The Scarlet Letters

Rating:
Summary: when did you last say "plethora"?
Review: Auchincloss has a tin ear: people don't use words like "plethora" in everyday conversation. Not only is his style wooden, he hasn't progressed an inch in his story-telling beyond "The Great World and Timothy Colt," which I read 50 years ago. In fact, "Timothy Colt" was better!

Rating:
Summary: when did you last say "plethora"?
Review: Auchincloss has a tin ear: people don't use words like "plethora" in everyday conversation. Not only is his style wooden, he hasn't progressed an inch in his story-telling beyond "The Great World and Timothy Colt," which I read 50 years ago. In fact, "Timothy Colt" was better!

Rating:
Summary: "What can you gain by looking down? You might even drop."
Review: Loosely paralleling Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, with its themes of love and betrayal, honor and adultery, this novel of manners is also a morality tale in which Auchincloss shines the spotlight on a prestigious New York law firm in 1953, along with its internal workings and the elite families which run it. With a smoothly elegant style, he traces the history of the law firm of Vollard, Kaye, and Duer, meticulously recreating the pedigrees and family connections of his characters--who is married to whom, which families have merged through which marriages, and whose fortunes are rising and whose are falling. As the marriages of the principals of Vollard Kaye are negotiated, consummated, and/or dissolved, the reader is brought into living rooms and board rooms to watch as the characters wrestle with their overlapping family responsibilities and business obligations, and to observe them dealing with important issues: What, exactly, is justice, and on what inalienable truths, if any, does it rest? Does the concept of right change as times change? Is idealism possible in a pragmatic, nuts-and-bolts world?

Auchincloss's style is refined and formal, with sentences which never lose their way, even when the sentence structure itself is convoluted. Old-fashioned in his approach to his characters, Auchincloss conveys the impression that he does not want to invade their privacy by showing them in their weakest moments. His is a buttoned-up sort of characterization, one which is appropriate to a novel in which ideas are more important than the uniquenesses of character. As a result, the characters are somewhat wooden--illustrative of traits, rather then real, breathing humans--and their actions are sometimes hard to fathom. He has a tendency to announce, rather than show through the characters' actions, the ideas he wants to convey.

Auchincloss is a confident and practiced story-teller, however, with a clear belief that fiction is capable of conveying ideas at the same time that it is entertaining. His themes are clearly illustrated, and his characters, with their foibles and worries, share many of the same concerns as the rest of us, despite their elevated social status. Though the ending is a bit melodramatic, the story is intelligent and fun to read-a fascinating reflection of life and mores of just fifty years ago. Mary Whipple

Rating:
Summary: "Beautiful" writing does not necessarily a good book make...
Review: This is a well-written book. Of course. Mr. Auchincloss is a master wordsmith, an erudite, highly educated, celebrity auteur...we can hardly expect any different. I started the book with high hopes, but as the reviewer below remarks: "When was the last time you said 'plethora'?"

Actually, I DO use the word on occasion, probably because I am a writer, but I don't think I've heard it twice in my life from the lips of a lawyer or society matron. And that was the rub for me in The Scarlet Letters: Mr. Auchincloss puts into the mouths of usually-dull people brilliant speechifying and allusions to rarified poetry. He has the most unlikely, UN-educated dolts spouting impossible mouthfuls of ancient Greek verse and perfectly-pertinent quotes from a variety of literary figures - all this in the midst of a slight society soap opera. I sense he wants to be our modern-day Galsworthy, but Galsworthy stopped short of being precious. I find Mr. Auchincloss's writing and themes a tad contrived. Also: the book morphs into several different relationships, different from the ones it started with, and not particularly interestingly related to the others. The end is a de-flation. The 'hero,' having lunch with his mother-in-law, suddenly capitulates to all he has deemed unholy. Why? I suddenly found myself thinking, "Who cares?" and "Well, at least it was short," and flinging the book aside with a tiny soupcon of resentment stemming from my feeling that I had been led on by "good writing."

So - many of the paragraphs are exquisitely penned...but the whole is, on the whole, a Giant Yawn. Oh - the best thing about the book is the cover. The artist is to be congratulated.

Rating:
Summary: But Auchincloss has his own voice and manner as author
Review: We don't expect great writers to reproduce exactly ordinary speech. Nobody talks like the characters in Moby Dick, or Hamlet. Auchincloss is not Melville or Shakespeare, but he is writing on a different plane than the run-of-the-mill bestseller. Granted the dialogue in Auchincloss' novels is not ordinary speech, but this is clearly intended for literary effect by the author--it is not that he has a tin ear.

I like Auchincloss' books. I liked The Scarlet Letters. I enjoy a peek into the world he knows so well and most of the rest of us only imagine. And I enjoy novels where the quotidian is made interesting. There is no murder or mayhem, or sexual perversion, in The Scarlet Letters. But it is about life and love, and honor. A book by Auchincloss is like a quiet walk in the woods on a weekday afternoon. You get to think about things in repose, not necessarily important things, but just things.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing writing, like poetry¿.
Review: While it does indeed share some of the same themes of The Scarlet Letter, I think this novel is incredible in it own right. Wonderfully detailed, with lots of back-story included, helped me really get a good sense of place and the characters. The plot itself focuses on elite families in New York during the 1950s and the extremely successful law firm they run. The scandal at the very beginning (one of the powerful lawyer's son in laws has committed adultery) is only the very beginning. The writer explores the web of relationships between the families and all the secrets and lies their lives are built on. While some people complain that the author's writing is a bit old-fashioned, I personally think it added to the story, but I admit, I did have to look up a few words! Overall, quite an enjoyable read, and I will be checking out more of the author's work.