Posted by: misha
Recently my book group discussed Jim Harrison’s Dalva. I had selected it because Julia Glass had called it one of her favorite books in an interview I read years ago. Her descriptions of the book made it sound compelling. Plus, I had never read Harrison and thought this might be a good place to start.
But when I started the book I realized that it might pose some difficulties. It doesn’t present much in the way of a straight-forward narrative and it digresses wildly. Dalva is a strong woman and Harrison does write in a woman’s voice well, but there is something remote about her. Michael, an oversexed buffoon of a professor who is studying Dalva’s family and their involvement with the plight of Native Americans, is mostly unlikable. It also took me a long time to read it, so I feared for the worst.
What I love about my book group (and book groups in general), is that they will always surprise you. You may have some readers whose reactions are so consistent you can predict what they’ll love or hate ahead of time, but most readers are more complex and even surprise themselves.
Dalva did, as Nick mentioned in a previous post, divide the room. It was unanimously agreed that his descriptions of place and of food were marvelous. But the character of Dalva was much disputed. Some said that Harrison wrote Dalva as a male-fantasy—an intelligent woman who regards sex as a man would. Was Michael also an extension of the author’s sexual fantasies? Were the characters too muddled for the historical context to come out? Or was this a masterpiece of American fiction, as the male friend of one member had claimed? The discussion was fascinating. We reached no easy conclusions. One member said that the discussion gave her a better appreciation of the book. She had even started the sequel to Dalva, The Road Home.
That is what meeting with other readers is all about, enhancing our appreciation for and understanding of what we read.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:31 am
My book group read The Road Home several years ago, and I’ve hoped to get back to Dalva. Our group was also very divided, but the variety of voices and spectrum of family situations and emotions won respect if not admiration. Sometimes that’s the best you can hope for!