of. It's brilliant.

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I hated it, September 27, 2004

By 

A. Vecchiarelli - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natural History: A Novel (Hardcover)

I hated this book. Had to read it for class and half the time i wasn't really sure what was going on. I don't think that half the sentances were valid english. This book is just too far from the normal novel to be enjoyed or even understood. Last time i checked novels are suppose to be written in linear form...not all over the place