The War Between the Tates

ok novel presenting academic life in the late 60's. as a cikkege student at that time, i was aware of some of the pairings and predation on students that was happening at the time. it was difficult to deal with, and the difficulties were not presented as well as i would have liked in this book. i liked the writing and the metaphors, but so many of the reactions were black or white and not nuanced. there was some change in some of the characters, and i do hope it led to improvement of their lives and the lives of their students.

Great read. Campus novel set in late 1960s. Brian and Erica’s marriage put at risk by Brian’s affair with a student. Looks at student politics, feminism, Vietnam war, alongside campus life.

Read during Summer 2003

Someone suggested Alison Lurie to me but now I'm not sure why. It was very hard to enjoy the book when I intensely disliked all the characters. The Tates are Brian, a political science professor and Erica, his stay at home wife. They live in thinly veiled Ithaca where Brian teaches at Cornell. (She can call is Corinth all she likes, I think it was the gorges that were the final tip off.) Brian is a pompous twit and Erica likes to nobly suffer while helping others despite themselves. Their two teenage children are ill-mannered louts. Brian eventually succumbs to a grad student, Wendy, who throws herself at his feet and Erica becomes convinced that Brian must divorce her and marry wet little Wendy. Unfortunately, show more this is only the first third of the book. It gets worse. I'll be book crossing it soon. show less

I enjoyed Foreign Affairs so much I was excited to try more of Lurie's work. This one didn't work as well for me but I did like it and I'm glad I read it. It's about a couple approaching middle age in the late 60s, each struggling to discover what feminism, the sexual revolution, and other counterculture movements mean for their own lives and especially their marriage. Much of it feels extremely dated now and it's a bit too long but I think Lurie sticks the landing.

One of Lurie's best books, this is the story of the war between a husband and wife, taking place in the university town of Corinth during the late sixties culture clashes between the conservative establishment and the rebellious youth. Lurie's talents - describing people's behaviour and thought processes, constructing thoroughly believable relationships, painting social worlds vividly, and telling a compelling and convincing story - are at their strongest here.

Really just couldn't get on with this at this time. Had absolutely no pull to continue reading. The characters are unlikable (which isn't normally a bad thing for me) and it simply didn't seem to be going anywhere.

Wrong book wrong time for this one I feel.

Voorleesboek aan mijn moeder in het verpleeghuis. Dit neemt zo'n zes maanden. Ik merkte dat ergens op tweederde de relationele verwikkelingen - waar dan weinig ontwikkeling in zit - even minder interessant werden. Met een moeder met een korte levensverwachting neemt je interesse voor al die ik-gebonden gevoeligheden af.

Ik ken Lurie van Foreign Affairs uit de 80s, een van de fijnste boeken die ik toen las. Het daar gehanteerde procédé is ook hier wel te herkennen: laten gebeuren wat je vooraf niet voor voorstelbaar houdt + moralistische strekking (met de vergoelijkende houding tegenover menselijke zwakte die bijv. ook David Lodge heeft).

Ik weet niet goed of de trage leeservaring mijn oordeel beïnvloedt. In mijn eentje had ik het show more waarschijnlijk veel sneller doorgelezen en, zonder mijn moeder op haar eind, mogelijk positiever beoordeeld.

Het voorafgaande schreef ik op tweederde. Aanvulling op de dag van het bereiken van het einde:
Lurie schrijft moralistische vertellingen.Daarbij schrikt ze niet terug voor af en toe de alwetende verteller, zoals nu op het eind. "Over een paar minuten zal...Maar Brian weet dit nog niet". Wat ze in beide boeken betoogt is dat mensen tegenvallen vergeleken met hun ideaalbeeld. Op het eind zijn zowel Erica als Brian nog steeds licht bevangen door zelfrechtvaardigende interpretaties - terwijl ze beide naar een verzoening toeredeneren en Brian expliciet, explicieter dan Erica, eigen verantwoordelijkheid neeemt. Ik vind dat net iets wranger dan Lurie misschien beoogt - en in Foreign Affairs ook waarmaakt, hoewel het daar ook in zit. We marchanderen, kiezen eieren voor ons geld. show less