Customer Reviews

The Story of a Marriage: A Novel

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

It's relatively rare that I pick up a piece of non-genre contemporary American literature, my tastes just don't generally range that way. However, in this case, the cover caught my eye, and the jacket copy was promising enough to get me started. And once I dipped into the book, Greer's prose was more than enough to keep me reading all the way through. Even though the story is rather sparsely plotted, it brims with tension and intimacy until the very end, and I highly recommend it to readers who favor domestic dramas.

The story takes place in San Francisco, circa 1953, but not in the part of town books and films are usually set in. Rather, it mostly takes place in the Sunset, a neighborhood in the Western part of the city which rolls down from the hills to the Pacific (and one I once lived in, just off the same street as the protagonists). Narrated by Pearlie, the story tells of her childhood crush Holland, and her later marriage to him following WWII. It's clear from the start (and various oblique hints throughout) that there are some deep secrets in this story, both in terms of Holland, and in terms of the story itself. The first section ends with an attempt on the author's part to surprise the reader, although I suspect most (like myself) will have seen through the pretense quite early on.

The next section delves into Pearlie's attempt to understand Holland, who suffered some kind of unspecified injury during the war, leaving him with a "weak" heart. Her attempt to understand her husband is both aided and confused by the reappearance of his former boss, and this man's easy insertion into their life as their only friend. This builds up to a narrative revelation which pretty much every reader will have guessed long before Pearlie is let in on the secret. The final third of the book revolves around the choices that lie before Pearlie now that she has learned this particular secret, and readers will be silently willing her to make one choice or another as she agonizes over the best course of action.

Although it is tackling large themes, such as the nature of love, and what it means to be married, the novel is ultimately a period domestic melodrama, and may prove to be somewhat too cloying for some readers. However I tend to be pretty sensitive to that kind of stuff, and Greer's sharp and simple prose largely avoids any gooey sentiment. Pearlie and Holland's story is greatly helped by the keen attention to period, as the effects of the war linger on, and America is just moving into a period of prosperity and social change. Some of Greer's revelations aren't the shocks he perhaps intends them to be, but the story remains compelling nonetheless. It's a nice book for book clubs, as the thematic issues (love, marriage, race, class, etc.) are ripe for discussion.

I agree with those who found this novel lacking in depth and content. The central thesis of the novel just doesn't hold: how can Pearlie believe Buzz, with his story about an affair he had with her husband Holland, and never even mention it to him? I kept thinking thoughout the book that the author was going to make it clear that Buzz was creating this 'story' for some other purpose...but he doesn't; nor does anything ever happen between him and Holland. Pearlie never once reflects on her thoughts or feelings about homosexuality, and this is 1953!...but she does believe that her husband loved another person...improbable! I can believe that she would not speak about homosexuality, but she would certainly think about it, and the author does not reveal that in any way. Unlike the fantastic film Far From Heaven, attitudes about homosexuality, race and gender, are not explored from the cultural context of San Francisco 1953. Instead, Pearlie ponders the life of Ethel Rosenberg, a person quite unlike herself and her current life situation. I agree with the reader who noted that the author was unable to evoke a female, or black female character.

I am surprised to see so many novelists of distinction and readers as well declaring this novel a triumph. In my view, it's far from that, not even being very good, and this for a number of reasons. First of all, the surprising plot twists which occur far too often throughout the slim book violate the reasonable principle that experienced readers will prefer even impossible events if they've been made probable over merely possible events, if an author leaves such as just wildly improbable. Greer seems to have thought his readers resembled kids at an old Saturday matinee featuring serials rife with weekly cliff-hangers. Every 10 pages or so, I was tempted to bellow forth, "Yeah, right!"

The narrative of the book is a pastiche, consisting of borrowings from the film "Far From Heaven" as well as from two other fairly recent films having to do with the purchase of someone else's spouse. Greer, unlike Shakespeare, unfortunately does not improve upon his sources. From books, the author is heavily indebted to Stendhal's theories of crystalization in love and Proust's far more profound and moving treatments of time and erotic obsession. Perhaps most disappointing is Greer's inclination to present platitudes as fresh truths. Thus, the notion that no one can fully and finally understand anyone else, much less himself - Greer's philosophy here - is presented as tantamount to the discovery of the wheel. Unfortunately, this set of ideas, the basis by the way of the strikingly innovative dramaturgy in "Hamlet," emerges in this novel not as hard won truth but rather as easy cliche.

The three main characters, Pearlie, Buzz, and Holland, are all lacking in sufficient interiority to hold one's attention. As "vessels of consciousness," their vision is extraordinarily restricted. The central figure, Pearlie, I'd say, makes the rustic Emma Bovary by comparison appear a universal genius. The child Sonny, being sometimes bratty, and the dog Lyle, being frequently goofy, have between them more believable "life" than any of the three principals. I think the charater limitation here is equivalent to the one seen by Francis Bacon when he declared "It is a poore Center of a Man's Actions, Himselfe." For all their chatter about war, of not belonging, and of 50's life in America, the principals have no fully convincing interests outside themselves and their own small, little world.

Stylistically, the novel is a mixed bag. The sentences, as one might expect, are generally well-wrought, and they're the basis of my 2 stars. But even here, there are difficulties. Greer seems to strain after pseudo-poetic effect, and on occasion tumbles into the laughable. He writes, "the moon was rising quickly and had found a flock of clouds hidden in the sky and touched them all into vertebrated streaks of light. Everywhere the stars struggled to show themselves." If there exists in contemporary writing a better example of the long discredited "pathetic fallacy," I'm unaware of it.

The Story of a Marriage is a well-plotted novel about a relationship triangle, that of a woman, her husband, and his friend. The woman, Pearlie Ash, meets a childhood sweetheart named Holland Cook one day on a beach after WWII. In spite of discouragement from his aunts (who are actually his cousins), she chooses to marry him. Their son, Sonny, contracts polio at age three. Four years into their marriage, Buzz Drumer, a man who knew Holland during the war, shows up. Over time, he reveals details of his secretive past and his relationship with her husband. Thirty years later, two of the three reunite. Although there seemed to be a statistically high number of conscientious objectors (of which I am not a fan) in a story with so few characters and pages, that fact is overshadowed by the originality of the story. Author Andrew Sean Greer does a fabulous job at plotting, and especially in at his perfectly timed revelations.

Also good: The Three Junes by Julia Glass, The Hours by Michael Cunningham and Close Range by Annie Proulx.

This was an odd book for me in that it's written with such delicate and intimate beauty,and yet I felt myself emotionally detached from the proceedings. Early on there are some revelations that literally caused me to take in a sharp intake of breath at their cleverness, and yet as the story unfolded, Pearlie's musings on love and the choices we make while beautifully written never completely got me invested. Greer is an interesting writer and between this and his previous book,'The Confessions of Max Tivoli', proves he has an inventive imagination. I just wish I could've connected a bit more.

Pearlie has a taste for aphoristic musings. "We think we know the ones we love," she writes. "But what we love turns out to be a poor translation, a translation we ourselves have made, from a language we barely know." These quasi-Proustian observations and their associated metaphors are brought to a state of high polish. But Greer's plotting doesn't always live up to Pearlie's commentary. A side-story involving a spirited white girl who's secretly engaged to a prejudiced soda-jerk is tacked on to the main plot in a way that's both implausible and underexplained. Pearlie's sympathy for Buzz blooms remarkably quickly, and there's an excess of busily symbolic detail. If the characters watch a movie, overhear a TV show or read the words printed on a paper bag, what they come across will be eerily reflective of their predicament.
Most of all, Greer's first big narrative bombshell doesn't detonate with the force that he seems to be hoping for. After all the wary looks from white neighbors, references to the status of the "colored" population, mentions of Pearlie's "community" and descriptions of visits to segregated lunchrooms, only very inattentive readers will be startled to learn that the Cooks are black; some might even wonder why Pearlie has tried to play such a heavy-handed trick. The surprises in what follows are managed more skillfully, and Greer has clearly done his homework on the time he's depicting. But the artificial, slightly tinny resonance never goes away.

First of all. I very much appreciate the author and his abundent talent, which is why I bought the book. I even disregarded my intuition that a favorable New York Times review generally means a book is over-rated at best and more probably awful. Well, this one is pretty close to awful. For whatever reason, Greer decided to use (and I do mean use) a female personna as the vehicle for some sort of theory about love. Well, he did himself no favors because Pearlie does not resonate as a woman, let alone a black woman and for sure the attempt to raise the Rosenbergs (particularly Ethel) to some sort of martyrdom fails precisely because that was not a theme that resonates with blacks. All in all, next time Greer publishes, I will look but not buy until I have satisfied myself that he has something to say worth reading rather than self-indulgent tripe that presumes a black woman would sell her beloved for filthy lucre. Oh boy, not very much there "there" for me.

To all who just loved this book , keep in mind that I am still entitled to my opinion. While I realize it's fiction , pease at least give me something believable , to feel this could happen . Not in this case.

Okay, it's possible and has happened that someone marries a person with gay tendencies ..but, geeze...years go by and suddenly old lover shows up on his wifes , child, and hubby's doorstep because he " KNOWS " that Holland ( hubby ) is still as much in love with him now , as he still is with Holland after all so many eyars ago and will give said wifey $ 100,000.00 to step out of the picture . Sure she's shocked .

Meantime hubby is getting it on with his bosses daughter and wifey is more shocked and sick over this ...what ????? So like how gay can this Holland guy really be and how nuts for Buzz to think his one time lover Holland ( experimenting maybe )he can just show up bearing gifts and $$$$ . Wife tho shocked , thinks about money ...and believe me, after hearing about this gay relationship and his newly formed one with bosses daughter....I say take the money sister and run ! You've got a man who doesn't know which way his ' pendulum ' swings . But, being the saint she is gets rid of girl and Buzz from the picture. Nuff said? I do not normally give plots away ...but, readers I'm trying to save you , especially in this economic crisis . what a load.

Cripes, what a waste of my money ,thank God I didn't pay full price for this piece of pulp . This goes to the donation to local library pile I don't want it on my shelves or my house. If I believed in bookburning , oh what a glow .

My book group of five intelligent women with a sense of humor
(well, of course, they are my friends) and me, had a very good discussion
about this one. We all thought it very well written and one which
we would like to reread. It was especially enjoyed as we had
memories of the time frame.

This novel was a paradox - Greer's writing is so poetic and filled with metaphors that I had to really read slow to catch every imagery. However, I wanted to speed read so I could find out more about Pearlie, Holland, and Buzz. I have never felt this way about a book before. And in the end, I think I liked it.
Like many reviewers mentioned, Greer's writing is beautiful. However, the plot is a bit frustrating to me. And despite the ending, Holland remains a bit of a mystery to me, much like he is to Pearlie.
I borrowed this from the library but I don't think I would've minded if I bought it. Maybe when I am married as long as Pearlie, I will want to read this again.