REVIEW: Reuben Sachs, by Amy Levy

Reuben Sachs, by Amy Levy. Published 2010 by Persephone Books. Literary Fiction.

I read Reuben Sachs for the recent Persephone Reading Weekend, hosted by CardiganGirlVerity and Paperback Reader. It's a short novel and an easy read for a rainy day or two.

I can't say I was crazy about it, though. It's basically a love story of sorts and a society satire of Victorian Jewish life. Judith Quixano is attractive and well-off; she is in love with Reuben Sachs, an up-and-comer and someone she's known her entire life. In fact Reuben and Judith are cousins of sorts, albeit informally, and it seems like no one really looked at either as a match for the other. But she loves him passionately and he loves her, too. But she's under pressure to marry someone else.

The novel was originally published in 1888 and it's very much a product of its time, with mannered language and a lot of stereotyping. But it is intended to be a satire so I forgive it the stereotyping. It just seemed like it took an awfully long time to get to the point, and then resolved itself very, very quickly. In other words the pacing was all off and Levy seems to have spent most of her time building up a portrait of the society in which the characters live, and not enough on the plot. And what there is of plot is sort of depressing and hopeless, and that epilogue really drives those final nails into the coffin, so to speak.

It strikes me as a lesser book in the vein of Jane Austen, set in a particular niche of British society not often depicted. So it's not terrible; it's just sort of not great. I'd recommend it to Persephone readers and to committed readers of Jewish fiction, since Jewish life of this particular time and place is not often addressed. The book was not well-received when it was published and sadly Levy committed suicide at the age of 27; I'm glad Persephone rescued it because I do think that people really invested in Jewish literature would enjoy the window it offers into a little-known world.

Rating: BORROW

Reuben Sachs (01 Edition)
by Levy

I'm a Powell's affiliate and receive a small commission on sales.

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

Persephone Reading Week: Good Evening, Mrs. Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes

I heard about Persephone Reading Week, a week devoted to reading books published by Persephone Books, from Frances at the great literary blog Nonsuch Book. It's hosted at the blog Paperback Reader. Since I have a number of Persephone titles waiting to be read, I decided to make a concerted effort to participate.

For my week of Persephone reading, I chose the wonderful Good Evening, Mrs. Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes. Panter-Downes was a prolific journalist and short story writer who was published regularly in the New Yorker magazine during the first part of the 20th century; the stories in this book appeared there October 1939 and December 1944. All of the stories take as their subject domestic life in Britain during World War 2.

Reading this collection was a pleasure, albeit often of the bittersweet kind. Tinged with sadness and irony, the stories feature many types of people- single, married, mistresses and adulterers, children, the poor and the wealthy and the middle class. The characters experience loneliness and brief moments of connection as they manage the isolation, privation, anxiety and more- all the many disruptions and chaos and helplessness of English life during the war. A young working woman living alone tries to reach out to a neighbor for companionship; a well-off woman cheerfully rids herself of a boarder who no longer needs her, only to feel an unnameable remorse at rebuffing another woman who does; an upper class woman simply cannot understand why the poor mother she tries to help can't seem to keep herself or her children in tolerable order. In the title story, a young woman having an affair with a married man who's left for the war must decide whether to contact his family to find out if he's still alive.

Good Evening, Mrs. Craven is a tender, affectionate portrait of people doing their best in difficult times- even if their best isn't the best. Panter-Downes shows loving empathy for her characters and writes with impressive economy. Each story is no more than six or seven pages but she creates vivid characters and immersing worlds. Of course, reading it straight through, the mood from one will shadow the next and what emerges is more than the sum of its parts. The collection reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Strout's wonderful novel-in-stories Olive Kitteridge; this book isn't a novel in stories but detail and emotion slowly accrete as each story acts as a mosaic piece in a larger picture of wartime English life. It's a beautiful collection from a skilled craftswoman from whose work I hope to see more collections in the future.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

REVIEW: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson. Originally published 1938. This edition 2008 by Persephone Books. Literary Fiction.

I picked up Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day after seeing the movie of the same name, which came out last year. The movie was delightful- sunshine on the screen. The book is sunshine on the page.

Miss Pettigrew is the story of a poor single woman, Guenivere Pettigrew, in 1930s England who is having trouble finding work. She ends up, quite by accident, in the employ of one Delysia LaFosse, a gorgeous, bubbly young actress who needs someone to keep her head on straight and her boyfriends at bay. As we watch her bumble her way through a thicket of romantic entanglements, we wonder, which man will Delysia end up with? Will Miss Pettigrew be cast out on to the streets? What will become of either woman?

First of all, if you've seen the movie and you want to read the book, be aware that there are some differences between the two. The filmmakers took license to create dramatic situations in the movie that don't exist in the book, and certain characters that barely merit a mention in the book are major players in the movie. The book also has some drug references absent from the film. But you'll recognize it nonetheless- the premise is the same, and Miss Pettigrew and Delysia, Delysia's dilemma, and the romantic entanglements, and the story's slapstick humor and pacing, remain the same.

The story is told hour by hour from Miss Pettigrew's point of view, and recited in a delicious, delightful period voice that captures the heady chaos of Delysia's and Miss Pettigrew's life. As the hours tick by, we see Miss Pettigrew change from a shy mouse who feels like an impostor and believes herself unworthy of love, to a more confident woman who just might be ready to change her life. Delysia learns that she deserves more too, and these transformations- and the sweet friendship between the two women- are what makes this Cinderella story so wonderful. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a delight from start to finish. As I came to the end I actually teared up a little at Miss Pettigrew's happy ending. You will, too!

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.