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What do essays on corsets, parenting, post-September 11th New York, an obscure character actor, and Charles Dickens all have in common? Not much really, but these disparate topics are brought together in A PLEA FOR EROS, previously published essays by Siri Hustvedt.
Hustvedt is best known as a novelist and is the author of WHAT I LOVED and THE ENCHANTMENT OF LILY DAHL. Hustvedt's essays are very writerly, usually exploring issues of identity or literary concepts. Some are personal while others are more academic in nature, but all are thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Hustvedt begins with a piece entitled "Yonder," which is one of the more successful and readable essays in the book. She examines the idea of place and memory and the shaping of family, individual and community identity. This is very much a story about her Norwegian family and how this background has shaped who she is. Readers are introduced to her relatives, in this country and in Norway, to her small hometown in Minnesota, and to the New York she chose as home as an adult. Hustvedt begins by discussing the idea of "here and there," and though she sometimes seems to move far from this theme in the essays, she always does wind her way back to this concept and how "here" and "there" play in our imaginations.
Several of the essays are about novels and authors and, more broadly, literary themes explored by particular authors. Here, readers unfamiliar with the texts or less than interested in literary criticism may be bored, uninterested, or left in the proverbial dust as Hustvedt dissects THE GREAT GATSBY and other works. "The Bostonians: Personal and Interpersonal Words" is an interesting look at a Henry James story, and "Charles Dickens and the Morbid Fragment" explores the idea of death and the dead body in the work of Dickens. These literary essays are, of course, not personal in the way the others in the collection are, but Hustvedt's deep appreciation of these authors and their works is personal in its way.
The essay on Dickens is the longest and by far the best of the three literary-themed pieces. While Hustvedt is focusing on OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, she illuminates themes found in much of Dickens's work such as the absent or abusive father figure, madness, and self-identity (the "I"). Even readers unfamiliar with Dickens's work may be interested in her analysis.
Although there is seemingly little unification in this collection, Hustvedt brings her topics together by making them personal to her and always coming around to the idea of identity or self. She relies heavily on psychology in her examinations. A PLEA FOR EROS is a mostly interesting and readable collection, but it has limited appeal. It can be dense and wordy, and at times is an intellectual exercise as opposed to entertainment. Hustvedt's style is elegant, however, and her range of knowledge impressive. Recommended for readers interested in essays closer to those of Susan Sontag than Sarah Vowell.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
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