Foreign Affairs

This was my first introduction to Lurie and I selected it because it was the novel that won her the Pulitzer. It's the tale of two American academics on extended working holiday in London who fall in love and contemplate western society.

Lurie's writing is exquisite. In particular in Vinnie's chapters, the observations of where middle aged women fit into society, who values them and who doesn't, are so truly insightful and stunningly written. It's the kind of observation that slaps you in the face because it is so true yet so ignored.

At the same time that the writing has so much depth, the plot doesn't have as much. It's a romance ultimately. So it's all about the style and the insights.

Az emberek azon piciny csoportjához tartozom, akikre ösztönzőleg hat, ha a fülszövegben felbukkan Henry James neve. Persze a fülszövegek – mint köztudott – előszeretettel hazudnak, olyanok, mint a facebook-falunkra posztolt képek az igazi élethez képest. De jelentem, ez valóban egy mélyen Henry James-i ihletésű regény, az író sem csinál titkot belőle, a szövegben legalább háromszor megemlíti az elődöt.

No de milyen is egy Henry James-regény? Nos, elegáns. Mondhatnók, társasági irodalom, amelyben a szereplők közti kapcsolat két rétegből áll: egyrészt a felszínből (ezek a konvenciók), másrészt pedig a „mélyáramokból”, a valódi viszonyulásokból, amelyeket a szerző finoman, show more érzéssel ír a látható mögé. Ugyanakkor a Henry James-i próza ezen felül lágyan pszichologizáló is (naná, ha egyszer mélyáramok vannak benne), és vastagon ironikus. Az a fajta irodalom, ami ott áll a koktélpartin egy pohár fehérborral a sarokban, mindentudó mosoly az ajkán, és csak nézi, nézi ahogy a high society bohócot csinál saját magából. Közben meg azt se felejtsük el, hogy ez az irodalom bejáratos az efféle koktélpartikra, különben is: már csillogó mandzsettagombjai jelzik, maga is a high society tagja, ami ad egy árnyalatnyi ambivalenciát az egésznek, melyet csak és kizárólag az egészséges önirónia tud fogyaszthatóvá tenni.

Miután így jól elbeszélgettem saját magammal Henry Jamesről, erről a regényről is pár szót. Kezdjük azzal hogy tulajdonképpen két regény, amelyeket laza szálak és a két főszereplő alaphelyzete köt össze: mindketten egyetemi emberek, akik Amerikából Londonba teszik át ideiglenesen székhelyüket. Az egyikük Vinnie, aki lassan elér abba a korba, amit Dickens csöppet sem polkorrekten vénkisasszonynak nevezne. Vérbeli anglománként neki ajándék a ködös Albion, kivirul, akár egy párás, hűvös éghajlathoz szokott növény. A felettébb jóképű Fred viszont egy elcseszett házasság elől menekül az óceán túlpartjára, ő nehezebben rázódik bele a szigetországi életbe. Ők aztán találkoznak emberekkel (egymással is), szerelmesek lesznek (nem egymásba), ami bizonyos átrendeződéseket okoz társadalmi kapcsolataikban és persze életükben... jó, aláírom, cselekménynek mindez nem túl bombasztikus, de a Henry James-i prózát nem is a cselekmény miatt szokás olvasni, inkább azoknak ajánlható, akik szeretnek kifinomult, remek arányérzékkel megírt szövegekben megmártózni. show less

Enjoyed this tremendously but perhaps it is because I could so identify with Vinnie and her depressive imaginary dog who slopes around whenever she’s feeling blue.
Poor Vinnie finds happiness but doesn’t appreciate it, and her fellow academic falls terribly in love with an inappropriate target and both of them are so wonderfully good at procrastination very little work gets done at all.
Lovely, well-rounded characters with serious issues but who feel so very familiar I wanted to sit down with them for a brew. Well, Vinnie anyway.
An excellent read for fans of Britain, academe, and the minute but persistent snobberies we all carry about for no known reason.

This character-driven novel examines the lives of two American professors. The first is fifty-four-year-old Vinnie Miner, professor of literature, writer of children’s books, and lover of life in England. She feels more at home in England than in the US. On the plane, Vinnie meets Chuck Mumpson, who does not make a good first impression and comes across as an uncouth American “cowboy.” The second is twenty-something Fred Turner, who has traveled to England to further research his specialty. He is estranged from his wife and is initially disappointed with what he encounters abroad, but when he meets a glamorous actress, he is smitten.

This is a story of flawed and realistic characters. Their inner dialogue comes across as show more occasionally arrogant but often comical. There are many opportunities to poke fun at the differences between England and the US. It contains numerous literary references, along with comments on writing and criticism. Despite very little plot, it kept my interest throughout, and there are a few surprises along the way. If you are looking for a slew of likeable characters, this probably won’t be the book for you. But if you enjoy high quality writing with dry humor and characters who make a lasting impression, then you may enjoy this book as much as I did. show less

When I started this book, it felt like a typical 'Americans in London' or 'academics on holiday' story, and I didn't hold high hopes for it. But it got better, and better, and I even began to like some of the characters. Our reading group discussion started in much the same vein, but people kept talking about it, and I ended the evening thinking I needed to read the whole book again to get under the plot.

Two academics, one toward the end of her career and one at the beginning of his, fly off to London to work off grants in their respective fields. The first could be described as a spinster, although there's more nuance in her life than that word describes, and the other a particularly good-looking young man fleeing a rift in his show more marriage. Their paths cross in London, and he gets caught up in her circle of London friends. She evades an Oklahoman who talked to her on the flight in; he falls for a beautiful actress. Complications and enlightenments ensue, to varying degrees, for both our protagonists. At least one of them will change.

The novel plays with the idea of surface, depth, the idea of self, and (I think) London as an urban Forest of Arden, where it is possible to 'feeling pursuade' those who visit it what they are, which is why I need to revisit it. show less

American Vinnie Miller is a professor of children’s literature on her way to London for a six month sabbatical. London is where Vinnie, a somewhat plain woman in her fifties, feels is her true spiritual home. Annoyingly, sitting next to her on the plane is another American, the type of American who Vinnie has absolutely no desire to associate with:

Besides, this man looks like someone Vinnie would hardly want to converse with for seven-and-a-half minutes. His dress and speech proclaim him to be, probably, a Southern Plains States businessman of no particular education or distinction; the sort of person who goes on package tours to Europe. And indeed the carry-on bag that rests between his oversize Western-style boots is pasted with

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the same SUN TOURS logo she had noticed earlier: fat comic-book letters enclosing a grinning Disney sun.

Vinnie, not to put too fine a point on it, is a snob. But her London life will entwine with that of Chuck Mumpson, her erstwhile travel companion. And it will also entwine with that of Fred Turner, her younger colleague, who is supposed to be in London researching the eighteenth century author John Gay, but who is instead bemoaning the break-up of his marriage.

This was a beautifully written and engaging book which I read for my November book club meeting. I had a couple of petty annoyances. Vinnie’s circle of friends in London seemed just a little unlikely, and why, oh, why do American visitors to London always end up at some grand country house party? So clichéd! But well worth the read nonetheless. show less

This book has been in my home library for at least 15 years and when preparing for a recent trip, it seemed to jump out at me - I had to take it with me. What a wonderful read it has been. Two visiting literature professors from the same university are on research grants in London. At first, that seems to be the connection - that, and their extremes of physical attractiveness/unattractiveness. These professors have "affairs" with people who are not typical Londoners and these affairs are disparate in all aspects: one affair is not as it seems, while the other is almost painfully genuine; one is based on false impressions, while the other is authentic and honest; the represented classes are different; and one is based on feelings of show more entitlement and manipulation, whereas the other is candid and truthful.
The writing and the stories are beautifully done and accurately depict areas well-known to the author: London and academia. The prose is perfectly executed and the dialogue is very well paced.
I wish I had not left it on my bookshelf for so long. show less