THE WAIT
Frank Turner Hollon
MacAdam/Cage Publishing
Fiction
ISBN: 9781596922914

In THE WAIT, Frank Turner Hollon abandons all glossy writing, extraneous poetics, rough-and-tumble grittiness and sly minimalism. He is solely interested in relating bare honesty to his readers --- to show what an honest account of a man’s life must consist of. His answer, as suggested by the title, isn’t the large events that string the “plots” of our lives together --- it’s the moments in between, where we digest what has happened, how we should consider ourselves in light of our actions, and how we cope with being changed and unchanged.

James Early Winwood’s narrative is a confession of sorts, but not told for any need to get a burden off his chest. Placidly, his life is revealed to us in four parts: his teenage years and college experience, young adulthood, middle age, and growing old. Each part consists of relating a series of plot points and pondering their depth: “There is so much to notice if you know what to look for. So much to be aware of around you.” He attempts to make this point very early on, to make his project clear for the rest of the novel. His discussion of fishing --- where he claims that rather than catching a fish, “the importance seemed to lie in the silence” --- doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Probably Hollon’s most remarkable way of achieving this so-called narrative of silence is through his descriptions via negation. To convey the power of emotions, he describes their indescribability; instead of facing up to the truth or to awkwardness, his characters blurt out statements, the banality of which exposes the depth of their feelings. Other times their silence speaks more than their dialogue. While it could be argued that this is just a cop-out way of generating emotional intensity with little real work --- and sometimes it feels that way --- it also does a wonderful job at pulling the double duty of conveying the theme while also painting an emotional portrait.

That being said, the novel is fraught with several flaws. While the story progresses naturally, the way it is told (plot and intermission, repeat) is tiresome and uninventive. It also appears to question the very premise of the work, which seems like it ought to be dedicated to a microscopic analysis of tiny, insignificant moments. Instead, the plot-based narrative tells a story with much less rumination than would be expected. And while we get fairly good insight into Winwood’s psychology, the reader may be left wanting more.

The impact of these issues will ultimately be decided by the reader’s tolerance for slow pacing and repetitive storytelling, especially if one is willing to sort out the gems of concise, powerful prose that are scattered throughout the novel. But a more fundamental problem is its uninventiveness. Thornton Wilder covered much of this topic 80 years ago with OUR TOWN, and THE WAIT contributes little new material to the subject. It’s primarily concerned with stating its point --- again, with utmost honesty --- but little else.

Nevertheless, if the reader is willing to look past all this, he should prepare to meet Early Winwood, shake his hand, and cheer and mourn his triumphs and mistakes.

    --- Reviewed by Max Falkowitz

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