The Wapshot Chronicle – By John Cheever.
One sentence book review = “Maudlin, mid-century vocabulary test.”
I feel bad about not loving this book. Especially as it is based in Massachusetts, where I have been born and bred. He even attended one of our rival prep schools – Thayer Academy. And Cheever is a lauded American author, held up in high esteem with the likes of Hemmingway. And this novel won the US National Book Award. And his short stories won a Pulitzer.
And…I think his short “The Swimmer” is an excellent Burt Lancaster movie.
All that being said, I found the story and the characters really depressing and the language self-indulgent. I guess I’m not that smart. Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed in school.
There’s also a lot of sad feelings about sex. The having of sex. The not having of sex. The thinking about sex. This was the first National book award to use the F word. It just reeks of the oppressiveness of middleclass, suburban life and the pointlessness of everything. Which maybe was cool in the 1950’s?
There are not many books that scrape so deeply into the bowels of the old OED. I found a scrap of notepaper and started keeping track of words he uses that I didn’t know, if I could do so before I fell asleep that is… Here is a smattering.
Amativeness – the state or quality of being strongly inclined toward love, particularly physical or sexual desire.
Gabardine – a tough, tightly woven fabric characterized by a prominent diagonal rib on the face and a smooth back.
Bruit – an abnormal whooshing or blowing sound heard with a stethoscope, caused by turbulent blood flow in a narrowed or partially blocked artery.
Impuissant – unable to take effective action; powerless.
Concupiscent – filled with sexual desire; lustful.
Accouchement – the act or process of giving birth to children.
Riggish – an informal or slang term describing someone or something that is rugged, unkempt, or subtly dangerous but still charismatic.
Neap Tide – a period of moderate tides occurring twice a month.
“The riggish smell of neap tide.”
Sere – dry or withered.
So yeah, reading this was a bit like sitting in a dramatization of the dictionary while being depressed.
Needless to say my experience did not meet my expectations.