London Book Club: May

Posted on June 8, 2011 in Uncategorized

The verdict: 6.9/10

May in the SYP London Book Club took us to New York in the 1840s and the tale of nice-but-dim Catherine, her strict domineering father, busybody Aunt Lavinia and the ever-so-charming fortune-stealer of a love interest – Morris Townsend. This is a fairly short novel (always a bonus for those of us who leave the actual ‘read the book’ part of Book Club to last minute), which received a pretty unanimous thumbs up from the group.

Washington Square is a structurally simple tragicomedy (thanks Wikipedia) that tells the age-old story of the conflict between a father and daughter over a man. In this case the gentleman in question is a scheming seducer who’s only after one thing: Catherine’s money. Determined to always see the best in people, Catherine fails to appreciate this and falls head over heels for him. Her father, however, can spot his devious motivations a mile off and is determined to prevent his only daughter from marrying this crook.

The main character – often referred to as “poor Catherine” – doesn’t have a great deal going for her. Described as dull and plain, she is clearly a great disappointment to her father: "She is about as intelligent as the bundle of shawls," the Doctor said; her main superiority being that while the bundle of shawls sometimes got lost, or tumbled out of the carriage, Catherine was always at her post, and had a firm and ample seat.” Her father is an eminent doctor who has lingering issues stemming from the death of his wife and son and is consequently incapable of showing his devoted daughter any warmth. The book focuses on Catherine’s emotional turmoil as she struggles to balance her love for her father with that for the handsome Morris.

Touches of humour abound in the form of the meddling aunt who’s always eager to stick her oar in, normally to the detriment of everyone around her. She takes particular delight in living vicariously through her niece’s rocky romance and spends much of her time acting as the go-between for Catherine and Morris, passing messages back and forth and manipulating both to hold firm against the ruling of Catherine’s father. The clandestine tryst that she arranges with Morris in an Oyster Saloon was a particular highlight for many of us, with Lavinia revelling in the melodrama of the situation.

Part of the success of the book is the skilful way in which James shapes the characters and our responses to them as their intentions and motivations become clear. With definite shades of Jane Austen, this in-depth portrayal of intense family relationships, love and betrayal is far more emotionally engaging than its length might suggest.

The overall opinion of the group was mostly positive with the book receiving a very respectable 6.9 out of 10 on the inaugural Book Club ‘Hot or Not’ scale.