Henry, Himself

Henry, Himself by Stewart O'Nan (2019)

Henry Maxwell's wife was the star of O'Nan's book Emily, Alone which took place after Henry's death. Now we get a close-up of their life together that focuses on Henry. There's no real plot here, it's just a detailed year in Henry's life, beginning in the winter and ending early the following year. They go to their summer place in Chautauqua, along with their kids and grandkids, and see them all again at various holidays. In between, we get their day-to-day life at home, all their chores and routines and everyday life with their long-lived dog Rufus.

It's not worry-free, though. Their daughter Margaret, who has battled substance abuse, is having a rough time in her marriage, and Emily has a tense relationship with their son Kenny's wife. Henry's doctor is ill too, so Henry has to reschedule a needed appointment and go to another doctor, all the while worrying about Dr. Runco, who is around his own age and who he has been seeing for decades.

I was struck by how busy Henry was all the time, all the little tasks and chores he had to do around the house. To some extent, he probably should have hired people to do some of the household repairs as he was almost 75 and installing a new mailbox himself was a bit too much. But it also made me feel better about how busy I feel, because I work full time and find household chores overwhelming most of the time. Henry is retired and all the requirements of life still keep him pretty busy.

It's strange to read it knowing that he will die and leave Emily a widow, and I spent some time trying to remember if his cause of death was ever mentioned in Emily, Alone. It doesn't matter though; he spends enough time thinking about his own mortality, I don't need to rush him along. Life changes are a common theme in the novel, as Henry thinks about family traditions and how they may change and who may be absent in the future. People die, grandchildren grow up; it's bittersweet.

As with most of O'Nan's books that I've read, the beauty is in the details. I don't know why it's so wonderful to hear every single mundane detail of life, but it is somehow very affirming as a human being. I've really enjoyed several of his books, though I think the last I tried to read was West of Sunset, which I abandoned 70 pages in. Now I realize that his book with the highest rating on Goodreads is A Prayer for the Dying, which I haven't read, so that's going on my list to read next.

The Odds

The Odds: a love story by Stewart O'Nan (2012)

Art and Marion are unemployed, broke, and planning to divorce. They decide to take one last weekend and go to Niagara Falls and gamble with the last money they have. At this point in their desperation, it's just as good as any other plan. Art hopes to convince Marion not to leave him, though their marriage has been sullied by his long-ago, but still fresh, infidelity. 

I don't know how Stewart O'Nan is able to cram so much story into such a small book without making it dense. This was easy and quick to read and painted a detailed picture of Art and Marion's life together. It was vaguely depressing in that way that books about marriage are, their relationship comfortable in many ways but both partners harboring resentment, guilt, and other negative feelings they can't seem to get rid of. It felt very stifling to me as I was reading it, and I didn't know whether or not I wanted their marriage to survive. Neither outcome seemed especially happy.

This may be the most important weekend they have together, and anything that goes not quite right seems like a bad omen. In true O'Nan style everything is chronicled in great detail so we see even the smallest missteps or frustrations. This is the real pleasure of reading his novels; getting inside the characters' lives so fully that they are not only real to you, but as familiar as if you've known them forever. 

While this was not my favorite of his novels (that distinction still belongs to Last Night at the Lobster) it was still a pleasure to read his writing, and at only 179 pages the small investment in time is well worth the return in enjoyment.

Emily, Alone : a review

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan (2011)

Stewart O’Nan’s latest novel, picking up seven years after Wish You Were Here, begins with my favorite opening line in quite a while:

“Tuesdays, Emily Maxwell put what precious little remained of her life in God’s and her sister-in-law Arlene’s shaky hands and they drove together to Edgewood for Eat ‘n Park’s two-for-one breakfast buffet.”

Emily is a widow whose grown children live far away and are busy with their own lives and children, and she spends a great deal of time looking forward to, and planning, their visits. In the meantime, her most frequent companion (aside from her old dog, Rufus) is Arlene, upon whom Emily has grown dependent after she gave up driving several years ago. But when Arlene passes out at the Eat ‘n Park one day and Emly has to drive her car to the hospital, she rethinks decision to put her car away for good.

Considerably shorter than it’s predecessor, this novel is more focused as it centers solely on Emily’s character. It’s still more slice-of-life than action-oriented, but the themes are more prominent than in Wish You Were Here. We see Emily growing more independent at a time of her life when we expect the opposite, and the result is a touchingly hopeful portrait of old age.

I loved everything about this book. The descriptions of her small daily life were exquisite, as one would expect from O’Nan. One of my favorite passages was a one-page chapter called “Kleenex” in which Emily notices that a box of Kleenex has gotten low and so she restributes all the boxes in her house according to which areas get the most use. (Which I will absolutely do when I am that age.) I also especially enjoyed Emily’s visit to an art exhibit, where she is awestruck by the Van Gogh painting “Almond Blossoms” (which struck me similarly when I saw it in Amsterdam last fall.) Even though it made no sense that Rufus was still alive when he was already old in last novel, I was glad that he was because Emily’s relationship to her pet added so much to the story.

Having read Wish You Were Here filled in a lot of background about Emily's history and family, but I think this novel can easily stand alone. If you are hesitating because you haven’t read the previous book, put it off no longer. Emily is so much like someone we all know that she will be immediately recognizable.

Wish You Were Here : a review

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan (2003)

After her husband’s death, Emily Maxwell gathers the family at their summer cottage one last time before it is sold. Her daughter Meg and son Kenneth bring their families as they do every summer, and try to fit in all their favorite activities while divvying up the contents of the house and waxing nostalgic about summers past.

The black sheep of the family, Meg has had a rough year of rehab and divorce and has driven from Detroit with her kids Sarah and Justin to join their family with whom her relationship has been rocky. Ken is a struggling photographer who just wants to find the perfect shot, and leaves his wife Lise to deal with the kids – Ella, in love with her cousin Sarah, and her younger brother Sam who compulsively steals.

The perspective shifts between characters throughout the book and while it was subtle enough to confuse me at times, I thought it helped to round out the story well. The relationships in this family are complex and having multiple perspectives created a richer, more nuanced story.

In typical O’Nan style, the details are meticulous. This was what I loved about his novel Last Night at the Lobster – the reader can feel, see, smell everything that is happening. It is less effective however, when describing a game of golf with unfamiliar terminology or, more unpleasantly, someone’s bowel movements. There is a little too much information and it got tedious at times (did it really need to be 517 pages?), but mostly I enjoyed reading O’Nan’s beautiful language.

When all was said and done, not a lot happened in this book. It’s not an action story, of course, it’s a relationship story but even so, I was surprised when I finished and realized that very little changed in the characters’ lives from the beginning to the end. Luckily, O’Nan’s beautiful writing and finely-tuned character development makes up for a lot.

I got to know the characters very well – I did just spend a week’s vacation with them, after all – and now I’m ready for the sequel. Yes, Stewart O’Nan has written a follow-up called Emily, Alone, a (much shorter) novel which will be released in March. Since so many years have passed since writing Wish You Were Here I expect the writing to be tighter and more sophisticated. I’m looking forward to rejoining the Maxwells for part two.