Learning to Drive

by William Norwich

Julian Orr is a busy man. Not only on staff at the fashion magazine View, Julian also writes a gossip column for a New York tabloid, chronicling the glitzy world of perfume launches, promotional parties, and the other fabulous events that are of such paramount importance to the chic Manhattan crowd in the late 80s. Julian, it seems, has successfully managed to turn his back on a painful childhood, until, at the urging of his therapist, he takes time out of his hectic schedule to learn how to drive. A license will allow the thirty-seven-year-old Julian to visit his parents' graves in Goldenrod, Connecticut, where they are buried in the Jewish cemetery just outside of town - a town that he hasn't seen for nearly twenty years.
On the day of his road test, Julian is matched with a temperamental instructor named Hector. The two men find themselves trapped in the claustrophobic confines of the car - exacerbated by the stifling New York heat - unable to find their destination. What begins as an innocent act of liberation by a man struggling to come to terms with his past turns into a nightmarish series of events that soon escalates out of control.

214 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[SuZanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book, which had been sitting for years on my library shelf, and I'm glad I did. It's both funny and sad, which seems like an oxymoron but it's true. It's been around for decades and reviews are easy to find, so I'll just tease you with a couple of sentences of Norwich's simple yet effective language. A metaphor: "Otherwise, and like most days, the anthem of loneliness continued, silent and unabated, a favorite family song (p68)." And a simile: "Doors and windows closed. Mirrors were draped in black cloth. The confirmation of my father's death shook the house like a bedspread beaten on a clothesline; we all wore black (p87)."

Do not confuse this novel with the film by the same title and whose main character is a middle-aged woman. The main character of the novel is a 36-year-old gay Jewish man, who is, indeed, learning to drive, and those facts are central to the humor and main events of the book. Furthermore, I kept thinking as I was reading that the main character with his snarky comments about the rich and fashionable very much resembled the author himself, a well-known New York columnist and fashion editor. Read and enjoy it.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual novel about a 37 year old New Yorker (i.e., from NYC) who has decided to learn to drive. The story alternates, one chapter present day (novel written in 1996) when Julian Orr is a society writer for fashion magazine and for a newspaper, and the next his childhood in Connecticut. The description of 1950's-early '60's childhood (although the character's was dysfunctional) and the 1990's 'present day' (before newspapers and magazines were pretty much made irrelevant by the internet) was interesting. The climax of the story was a bizarre segment with a driving instructor.

[Cathy Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!

The driving parts are a bit overdone, but the story of the author’s childhood is moving, sweet, funny, and wonderful. Beautifully written.

[Elia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sweet, sad, tragic, and hopeful story written in careful, rich prose. I really liked this story and should probably rate it three stars but am just not quite sure....
Read: 1 time

[Kate]

Read too long ago to rate.