Thursday, November 10, 2005

 

"The Wicked Pavilion" by Dawn Powell

I have just finished reading Book Three of “The Wicked Pavilion” by Dawn Powell, and I find Powell’s writing style (in this particular example of it, at least) to be frustrating. I find it easy to get lost within the narrative that seems to jump from perspective to perspective, with its wide array of intersecting characters and events. For example, at the beginning of “Journey Over The Bridge,” the first of the four chapters within Book Three, Dalzell Sloane is recounting details of his old house. But suddenly, the narration begins talking about Ben, using statements like, “Ben remembers…” Now, perhaps it my inattentiveness may be to blame, but as the focus shifted to Ben, I didn’t even realize the switch, and was believing that all of these details should be attributed to Dalzell. Once I realized my error, I was forced to go back and reread all that I had misinterpreted to get a proper understanding of the reading. However, beyond that quibble of mine (that may well be my fault), I find Powell’s writing itself to be rather funny at times, such as when she describes the motorboat tarpaulin in the kitchen as “humorously ribboned as if it were the finest lace canopy,” or when Dalzell refrains from rebutting Ben because, “he knew that the one thing s perfectly frank person cannot take is frankness.”
I am always intrigued by this type of story, where a large cast of characters live coinciding and often overlapping lives, especially when previously existing and possibly familiar characters are put to use, like Powell’s Dennis Orphen (from her previous novel “Turn, Magic Wheel”) and Andy Callingham. This is especially true in movies such as “Magnolia” or Short Cuts.”
Also intriguing to me is the disheartening and morbidly sad idea that a person benefits himself in some way through premature death. Powell’s description of the events surrounding Marius’ passing (and their positive effect on his career as an artist) is reminiscent of the stories of James Dean and, more significantly, Marilyn Monroe. Also, I found Powell’s description of a certain minority of people who attempt to lay claim to their fortunes by piggybacking off of “great names of the past” to be still credible and relevant today in our star chasing society full of Kato Kaelins and stalkerazzi and third-rate entourage members who write memoirs about their relationships with people like Princess Diana and JFK Jr. I thought Powell’s account of all of this in relation to Marius’ death felt accurate and realistic.

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