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The Uses of Enchantment: A Novel
One Autumn day in 1985, sixteen-year-old Mary Veal vanishes from her Massachusetts prep school. A few weeks later she reappears unharmed and with little memory of what happened to her--or at least little that she is willing to share. Was Mary abducted, or did she fake her disappearance?This question haunts Mary's family, her psychologist, even Mary herself.Weaving together...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
January 8th 2008
by Anchor
(first published 2001)
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Jan 31, 2009
Lena
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lena by:
Shellbell, Jason
Shelves:
fiction
At the start of Heidi Julavits' intriguing novel, 16-year old Mary Veal disappears from her private school one afternoon in 1985. Three weeks later, she reappears claiming to have little memory of what happened to her. In the months that follow, numerous psychiatrists attempt to discern whether Mary is a victim of abduction and rape or a liar who engineered her own disappearance for mysterious, sixteen-year old reasons.
Julavits novel switches back and forth between a narrative entitled "What Mig...more
Julavits novel switches back and forth between a narrative entitled "What Mig...more
(The much longer full review of this book can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)
Okay, I admit it; that the subject of today's review was not scheduled to be read for another three or four books now in my queue list (i.e. the pile of library books and advanced reading copies at the foot of my bed), but was purposely moved up because of recently filing a very bad review here of Nell Freudenberger's The Dissident. And that's because, as a white male co...more
Okay, I admit it; that the subject of today's review was not scheduled to be read for another three or four books now in my queue list (i.e. the pile of library books and advanced reading copies at the foot of my bed), but was purposely moved up because of recently filing a very bad review here of Nell Freudenberger's The Dissident. And that's because, as a white male co...more
This book made me feel somewhat uncomfortable and frankly there were times when I just wanted to put it down and never look at it again. It offers up a number of questions and then throws out several answers to them, all of which are seemingly rejected by Julavits through her characters. I kept expecting a breakthrough that never came, an answer that was ultimately never provided... and I don't mean an answer as in a "whodunit," I mean an answer like, what does she suggest that her characters do...more
I'm going to say what quite a few other reviewers of this book on goodreads have said, and that's that I wanted to like this book more. It's not that I didn't like it...Julavits is a master of snarky, quick dialogue; this is a complex novel told from various perspectives that circle an incident in a teenage girl's life, and from a writerly standpoint I can only imagine she must have struggled to piece it together. I respect this book, is what I'm trying to say.
But. I felt a little toyed with. I...more
But. I felt a little toyed with. I...more
The Uses of Enchantment tells the story of a middle-class suburban teenager, Mary Veal, who mysteriously disappears. When she turns up after a couple of months, she is taken under the wing of a therapist who determines that she faked her own abduction, and writes a book about this "syndrome" in adolescent girls. The story is told from different perspectives--that of the therapist, the present-day teenager (now in her 30s), and chapters entitled "What Might Have Happened," which recount the abduc...more
This is an unusual puzzle of a novel. It's narrated in alternate sections, two of which are in the past, one in the novel's present. The writing is beautiful, but incredibly subtle and requires attention. It's the story of a woman dealing with the estrangement of her family, resulting from her possible abduction when she was a teenager. I found it to be equal parts fascinating and infuriating. Okay, maybe a smidge more infuriating. Freud references and family dysfunction are rampant in this nove...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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There are a lot of things I despised about this book, and a few things I liked. As a literary endeavor it's solid. It kept my brain entertained and kept me questioning, it felt confusing at points and smart and dreamy at others. It functions somewhat as a giant questioning of whether or not therapy is, as an exercise, a pile of bullshit. Which is an entertaining question for anyone who has ever bothered to visit a therapist for any length of time. But: the fixation on what *might* have happened,...more
Victim or Vixen? Liar or whore? These are questions posed in this psychological exploration of a young sixteen-year old girl learning to wield her sexuality, with devastating results to all involved. One day in 1985, young teenager Mary Veal disappears from field-hockey practice at her all-girls New England prep school. She reappears a few weeks later with little memory of what has happened to her, claiming she’s been abducted. Sent to a psychologist, Mary is a difficult patient, and her doctor...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I was not impressed with this book -- not the story, not the prose, not the structure. A friend recommended the author (albeit a different book) so I think I started with a favorable attitude.
The story is told in three parts about a girl, Mary, who seems to be an average middle child with strange psychological problems possibly due to neglect and lack of attention: the first segment is told from Mary's adult perspective as she comes to terms with her mother's death, the second voice is a narrat...more
The story is told in three parts about a girl, Mary, who seems to be an average middle child with strange psychological problems possibly due to neglect and lack of attention: the first segment is told from Mary's adult perspective as she comes to terms with her mother's death, the second voice is a narrat...more
I came across a review for another book written by Heidi Julavits, "The Vanishers", and I picked this one up at the library while I was waiting for my hold to come. The main character is Mary, who has returned home for her mother's funeral. The family had never forgiven her for the scandal of her "fake abduction" as a teen years before. The story flips from Mary's view in the present, to her therapist's notes of sessions he had with her shortly after her abduction, and the so-called "What Might...more
I picked this book up in audio format from the local library and listened to it on my way to and from work. Overall, the book is excellent with very vivid and detailed characters. While the story is quite compelling, many of the characters feel similar. The character of Dr. Hammer also seems overly analytical beyond a fault to the point it deters somewhat from the story. The other irritation with the story is that it is broken down into three pieces: "The What Might have been", Current Day, and...more
There is varied critical reaction to Heidi Julavits's third novel, which addresses memory, psychological subversion, hysteria, and mother-daughter relationships, but reviewers liked it better than her previous work, The Effect of Living Backwards (**1/2 Sept/Oct 2003). The novel takes its title from Bruno Bettelheim's 1976 study exploring the effects of fairy tales on children and its inspiration from Freud's Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria and the Salem witch trials. Enchantment's fans
...more
Wow, what a huge disappointment. I gave this book one star for the original ideas and promise that the book seemed about to offer.
The writing was stilted, amateur and pretentious. The frequent dull, long winded descriptions of the most innane minutiae, which added nothing to the story served merely as page fillers. It seemed that the author was too absorbed in trying to convince everyone what a great writer she is rather than the truly talented authors who transport their readers into the story...more
The writing was stilted, amateur and pretentious. The frequent dull, long winded descriptions of the most innane minutiae, which added nothing to the story served merely as page fillers. It seemed that the author was too absorbed in trying to convince everyone what a great writer she is rather than the truly talented authors who transport their readers into the story...more
This was an adult version of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. The prologue begins with 16 year old Mary disappearing and not being seen again for over a month. She has no idea where she was, who took her, or what happened during that time. Each chapter is written from a different perspective. There's the "what could have happened" segment that details Mary's abduction, 30 year old Mary's current story, and notes from the therapist who treated Mary after the alleged kidnapping.
For all three s...more
For all three s...more
This book began with a great deal of promise, but as I got to knew the characters, I liked it less and less.
Heidi Julavits demonstrates how one can avoid using quotation marks to indicate dialogue without confusing the reader, a lesson Ali Smith could stand to learn. The Uses of Enchantment is far superior to The Accidental in use of language and style to create a particular atmosphere and introduce the character. I enjoy how Julavits varies the chapters among "what might have happened," the not...more
Heidi Julavits demonstrates how one can avoid using quotation marks to indicate dialogue without confusing the reader, a lesson Ali Smith could stand to learn. The Uses of Enchantment is far superior to The Accidental in use of language and style to create a particular atmosphere and introduce the character. I enjoy how Julavits varies the chapters among "what might have happened," the not...more
This book was weird, confusing and frustrating. It was very hard to figure out what was true and what wasn’t (I think that was the point, nonetheless, I didn’t like it). The family was extremely dysfunctional. There were huge gaps missing in the story so even after finishing it, I still had questions. It wasn’t a very satisfying read.
But, some parts I did enjoy: Mary’s conversations as a child with Dr. Hammer which were quick, witty and sometimes just plain ridiculous in a funny way; when she sn...more
But, some parts I did enjoy: Mary’s conversations as a child with Dr. Hammer which were quick, witty and sometimes just plain ridiculous in a funny way; when she sn...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I'm not a huge fan of this book. The writer was obviously trying to accomplish some literary goal and had some message to convey but that's not why I read. I enjoy well developed characters and cohesive plots. I read for the story. This story is incomplete. Regardless of what the writer was trying to accomplish the story should come first and be strong enough to support whatever cool tricks the writer tries to accomplish. The characters, though well developed were completely impossible to relate...more
This is a psychological drama about a daughter and mother. The daughter disappears at 15 for a few weeks and then is sent to therapy where it is decided that she lied about being kidnapped. There are 3 different narratives in this book. The girl at 16 is surprisingly well versed in the psychological reasons for the game she is playing. She doesn't seem to match the older version of herself at 30 but at the end it comes together. This book was good enough that I did not give up on it although I w...more
This book was great until the last 50 pages.
It was a great idea - compelling and ironic and historical yet also relevant to today - but the author seemed to have reached this point where she couldn't figure out how to end the novel, so she ended it dubiously. I like to think I can figure out what happened but there are some loose ends (i.e. the cigarette case) that will remain a mystery to me.
Don't read this if you like a good ending but do try it if you like a little mystery and you like how di...more
It was a great idea - compelling and ironic and historical yet also relevant to today - but the author seemed to have reached this point where she couldn't figure out how to end the novel, so she ended it dubiously. I like to think I can figure out what happened but there are some loose ends (i.e. the cigarette case) that will remain a mystery to me.
Don't read this if you like a good ending but do try it if you like a little mystery and you like how di...more
I experienced great difficulty getting traction in this book. The characters are all sort of bitchy and bland, cyphers of possibility -- rather like the made-up life, going on behind closed curtains in the windows of the taupe-colored boxes found in the suburbs that the novel explores. Life in the suburbs is too difficult, too gentrified, too non-existent for these characters. Some try and escape through imagination (coupled with burgeoning sexual awakenings): a daughter must engineer her kidnap...more
This book was mentioned in Donald Maass' "The Fire in Fiction", a book on writing fiction. I picked up this novel as part of a project I have started, using the examples in Donald Maass' book as a reading list. In fact, at a BookBuyers store in Monterey, I found "The Uses of Enchantment" on a shelf with Heidi Julavits' other novels, "The Effect of Living Backwards" and "The Mineral Palace". I couldn't resist taking home the entire trio.
I read all three novels in succession, although this is not...more
I read all three novels in succession, although this is not...more
Oct 07, 2012
Rori Rockman
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own-fiction,
postmodernist
A girl disappears for a few weeks. She returns, and the story she has to explain her disappearance is pretty far-fetched. Her sisters don't believe her and resent her because they think it's a ploy for her to get attention.
But as this story alternates between the "present" (in which the main character is an adult and her mother has just died, bringing the sisters back together) and the past, when she was abducted (if you can call it that), I begin to wonder if I really am reading the words of a...more
But as this story alternates between the "present" (in which the main character is an adult and her mother has just died, bringing the sisters back together) and the past, when she was abducted (if you can call it that), I begin to wonder if I really am reading the words of a...more
A fantasy, alternately sharp and misty, of the games one plays (and doesn't play) with the few powers one has. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The book unfolds in three alternating sections. The thirtyish protagonist, Mary, visits her hometown for her mother's funeral, in the company of her family members (all of whom are comic characters, slight and vicious). The teenage Mary embarks on an... escapade with an older male stranger. And the teenage Mary attends weekly sessions with an analyst.
In the conte...more
The book unfolds in three alternating sections. The thirtyish protagonist, Mary, visits her hometown for her mother's funeral, in the company of her family members (all of whom are comic characters, slight and vicious). The teenage Mary embarks on an... escapade with an older male stranger. And the teenage Mary attends weekly sessions with an analyst.
In the conte...more
There is a lot going on in this book. The story centers on Mary, a girl who was reportedly abducted for one month in 1985, returning to her family with no memory of the time she was gone. The book hints to the events that might have occurred during that time (mainly the interesting relationship between Mary and the man we are led to believe was behind her disappearance), as well as the therapy sessions Mary was forced to endure in her mother’s attempts to determine whether she was actually abduc...more
I wasn't sure if I would really enjoy reading a book about a teenage girl who possibly was kidnapped and molested and possibly made the whole thing up -- gee, why not? I did, though because Mary is pretty clever, and saucy and her family totally reeks of dysfunction. Both of her uppity snot sisters could easily suck all of the oxygen out of a room by uttering one selfish, shitty thought going through their heads. Her therapists are completely self-interested and her mother is a complete mystery....more
a high school field hockey player is either abducted or an abductor, when she disappears for a few weeks ala an older student from the school who faked her own abduction years earlier. the novel follows through storylines: what may or may not have happened in the time she was gone, present day when she returns home after the death of her mother, the notes of the doctor who develops a psychological theory based upon a loose version of the story the girl isn't so much telling, as inferring.
themes...more
themes...more
Ermmm...I really wanted to like this book. I really wanted to be seduced (word carefully chosen for this particular book) by the ideas of witches and adolescent girls who identify with the persecution of witches and all the sexual undercurrents that goes along with being an adolescent girl, especially in a repressive family and repressive (allegedly) part of the country (though I'm hard-pressed to believe New England is sooooOOOOoo much more repressive than, say, you know, most of the rest of th...more
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Heidi Suzanne Julavits is an American author and co-editor of The Believer magazine. She has been published in The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2, Esquire, Story, Zoetrope All-Story, and McSweeney's Quarterly. Her novels include The Mineral Palace (2000), The Effect of Living Backwards (2003) and The Uses of Enchantment (2006) and The Vanishers (2012).
She was born and grew up in Portland, Maine,...more
More about Heidi Julavits...
She was born and grew up in Portland, Maine,...more
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“Like Semmering Academy, the Grove School was a Gothic pile of bricks run by 1950s-era chalk drones, which maintained its cultural viability by perpetuating a weirdly seductive anxiety throughout its community. Mary herself was a victim of the seduction; despite the trying and repetitive emotional requirements of her job, she remained eternally fascinated by the wicker-thin girls and their wicker-thin mothers, all of them favoring dark wool skirts and macintoshes and unreadably far-away expressions; if she squinted, they could have emerged intact from any of the last seven decades.”
—
3 people liked it
“A white girl disappears from a white prep school in a white suburb. Nobody knows what happened to her. The overall whiteness of the world is threatened. This must be resolved by whatever means possible.”
—
1 person liked it
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Lena, have you read anything by Katrina Kitt...more
Feb 01, 2009 10:04am
Feb 01, 2009 02:29pm