Anne
Tyler has been called "the most impressive novelist of her
generation". She has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize and four of
her novels have been made into films.
Tyler’s
novels are set in Baltimore. Her subject is the everyday lives of
middle class Americans. Typically, a random tragedy propels the
protagonist towards self-knowledge and change. Her narratives often
include the analysis of marriages “of two opposing elements,
usually a prissy, fastidious man and a scatty, demonstrative woman”.
A criticism of her work has been that the male characters “are a
fairly forlorn bunch, lacking in testosterone”. Many of her
characters either long for home or are completely sick of it.
“Dinner
at the Homesick Restaurant” is regarded by many, including the
author, as her best book. She said of it: “It’s the one that came
closest to what I envisaged at the beginning.”
So,
ladies, let’s see if the novel fits the prototype, whether it has
any relevance to our lives, and whether we’d want to read more Anne
Tyler books.
I did enjoy this, but the depiction of family life is quite depressing. The dinners, intended to reaffirm family ties but often simply straining them further, are never completed. They are reflective of so many failed family get-togethers: like Christmases at home that cannot live up to the weight of people’s good intentions.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in the Tulls’ world, failure is hardly surprising: the impact of Beck leaving reverberates through the years. Would Cody have been so insecure, so competitive had his father returned from his trip? Would Pearl and Jenny have been so aggressive? Ezra so passive, so easily manipulated?
Beck’s conversation with Cody in Bushnell Street before returning to the restaurant provides a wonderful insight into the motivations for irresponsible escapism. He’s completely wrong in his interpretation of Cody flipping the newspaper. Buck has to find excuses for being unable to make the compromises the rest of us make in order to save rather than destroy relationships. But was he homesick? He says, “`My family wasn’t so much,` I thought, `but it’s all there really is, in the end.” Certainly, Buck continued to feel the need for Pearl’s approval – to continue to show off to her, to boast to her of his small-scale successes.
Tyler’s novel suggests we all let people down: Jenny’s treatment of Josiah is particularly depressing. (Was she the mystery donor of L.L. Bean products?) Does Ezra let Ruth down? Should he have fought for her? Was she homesick for the restaurant?
In terms of a prototype Tyler novel, we’ve certainly got all the elements: for example, a random tragedy leading to self- knowledge and change. Beck’s leaving and subsequent return seem to increase Cody’s self-knowledge, though whether Cody changes is beyond the scope of the novel. Ezra losing Ruth, a direct result of Beck’s desertion, does not seem to change Ezra: he lives in the same house, works in the same place and “lost the one girl he had loved out of sheer fatalism, lack of force, a willing assumption of defeat.” This “mood of acceptance” seems to pervade his life. Ruth seems to change, though; forced to fit into a pattern she doesn’t seem made for.
There’s a short marriage of two opposing forces (Jenny and Harley) and at least three of the men (Ezra, Beck and Josiah) appear to lack testosterone. But do these elements make a good novel?
The relevance of “Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant” to the reader’s life will perhaps depend upon his/her experience of family life: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (Tolstoy). Quite frightening, really, the potential human beings have to mess up. Tyler suggests we are all very fragile. Everyone suffered.
Nevertheless, despite all the pain, I enjoyed the novel. I think it was the simplicity of the writing style portraying the complex relationships between people and events.
Hello ladies! Hope all is well! Franklin and I have moved into our new house! The whole place is a mess and things are scattered everywhere. Quite frustrating but it’ll get settled in time. Sue, I hope your unpacking is going better!
ReplyDeleteI found this novel to be very sad. The failure of a family unit is one of the most sorrowful things to me. Sadder still was Ezra’s, and even Pearl’s, desperate attempt to keep the family group united. It’s such a shame that only two people had any interest in family ties. To me, family is very important. My grandmother always tells me, “blood is thicker than water.” I can agree with the criticism that Tyler’s male characters lack “testosterone”. Ezra was an endearing character but his ability to accept fate and his lack of passion, for anything other than food, was quite disheartening.
Beck’s return at the end of the novel was the hardest portion for me to read. Unfortunately, I am very bad at forgiving (a character flaw I’m well aware of and try very hard to rectify). To me, Beck’s departure was an unforgivable action. But I guess that is where Ezra is better than me. He’s acceptance of Beck’s return and even inviting him back to the restaurant was very admirable. I would probably have behaved more like Cody.
In response to your thoughts, Sue, I think Cody may have been more secure if Beck had been there for him growing up. I think that Ezra’s flaws were just a part of his being and would not have changed with or without Beck. Maybe Beck’s presence would have made Cody happier and he would have picked on Ezra less. Beck’s presence could have prevented Pearl’s violent behavior toward her children, thereby strengthening the relationship between Pearl and Jenny. I think Jenny’s avoidance of her mother stemmed from the abuse she suffered as a child. So Beck’s presence could have prevented Pearl’s violence and would have created more harmony between mother and daughter.
I found the book to be well written and easy to read. However, I found the two half formulated storylines slightly bothersome. First there was Ezra’s mystery lump. Is it just a hernia like Jenny suggested? Or is it more? Is it the dreaded “c-word”? But mostly, why bring up this mystery if it never goes anywhere? Why should the reader be introduced to an idea that never develops? The second unfinished plot is Josiah’s mystery donor. I believe that Jenny is indeed the donor. But again, why bring this storyline into the novel just to have it trail off into obscurity?
Good Morning Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI all is well with you both and your moving houses is starting to settle down and you can enjoy your new surroundings. Life here is good if not chaotic, at the moment I'm hiding out on the computer while Ivars is out chasing cattle. I DO NOT like playing cowgirl, yet seem to always end up at one end of a beast or other !!!!
I started off really enjoying Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant but found by about three quarters of the way through my frustrations with the characters got the better of me. I found myself wishing they'd change or have some major revelations, however I realised in life we rarely change and a lot of the time continue to carry unnecessary baggage from our childhoods all through life.
I agree with you both I found this book very sad and a little depressing. The lengths Pearl went to keep up appearances was truly sad. I did enjoy the way Tyler gave the different perspectives of the characters to the same events. I guess it shows how different we all see things and how we can be blinded to others' perspective, even when they are as close to us as family.
Katie, I also assumed that Jenny was the mystery donor of the gifts to Josiah, but I have no idea why. I also assumed the lump on Ezra's thigh and his failure to do anything about it was meant to illustrate his 'whatever will be will be ' attitude.
Is it just me, or in most of the novels we have read by female authors we at some stage make comment on the lack of strength in their male characters ? Can this be said of the male authors and their female characters ? I don't think we have commented on that although we have had more female authors to comment on.
I found Beck's perception of how happy his family turned out without him when he was at dinner interesting. What makes a happy family? I guess we only see what others want us to see and make our assumptions based on our own experiences.
Ivars back, with our cattle and the neighbours bull !!! I'm glad I dodged that bullet.
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your move, Katie, I hope you will be happy in your new home. In my despair at ever getting straight again, a friend, intending to cheer me up, said it takes about two years to get established. One of my character flaws is impatience, so this was not good news.
Nancy, did Ivars intend to return with the neighbour's bull? I've always kept a field between me and a cow. You have my greatest admiration.
And, yes, I'm afraid the book was deeply depressing, and becomes more so the more I think about it. And you're right, Nancy, about showing others only what we want them to see. When we go with my parents to the pub, I expect the four of us look happy, capable and unified. Of course, the reality doesn't quite match up. True of all families, I suppose?
You know, the only male author we have read is Christos Siolkas, and I thought he portrayed his female characters with considerable insight. I have said previously that reviewing these books has made me recognise in myself some startlingly strong feminist views. Could this be because our female authors have been unfair to men - creating an unbalanced view of society? This is a worry. I will have to search for male authors. All my selections have been female.
My copy of "Mao's Last Dancer" has arrived. I can't find any reference to a ghost writer, so here is a book by a male author - thank you, Katie. I look forward to reading it.
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying our glorious spring weather. It is so wonderful to feel the warmth in the air.
Sue, the bull was only here for the day, and the cad left by the back gate without a second thought.
I was reading an interview with Anne Tyler in the back of my book and was surprised to read she wrote 'Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant' twenty-five years ago. It is always comforting in a way to realise our human condition never changes. Families and family conflict continues regardless of generation. In fact I'm sure even the ancient Greeks would relate to this story in some way.
I have been attending a creative writing course recently and having a great time, although I struggle sharing my stories aloud to the group, but what is life without challenges!!
My reason for mentioning this is a discussion we had last week about reader interpretation.
In Anne Tyler's interview she speaks with great affection for her character of Ezra and has included references to his restaurant in more recent novels. She says 'I pause to think what Ezra would be doing now and I always decide, Oh well, I guess he's still plugging away at the restaurant, still unmarried, still alone but basically contented.' You know, I never thought of Ezra as 'contented', yet that is what his creator intended.
It is fascinating how individually we interpret characters and events, yet as I said earlier our experiences and relationships with each other as humans seems relatively unchanged since the beginning.
Throughout the novel there are so many times I relate to the emotions felt by the different characters, maybe that is why I found the novel a bit depressing.
I agree with you Sue, the deceptively simple writing style of this novel lets you understand the tangle of complex emotions felt by the characters and the chapters written in the different character perspectives, as was 'The Slap', allow greater understanding and as I said earlier {if I didn't, it's what I meant],how we all view the same events so differently.
Apologies for this late contribution, ladies. I felt I had to tell you that I've been attending creative writing sessions, too. So, watch out, Katie, it may be something to do with all this reading we are doing.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with both the writing and the sharing in the classes, but the experience has made me more aware of the kind of commitment it takes to write a novel: and the huge variety of reader responses to a largely unchanged human condition.
I think what dates a book most is its references to developments in media and communications. Sadly, the events in "The Red Tent" could happen today. It's all very depressing.
But not to worry - the writing classes are helping me express myself more simply and directly (though it may not be obvious in this blog!) and your reading choices are making me read more widely, which can only be good.
The last dancer hasn't started dancing yet. I look forward to that.