Incantamento

by Susan Minot

Uscita da un'adolescenza trascorsa nella casa paterna di Becon Hill, il quartiere elegante di Boston, Lilian Eliot avverte oscuramente che la vita è "qualcosa di più " dell'educazione che ha ricevuto: conversazioni con antichi amici di famiglia, tazze di tè versate con squisita proprietà, lettere scritte nella penombra del crepuscolo. Quel qualcosa di più la porterà a nutrire impulsi e desideri non convenzionali e ad abbandonarsi all'ombra di una romantica follia. Fino a entrare in conflitto con se stessa e con una società che proietta su tutti le sue aspettative. Incantamento è la storia di questa appassionata ricerca di felicità. Un romanzo di Susan Minot racconta con sensibilità straordinaria l'esperienza di un creatura chiamata all'incanto della vita.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, 20th Century, Literary Fiction

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Susan Minot is an award-winning novelist and short story writer whose books include Monkeys, Folly, Lust & Other Stories, and Evening, which was adapted into the feature film of the same name starring Meryl Streep. Minot was born in Boston and raised in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, attended Brown University, and received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. She currently lives with her daughter in both New York City and an island off the coast of Maine.

Reviews

[Sarah Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the most perplexing novels I've ever read. I was strangely compelled by it while also finding the main character almost totally bloodless and the prose very opaque. The story is familiar, a Madame Bovary-esque tale set in Boston Brahmin society of the 1910s to 1940s. But adulterous Lilian Eliot is no Emma Bovary, no Dorothea Brooke or Isabel Archer or Anna Karenina. She starts out with a little gumption and fire, but it seems to drain out of her progressively until, by the time she's married the worthy-but-troubled Gilbert Finch, she's lost most of her spirit and interest for the reader. The supposedly central act of adultery is almost an afterthought, it comes so late and is so quickly passed over. A minor character called Irene or Iris is potentially much more interesting than Lilian but doesn't get much time on the page. In one scene, the Irene/Iris character complains that fiction is too dramatic and colorful and should be "more like real life, where nothing ever happens," and one feels this is the author defending her own bland narrative. I have to admit that I don't really get the reverence in which Minot is held as an author--for example, this is the only novel I've ever read that includes a multi-page author bio at the end with not one but TWO images of the author painting watercolors (as well as other photographs of her parents and siblings). Still, all this said, I did read the book enthusiastically (if a bit bemusedly) and appreciated some of the turns of phrase, so I'm giving it three stars.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lush in tone, yet minimalistic in style. i thought about these characters every moment i wasn't actively reading this book... it was definitely one that i could not seem to put down. And for some reason i have a weakness for Susan Minot. She is sharp on the tragedy of romance, and the importance of little things– the things that make your stomach hurt, in a good way.
That being said, when this book ended i wanted to hurl it across the room in anger.
It is interesting to follow the lives contained within, even when they are dull and filled with the drudgery of class, society, and what is expected of us. Set in New England in (mostly) the 1940s, this is primarily a love story, and secondly a story about human nature. How much we change, and how little we change. If this seems vague, well, it's not when she writes it. i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book (here i go, getting all Reading Rainbow again!!) and would quickly recommend it to anyone who likes feeling dreamy.

[Jelisa Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love for Fools
In search from long lasting love in “Lust” to matters of class and marriage, could be all seen in “Folly” by Susan Minot. Minot is an American writer that engages her reader using minimalistic language and strong use of prose through out her writings. Minot is an expert when it comes to describe women (from past and present eras) emotions and thoughts when it comes to love and its misery. Folly unravels the story of Lilian Eliot, an upper-class woman whose life is shaped around the people close to her and her worth as a woman through marriage. Lilian inner dialogue throughout her life from an eighteen through her forties is what love is exactly, and she looks for those answers in her relationship between two men.
In the craft, Minot drives the story plot through their characters rather than the events taken, which in a minimal negative view, the story felt repetitive by the routines of some characters. However, the purpose of a character driven story it was to enjoy the luxurious life of the characters in the story and how they’re day to day life looks like. In many instances, Lilian’s life and action where often determine by the action or the influence of a character, “Since he was a man (Gilbert), with freedom to act, watched to see what choices he would make, since his choices would determine her life”; as the matter of fact the book’s chapter are divided by the most relevant characters which drives Lilian’s character development. Gilbert Finch and Walter Vail are the catalyst of Lilian’s life, thought and worries through the story. The shaped her character to a great extend in different dynamic.
Walter Vail is Lilian’s first love, and unrequited passion and dark desire while she wears her wedding ring. Walter appears in the begging of the story to awake Lilian’s feelings of passion that she confuses for love. He becomes the bad boy and exciting love that she would still yearn and misses even after marrying Gilbert. In the other hand, Gilbert Finch is pretty much the opposite man of what Walter Vail is. Gilbert is described as kind yet as a boring lover who makes a great candidate for husband but failed as a lover. At the difference of Walter, Gilbert is more present, which I find rather interesting how influences affect people in matter of mere actions and essence rather than time spent next to them. Minot does not merely put a typical character with opposite love effects in women, but there is something much deeper to explore. The main idea was the security (marriage and loyalty) against uncertainty (temporary passion),
“Gilbert, he was always there. He sat and waited, the waiting man. He tried like the rest of us to do his best, but…no, that wasn’t it. She though of him entering a room, the mild face, the empty expression, and how it had once filled up when he saw her. The she thought of Walter Vail, how he would enter a doorway, with a glance quick and hard, and saw how he was too full to let anything more in”
Although, the story is very centralized in Lilian’s character, the novel is writing on a third person. The narrator is omniscient, yet the tone of the narrator at times sounds as if were Lilian’s own conscious. Even in a third person is not quite distant from the protagonist as it tells perfectly how she feels. Is a quite interesting dynamic for a work written in third person.
Minot’s minimalistic language make it so easier for the reader to engage in her work, especially through settings. The era is set in the early 1900s and it described the life of the middle to upper classes activities. Also, in the mix comes the dialogue use, that was used to show the personalities of the characters, but also to move the story accordingly. Many scenes were quite engaging describing clothes, foods, vacations, and countries; it makes the reader submerge into the lavish lifestyle of the characters and understand better their everyday conversations and concerns which a large audience of reader would not understand. Although, many are not relatable that did not take the joy away from reading this scenes and settings. The negative aspect is that there were so many scenarios, that felt quite repetitive and redundant, which did not help to move the story along and made some passages quite boring to read at times.
Minot uses words as “dapper” to describe people, especially those from New York and usually to describe Walter as well. Other settings are such as dinners, tea and lunch gatherings, “the ladies and the luncheon club did not discuss the three M’s- marriage, money and men.” This quote happens to reveal the central motif of the story as well, since the life of women in the early 1900s was center around marriage, money and men. Certainly, the three M’s are part central conflicts and themes within the story.

[Lisa Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up somewhere random... like a recycle book shelf... but loved Susan Minot’s Monkeys when it came out forever ago.
Folly is not a new book nor a new subject. Woman meets a man who knocks her socks off. He disappears from her life. She finds someone to build a life with. Other man comes back. Choices need to be made.
So much of what I was reading reminded me of people in my own life. As you get older and life gets complicated, choices feel bigger.
Minot is a spare but descriptive writer. Spare in the action, but the subtlety and the nuance that goes into every sentence -- oh my. I found myself rereading passages so I knew what was happening on all the levels.
So yes, an old topic, reexamined. And worth looking at.

[Rosie Genova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Minot's work; Evening, in particular, is a favorite of mine. Folly shares an Evening-type sensibility, with its focus on a small group of early 20th century characters who live in New England and summer in spectacular places, a female protagonist who is both insider and outsider in her world, and a magnetic male character who upends that world while hardly appearing on the page. It's beautifully written--elegiac and nostalgic for the time between the two world wars. It's a lovely book, but be warned, not a particularly uplifting one.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Susan Minot for the way she narrates, in particular how she easily walks in and out of the thoughts of her characters. Unfortunately, her stories are often not very interesting otherwise and this is one of the flattest I've read. There's material here in the setting and characters for something more dramatic, daring, tense or sexy, but she doesn't even try to go there. I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time - there is definitely less intelligent fiction out there- but I understand the unexcited responses of other reviewers.

[carol duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read About a Dream of An Unfulfilled Love

It was a good easygoing type of read. I felt I had entered a very different time and place and came away so glad I live 100 years later. What is common to all of us no matter the era in which we have lived is the dream of a love unfulfilled. What defines us is twhether we ever turn that dream into reality. And how we go on with the loss of the dream.

[Ajrogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really hard to rate. The writing was good and kept me reading..I ended up finishing it in 3 days. But the character was disappointing...I kept waiting for her to be a strong female character who could rebuff the on again off again attention from a self absorbed guy or at the very least get out of her loveless marriage...but in the end she couldn’t do either. How depressing.

[Trisha Flanagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this with abundant enthusiasm but by the time I was a quarter of the way in it became a chore. I could not connect at all with any of the characters, or feel the slightest empathy toward them. By the end I was dreading seeing it on my nightstand.

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was nothing groundbreaking in this book, but I liked that the story was realistic.

[Maureen Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I read this author's Evening a few years ago and enjoyed that as well

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tinge of Virginia Woolf. Readable, but the story wasn't anything unique.

[Susan Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what the plot was but so well written that it’s enjoyable just for the prose alone

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Folly: A Novel by Susan Minot. Washington Square Press, New York, 1992.

Susan Minot is acclaimed for being an American writer of short stories, a novelist, and a poet. Her work of fiction, Folly: A Novel, explores themes of sexuality and amorous relationships in early 20th century Boston; themes which are also found in much of her other works of literature. The prose makes impeccable use of the period atmosphere the novel is set in. Each character in the novel is carefully explored, while the protagonist, Lilian Eliot, becomes the most developed character in the plot.

The story follows Lilian Eliot, an 18 year old girl living in upper-class Boston. Beginning in 1917, the plot progresses over several years, detailing Lilian's affections for various men, until the turning point when she reaches her mid-twenties. The driving force behind the novel is how Lilian's entire character is altered by the affections of one man, Walter Vail. Their brief relationship before he departs for the war throws Lilian into a whirlwind of emotions, and she ultimately falls in love with Walter. However, soon after Walter leaves for war, he marries abroad, leaving Lilian melancholy and listless. Throughout the novel, there is a strong focus on how relationships mold Lilian's character. The plot continues to focus on heartbreak, the loss of a first love, the healing power of reciprocated love, and the complexity of relationships between men and women in the time period.

One important strength this novel possesses is its use of highly detailed prose, packed into solid, small sections of writing. The book is broken into six subsections each titled as one of the novel's primary characters. The sections are short, usually less than 50 pages, but the diction, extended scenes, and narration never fail to captivate the reader and propel the plot forward. On a sentence level, Minot's prose is charged with emotions that engage the reader so clearly in what the protagonist is feeling, whether it be happiness or pain. Minot also crafts the prose through dialogue, another driving force in the novel. The witty, sometimes curt, exchanges between the characters help the reader fully immerse in the period style of the prose, and also reveal a great deal of each character's personality.

Folly gives the reader a unique look into how intricate the social workings were of upper-class America in the early 20th century. Through the introduction of a multitude of characters, Minot crafts a complex web of social relationships. Although Lilian is the sole protagonist of this novel, her role in society as an aristocratic young women transcends the novel and could be viewed as a representation of upper-class women as a whole in the early 1920's. The constant theme of the great importance of marriage to a woman, and the consequence of keeping one's true emotions hidden to the critical eye of society, are applicable to a wide array of writings focused in this time period. In this sense, Folly can be interpreted as a commentary on life, love, and relationships of the early 20th century woman, personified by Lilian. Still, the novel stands out as a truly distinct piece of fiction through its crafting of prose and narrative. It offers the reader an exclusive glimpse into the society it depicts.

[Agnes Franczia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reason for rating this book with three stars is because the style of the author. It is the second book I read from Susan Minot, and I find it amazing how she manages to capture me with the most simple sentences. I think her style is clear, some might say easy but I believe that because of this easiness the reader might relate to the storyline the way I related to it even though it's far from this world as it can be. Maybe the story is a little bit shallow somewhere (that's why it's not four stars for me..) but still, you can imagine this world, this reality where you couldn't just do whatever you wanted to (especially when you're a woman) because there were those expectations you couldn't escape from. That's what drives Lillian even though deep inside she may not know it. The story itself didn't require much fantasy, girl falls for the wrong guy, guy goes to war, guy leaves her without goodbye, girl moves on, guy comes back again and again..etc.
Really, it's just a typical story from 1918-1940 but still there's some wretched heartbreak inbetween the lines you can't really feel whole-heartedly. There isn't a big catharsis, there's just this sleepiness, this resignation to one's destiny.
The most interesting part for me was the character Irene. I think she was the person Lillian wanted to be really really deep inside her heart but she could not find the courage as she had found it. Irene seems mad and crazy but underneath we all know she is the most mature in the story because she sees that this is not a life one really wants, she feels the cruel gloom of her life and knows she must escape from it rather than silently suffer through it.

Overall, I think this novel was worth reading it, even though it just breaks your heart how the characters can't really escape from their "faith" or don't want to escape from it, or they don't even see the tragedy of their lives.

[Elisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Questo romanzo è stato per me una doppia delusione. In primis perché questo non è il libro da cui è stato tratto il film "Un amore senza tempo", (Evening) come invece riporta wikipedia. Il romanzo che cercavo io è Evening, che guarda a caso è omonimo al film ispirato ad esso.
Secondariamente ho trovato questo libro abbastanza inutile. All'inizio pensavo che le vicende della protagonista potessero ricordare un'Elizabeth Bennet trapiantata all'inizio del '900, ma ben presto mi sono accorta che né la scrittrice ha la stessa verve della Austen, né Lilian ha quella di Elizabeth.
Immagino che questo romanzo sia una sorta di educazione sentimentale e di riflessione sulla difficoltà di emancipazione di una donna, sulla forza e bontà delle donne. Ma in realtà tutto questo si sente molto poco e passa in secondo piano rispetto alla trama senza eventi e piatta, come la protagonista, che, a mio parere, rimane sempre uguale a se stessa, non cresce, non si evolve, non matura, continua a cadere negli stessi errori.
Peccato. Mi è dispiaciuto molto che questo romanzo avesse così poco da dirmi.
Appena mi riprenderò dalla delusione vedrò di recuperare Evening, dato che ho amato moltissimo il film e lì di vicende, traumi e tragedie ce ne sono q.b., come piace a me!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i adore Susan Minot's graceful, sparse, and smart prose and it is perfectly suited here (blue bloods, early 20th century). book is divided into critical parts, each named for a character in the book and signifying their relationship to (protagonist) Lillian's own personal development. within each part are aptly-named, snapshot, Forsteresque chapters through which we're offered a portrait of a slow moving, ritualized, soft life, and its inhabitants' divergent reactions to it: embracement, rebellion, acquiescence, and rejection.

throughout the read, had the vague feeling of unfulfillment and discontent; that that there needed to be something more... which, i would think, means mission accomplished.

[☮Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very quaint story about Lillian Elliot and how she falls in love with 2 very different men. I enjoyed Minot's very detailed descriptions of Lillian's feelings and emotions. You can sense from the writing that you are reading of an era when people were more prim and proper, and certain things in life were expected of them, especially of women. Lillian is not the typical woman from that era, and in getting into her head so deeply, I recognized and remembered the feelings I had after my first experience with falling in love. I'm making the book sound deeper than it is; actually a pretty light and easy read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this didn't resonate with me as much as Evening or Thirty Girls, I still found it to be quite the emotional ride, and the writing is a joy.

It's easy to read and moves nicely even though it's a bit dense, and there's just a certain sophistication to Minot's style that I really like. I think she must get better as she progresses in her career, but reading her work backwards is sortof fun and not disappointing in the least.

Is it bad to want to name a corgi or a hamster or a houseplant Walter Vail?

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really buy her undying connection to her first beau. I think that was part of the problem. There were so many secondary characters that it was hard to keep up with them. I did enjoy a glimpse into Boston society in the early part of the 20th century. I wasn't wowed by this book but it wasn't terrible.

[Edwin Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't normally go for books about the idley rich (and there are so many!) but I thought this one did a good job, with elegant, spare prose and beautiful characters. Minot places the novel squarely in its time period (right before WWI, then into the intervening years) and captures the casual intelligence and boredom of the Braughman life.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved it while I was reading it, and then never thought about it again. That, her marginally-believable connection with her first love, and the too large cast of secondary characters collectively make this a 3 for me. I really liked the writing, and will look up more from Susan Minot (this was my first).

[Karen]

I picked this up because our library didn't have the other Susan Minot book I was looking for. Another book with depressing characters. Each time I thought there would be redemption, I'd race to the next page only to be disappointed.

[Sally Boots · Rating 2 out of 5]

Folly gets 4 stars for making me keep reading until the end, and negative 4 stars for how very disappointing the end was, after all that reading. I have ultimately arrived at 2 stars, because I do actually muse about this book a lot, even though I hated it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me far too much of my relationship with Jack Barnes, if it had lasted 40 years.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was this written in 1992 or 1942? or perhaps 1892? Nicely written, but there's nothing new about an arid Back Bay Boston Brookline marriage. I'd rather read Louise Andrews Kent.

[Mar G · Rating 2 out of 5]

no comment / review

[Beth Shields-Szostak]

1st edition, signed by author

[Wynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written but left me wanting more. The ending seemed really empty. After all the years of pining after Walter, Lillian just decides to stay with her husband?

[Farrah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of Edith Wharton or Jane Austen-esque. I really enjoyed the beginning but it ended with a whimper.