Customer Reviews

Noble Norfleet: A Novel

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

 

 

I bought the novel the first day it was available. I had completed it within several days. The story interested me. I do not think that, as a novel, this is one of the most satisfying stories that Reynolds Price has told. However, as someone who has read everything that Mr. Price has written (fiction and non-fiction), I was very happy to have a new piece of work to read and analyze. There are components that follow familiar patterns. Most of the story takes place in North Carolina. There are assorted acknowledgements to family histories and race relations through passing decades. Contents of meals are described. While there are no characters named Raven, "raven" is used to describe hair color throughout. Being aware of Mr. Price's interest, expertise and writings related to religion and religious texts, it is amusing to see characters relaying facts or opinions about religion. Those who found Roxanna Slade an interesting character because of her battles with chronic depression will probably want to read this novel because depression and ways of dealing with depression continue to be explored. In "Roxanna" there are references to education and entertainment via television viewing. In "Noble" sceen viewing is more related to film/video viewing of pornography. Same-sex and cross-sex couplings appear in the novel and readers will find themselves reading more explicit descriptions of sexual encounters than have appeared in some of the previous novels.

Some will find this book depressing---or perhaps too ordinarily human. This was not a problem for me. I am a big Anita Brookner fan and do not have an issue with small stories about ordinary, flawed human beings who live troubled and sometimes lonely lives. While this "read" like a Reynold's Price novel it reminded me of an Anita Brookner tale. It is not very optimistic; parts are sad, but it seems quite real.

Another famous North Carolina writer was wrong. You can go home again, at least if you are Noble Norfleet, Reynolds Price's latest character. While there is a lot to like about this wondrously complex novel, the African American characters seemed to be too perfect. I understand tha race is often an issue in American novels, particularly those written by Southerners. I also know that many black Southerners and white Southerners have always been friends and care about each other. Noble Nofleet says, however: "No black person had ever lied to me or done me the least unkindness I could think of." Perhaps this is a true statement made by a seventeen year old boy, but Noble says similar things all through this novel. I find that statement difficult to believe. Also, at first I was taken aback by the explicit sex in this novel, certainly explicit if we compare this novel to Price's earllier writing. But would I have made that criticism of, say, John Updike or Norman Mailer. Certainly not. So Mr. Price can describe sex in any fashion he chooses. These are just minor complaints about what is as good a story as Mr. Price ever told. Noble is like many of Price's previous male characters. They are ordinary, quiet people who will never made the newspapers. They pretty much live within the law; but they are decent beyond measure. No one else writes about these types of men with the empathy that Mr. Price does. Noble ultimately does the right thing-- by his mother, by Hesta, by practically everyone he encounters. For all his imperfections, he does become what his name implies, noble. He is in the tradition of many fictional characters, going back as far as Odysseus, who are trying to get back home.

A teller of wonderful tales, Mr. Price has few peers when it comes to writing prose.

Another famous North Carolina writer was wrong. You can go home again, at least if you are Noble Norleet, Reynolds Price's latest character in this quite wonderful novel. Before I list the things I liked about the book, what disturbed me most is that the African-American characters are perfect. I understand that race is often an issue in American novels, particularly those written by Southerners. I also know that many black Southerners and white Southerners have always been friends and care about each other. Noble Norfleet says, however: "No black person had ever lied to me or done me the least unkindness I could think of." Perhaps this is a true statement from a boy of seventeen, but Noble says similar things all through this novel. These statements are difficult to believe. Also, at first I was taken aback by the explicit sex in this novel, certainly explicit if we compare this novel to Price's earlier writings. But would I have made that criticism of, say, John Updike or Norman Mailer? Certainly not. So Mr. Price can describe sex in any fashion he chooses. These are just minor complaints about what is as good a story as Mr. Price ever told.

Noble is in the tradition of many of Price's male characters. They are ordinary, quiet people who will never make the newspapers. They pretty much live within the law but are decent beyond measure. Noble ultimately does the right thing-- by his mother, by Hesta, by practically everyone he encounters. For all his imperfections he does become what his name implies, noble. He is in the tradition of many fictional characters, going back as far as Odysseus, who are trying to get back home.

Reynolds Price is a wonderful teller of tales. You won't be able to put this book down once you get started. There is not a dull page here. Events take many twists and turns. Even though Noble may be ordinary, many awful things happen to him. But isn't that true of the lives of many people who have lived to be over 50 in the late Twentieth Century?

There are so many things I liked about Noble: for example, his attitude toward organized religion-- I suspect he is speaking for the author here when he describes ministers during the Civil Rights and Vietnam era-- ". . . almost none of them stepped out and said what Jesus would have said about rights for black people or about the filthy war." Then there's Noble's comments about physicians: "Doctors, if you'll notice, mostly call themselves Doctor. They'll walk in a room where a scared patient's waiting; and instead of saying, 'hey, I'm Jonathan Daniel,' they'll almost invariably say 'I'm Doctor Daniel'-- just in case the white coat isn't magic-badge enough." I particularly liked Noble on frozen vegetables: "Why does any live human ever buy frozen vegetables, I ask myuself every time I eat a mouthful: why not eat wet newspaper instead?"

No contemporary writes better prose than Mr. Price. May he live long and write much more.

I read all of Reynolds Price. This novel is a puzzle. I read it in three big gulps, all in one day; I wanted to see what happened next. I have two issues: first, Price spins out set pieces, interactions between (usually) Noble and another person and then tells the reader how Noble felt--there's a big disconnect between narrative of encounter and reported (versus shown) feelings. Second, there is an Oedipal fixation on sex and death as well as sex in general. My hope is that women who read this book would realize that this is one fictional character, and that not all men are as equally obsessed with their erotic lives.

This elegant book starts out with a zing and proceeds to trace the complicated life of Noble Norfleet in a type of autobiographical account. Yet in spite of the transparent honesty of Noble, there remains a dark mystery about his life in all that he does. Noble's dedication to helping others, his adoration of women, his concern of those in his life, and his tendency to blame himself for much of the ills of other people, all form a man with strong character traits and an altruistic attitude. This unusual story moves along well and is strangely captivating with a deep cavern of curiosity enveloping many of the pages.

After losing his virginity at age 17 with a teacher, Noble wakes up to discover his little brother and sister have been murdered and his mother is missing. The affair with the teacher heats up followed by an awkward physical relationship with a local minister who later kills himself. Noble's mother goes to the mental prison for the deaths and Noble joins the military and serves as a medic in the Vietnam war. After the war and several love interests, Noble returns home, becomes a nurse, and eventually resides in the house where the murders occurred.

These events are not necessarily original nor even all that interesting in and of themselves. But the sideline stories that accompany these life events make this book fascinating and mysterious. Noble is constantly in some kind of emotional state, always seeking to make a difference, and always feeling as though he inadvertently causes pain in other people. His life is an intense one and he never seems to let go of his past including the father who left when he was 8 and an insane mother. Noble's sex drive is frequently mentioned as are descriptive stories of suffering of other people. Yet in spite of the darkness, there is an overriding positive spirit to Noble's life as he seeks to make a difference in the world.

The stylized writing is superb and the quiet, shimmering energy of the people and the events work congruently to make for a page-turning almost gothic novel. Yet the book tends to seem rather random without clear goal-direction and purpose. The scenes with Noble's mother in the prison asylum are disturbing as are many of the stories throughout the book. Sexually the book is rather explicit and involved, almost to the point of discomfort and invasion. We are glad Noble worships women's bodies but enough is enough.

The greatest strength of this book is also its greatest weakness. Was Noble innocent in the death of his brother and sister? We are never entirely certain all the way to the end. Is Noble lying to himself throughout the book and living some kind of a double life? Maybe. Even to the last page, we are not entirely sure who Noble Norfleet really is. This makes for an elegant and perplexing mystery that is never resolved.

Highly recommended for Reynolds Price fans and anyone seeking a work of modern fiction that is unique. Be warned that this book contains adult material.

I am a fan of a good Southern saga, and Price has written quite a few of those. Noble Norfleet, however compelling, was not his best. It failed to deliver on several levels, despite a strong premise: young Noble set adrift in the world after the death of his siblings by his crazy mother's hand.

There were many allusions to the spiritual world; Noble has several strange visions throughout the course of the story that the reader is left to decipher-is he psychic? Or just clinically depressed? Then, there is his "worship" of women. He really, really wants to devour their, uh, "essence." Of course, this must be related to his strange relationship with his batty mother, who has been institutionalized but still plays a pivotal role in Noble's life. She makes many cryptic remarks about Noble's destiny throughout the book, but they remain cryptic. In fact, the latter is a good word to sum up this book. The book, like all books, had to end, but it just felt so unfinished. It felt like Price had meandered too much off track and didn't know how to get back on again, so he just hurried up and slapped together an ending. Noble was an interesting character, and so were many of the "fine women he had the pleasure to know," (he talks a lot like this throughout the novel), but overall, there was no real cohesiveness. My reaction, upon turning the last page, was "Huh? What was that all about?" But an interesting muddle, overall.

Mr. Price has once again managed to consume my time with a novel worth reading. However, when compared to some of his earlier work, Noble Norfleet is a bit of a disappointment. (Still good mind you, but not up to his normal level). I found the premise of the book to be intriguing. Certainly being left alive when both your siblings are killed by your mother is enough to send most 17 year old boys into permanent la la land.
The basis of the story is sound. We are given peeks of Noble's life through his Army days, and then his career as a male nurse. As time goes on in the book, however, the attention to the story becomes thinner and thinner. Eventually, the story becomes so thin that it is trasparent at the end. While the book covers over 30 years, the greatest amount of detail is given to the first few months of the book and little attention to detail at the end.
The sex in the book isn't gratuitous and not necessarily over done, but important to the story line.
I recommend this book highly.

I decided to read this book after seeing it listed on the USA Today book club. And boy was I disappointed! Perosnally, I found the book very hard to read. I consider my self fairly intelligent and found myself rereading many times, somethin that does not make reading enjoyable. And a few times, I still didn't get what was being said. I also thought that the story and plot were rather dull. I will admit that the first chapter was pretty good, but it went down hill very quickly. To be honest I was very disappointed that the author did not go into further detail when he discussed Noble's "relationships and encounters." While I was not expecting smut, I feel it would have added to the story.