The Body of Jonah Boyd : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: The final chapter brings one more star to the novel
Review: David Leavitt hit me when I was reading his acclaimed The Lost Languages of the Crane. Since then, everybody has been looking for a similar book. Yet, there is none. What I have observed from Leavitt's fictional works is that the plot and drama is rather thin. His previous work, Martin Bauman, personally, is a change in style and plot - but that does not work. As for his latest work, Body of Jonah Boyd, the same old problem persists.

Before I read the last chapter of the book, I was confused with the ambivalence of the voice in the novel. The first half of the story was told by the protagonist, Denny. Later on, after several secrets were revealed, the chapters were dominated by the mysterious figure, Ben who happened to have stolen Jonah Boyd's notebooks and plagiarise the content as if it was his own. So, who is telling the story? Who is the centre of the book? The final chapter gave me the answer. The last chapter gives the story a touch of metafiction, and here, I am not able to tell so much or else the joy of reading this novel will be completely gone. Yet, I believe the way Leavitt ends the novel somehow heals a lot of defects found by the readers in the book.

However, there are still weaknesses in the plot. The marriage of Ben and Denny near the end of the novel is unhinted and it comes a bit too artificial for the sake of the plot. The use of 'brain tumour' to solve every dramatic crisis seems to me a little bit irreponsible of the writer. The potential lesbianism between Denny and Ben's mother is there, but is not developed, at all. In general, this novel plays a great deal of metafictive techniques and centres too much on the plot of how an unsuccessful writer steals the work of a successful one. All other subplots, the romance and other human relationships, are not handled dramatically and fully enough. If you aim at a fast read and do not have much expectations on the plot, Leavitt's new book will be your choice. At least, after reading the last chapter, you may whisper, "That all makes sense in the end."

Rating:
Summary: Beautifuly crafted novel about life, lies, friendship & love
Review: I have followed David Leavitt for the last twenty years, growing up, learning about life, loosing some innocence on the way and winning some insight about human nature... and he has been an always perfect, wise and witty companion all this time, ever since Family Dancing.

Where do I put his latest effort? I liked his previous novel (Martin Bauman) better - although I might be a minority here - because it was closer to my personal experience and expectations, but The Body of Jonah Boyd has the lasting imprint of a precious gem, witty, well written, a joy to read; maybe too brief but full of human and "bookish" insight (who is the 'author' of an essay, of a novel, etc.? Who is the main character in life, who remains at the side of events and why?).

I truly recommend this novel and I am already waiting for the next David Leavitt book! Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A book which is really a book
Review: I have read several books by David Leavitt over the years and always have considered him an outstanding writer with a real point of view. As with any really gifted person, the intervening years from debut to maturity are witness to the results of one creation to the next. An interesting "geography" can often be observed. It is hoped that it is not a geography represented by plateaus alone. That is to say, that real talent inevitably will be represented by highs AND not-so-highs of creativity, both of which are essential to the development of an artist, musician/composer or a writer. For me, Leavitt has really come into his own with this book: a crystallization is quite discernible in this always admirable author.

One of the things which pleases me most is that this book is, simply, a book. Leavitt has steered clear of the temptation to write something that is "adapatable". Certainly a good screen writer could manipulate it into a script, but the pacing, development and eventual denouement force it into the personalness of a "one on one" author to reader experience, clearly not seeking any other outlet for expression. I like this rejection of contrivance, the concept of which might be the hallmark of this novel.

I could not put it down, and this is probably because Leavitt addresses so many aspects of life: a labrynthine, but never disorderly or disorganized exposition of academia, society in general, old and new friendships, deception, complicated psychological types, unsatisfied love and unfulfilled career aspirations, to name a few. That it is a mystery as well, and not even about the murder of Ernest Wright the typically aloof pater familias -professor/psychologist-philanderer is especially intriguing.

I found myself thinking Leavitt's inspiration was perhaps drawn from a Robertson Davies/John Cheever mix, but it is the author's own voice at all times. It seems genuine enough that somewhere in the tale might be some of the author's own experience (the deep attachment to a home? - a certain disbelief and shock at the possibilities of displacement?) -- Forster's Howards End being a notable precursor.

Besides the excellent character portrayals, clever architecture and accurately chronicled feel for life of thirty years ago, there is real pleasure in the fact that David Leavitt writes very, very well.

Rating:
Summary: Leavitt keeps getting better!
Review: I read THE BODY OF JONAH BOYD in one sitting. I have always enjoyed anything Mr. Leavitt has written. He's one of those writers whose work continues to grow and evolve.

The art of the jacket of the novel is reminiscent of the cover of the first edition of FAMILY DANCING. I loved the sub-plot of the connection to houses in the novel; I too still feel a connection to my childhood home, and at age forty-five, still dream of it.

The main character/narrator is Judith "Denny" Denham, secretary at a university, and she carries this story well. She recounts the story in flashback, of her relationship with the Wright family; her affair with the husband Earnest, an academic/psychoanalyst, and her friendship with the wife, Nancy, and the children, especially the youngest, Ben, with whom her relationship takes an unexpected yet logical turn at the end of the novel.

Denny is a well-drawn character, but I was drawn to one of the lesser characters in the novel, Ben: his quirky eating habits (idiosyncrasies that make characters real) and the fact that he grew up to be a writer. I almost wished the novel could have been from his point of view, but that would have been a whole other story altogether. Denny is the right character to tell this story.

I adored the 'homage' to JANE EYRE at the end, one of my top ten favorite novels: ".... reader, I married him". Hurray for Denny!

Families and their relationships are a staple in Leavitt's writing. If you want a literary novel about families, this is the book to read.

I only have one problem with Leavitt's latest work: it is too short. When I reached the last page, I wanted more.

Rating:
Summary: I'm a true Leavitt fan, but this was not his best work.
Review: I've read all of David Leavitt's fiction at least once, and I eagerly await each new book. As a former bookstore manager, I used to love selling his books with a personal recommendation. This was not a book that I could recommend.

To my tastes, instead of careful character development, Leavitt leaves the reader with plot twists and turns, spiced up with more than one change in narrative voice in the book's second half. While I am content for favorite authors to try new things - think of Michael Cunningham's The Hours - I found none of what delighted me about Leavitt's earlier fiction in this novel.

His sub-par performance is still at least as good as the run-of-the-mill novel, but I was hoping for his usual outstanding delivery.

Rating:
Summary: A Swift-Reading Charmer
Review: The prolific Leavitt offers another clever turn on the literary life (after MARTIN BAUMANN and ARKANSAS), this time told in the utterly engaging voice of a middle-aged woman who, throughout her career as a secretary, has more artistic impact on the works she 'types' and 'transcribes' than one might assume. Leavitt again explores the tricky nature of authorship and literary ownership, but TBOJB is also infused with some of the themes that enriched his earliest works: the psychological power of family homes, the intrigues of suburban life. Leavitt's prose style here is particularly elegant: the sentences move swiftly and are not clotted with overdescription like so many of today's acclaimed 'literary' novels. Leavitt handles serious issues with deft humor and charm; it reminded me that, even when they deal with Major Themes, truly enjoyable novels are first and foremost about good storytelling.

Rating:
Summary: Will There Never Be Another FAMILY DANCING?
Review: When David Leavitt published FAMILY DANCING in the l980's, I was convinced that he would be our next great gay writer as that book of stories was so brilliantly written. I have read everything that Mr. Leavitt has written since; from where I sit, nothing has measured up to his first book. THE BODY OF JONAH BOYD is no exception. I really wish I liked his fiction more. He seems to be a terribly nice person, certainly has a flair for language and often makes profound statements about the world in general. He, moreover, is most adept at character development, piling on detail after detail to make his people come alive. Here we even know what kind of purse one woman carries and what she has in it, for example. But in the end I find most of his characters not very interesting. In this latest novel, they all apparently are heterosexual. (Perhaps Mr. Leavitt is aiming for a larger audience here.) The narrator is a "fat" secretary (Denny)-- that's her description of her body, not mine-- who jumps into bed with married older men faster than she can type--certainly a little difficult to fathom. Then there's the writer who either does or doesn't get his works accepted by THE NEW YORKER, a recurring dilemma for many of Leavitt's characters.

What this novel does have going for it is that parts of it read almost like a decent mystery since Jonah Boyd's novel manuscript is missing.Yes, this book is a book is a book about books. But it has little to do with the brillance of Mr. Leavitt's early work.

Finally, whoever wrote the blurb on the inside front of the dust jacket said that this book is a tribute to "the sisterhood of secretaries." Surely he or she cannot be serious.