DerivaDopo essermi imbattuto (con scarsa soddisfazione) in alcuni romanzi che trattano di massimi sistemi socio-politico-economici con ricchezza di dettaglio e indubbia abilità nell’inventare e articolare distopie ben congegnate, ma scritti con un linguaggio banale, sciatto e superficiale, ecco che mi capita un libro che si pone all’esatto opposto della narrativa.Una storia come tante, che trova l’unico elemento “alieno” nel contesto suburbano statunitense (ma si sa che gli americani ci hanno colonizzato anche l’inconscio per cui riaffiorano alla memoria film e libri in quantità come se Chesterton, NY fosse casa mia…) ma nella quale è difficile non riconoscere parti di sé stesso in personaggi che sembrano avere smarrito lo slancio vitale per ritrovare motivazioni a proseguire nel lavoro, nel matrimonio, nella vita.Un libro tristissimo insomma, e non so come faccia il curatore dell’edizione italiana a parlare in quarta di copertina di “humour”, chè la malinconia, il risentimento e il disincanto prendono il sopravvento sulla vita di Doug, lo spingono a decisioni insensate, a reazioni violente e autolesioniste, a non muovere un dito per salvare il salvabile.Preston Falls (dal nome della località del Vermont, dove è ambientata una parte del racconto) è soprattutto il frutto di uno stile narrativo particolarmente accurato, costruito sulle emozioni molto più che sugli eventi, con richiami a Richard Yates e al John Williams di Stoner, forse meno “perfetto” di questi illustri precedenti, perché le incombenze della quotidianità (la scuola dei bambini, gli impegni di lavoro, le presenze di zii e vicini di casa) spezzano di continuo il ritmo della lotta contro la disperazione strisciante. Di David Gates in Italia è pubblicato solo un altro romanzo, Jernigan, e mi riprometto di verificare quanto prima se questo autore è davvero così ingiustificatamente sottovalutato oppure se sono io che ho preso un abbaglio…
Writing in brisk, fluent prose, Mr. Gates chronicles the day-by-day, almost minute-to-minute actions of these characters over a period of two months: we see exactly how they make tea, how they do the laundry, how they trade sarcastic remarks and how they avoid conversation. The effect is similar to looking at an exhibit of works by a Photo-Realist painter. We see a succession of snapshots that show exactly what someone's life looks like, from their car to their house to their taste in clothes. There is no past or future in such portraits, just the flashbulb glare of the present.In the case of ''Preston Falls,'' this approach has its limitations. Mr. Gates not only writes in the present tense (in emulation, perhaps, of John Updike's ''Rabbit, Run''), but also confines most of his remarks about his characters to the here and now. Except for some vague allusions to Willis's difficult father and plans Willis once made to quit his job and find more meaningful work, the novel tells us almost nothing about its characters' pasts: we never really understand what brought Jean and Willis together in the first place or why their marriage began to sour.In theory, this narrative strategy might sound pleasingly cinematic, but in practice, it deprives the reader of the sort of emotional history that might make Willis a less static and more sympathetic character. As it stands, we have little context for Willis's adolescent behavior (his reflexive put-downs of Jean, his callous disregard for his children, his sophomoric escape into alcohol and drugs) and so he remains, throughout the novel, a self-indulgent, self-pitying jerk, a small black hole at the center of what is otherwise a beautifully written novel.
Do You like book Preston Falls (1999)?
Bom livro, mas inferior ao primeiro do Gates. Os personagens são muito humanos e verossímeis, o que, talvez, os torne um pouco irritantes. Algumas situações se alongam demais, especialmente no segundo terço da obra. Não obstante, maravilhosamente escrito e surpreendente.
—Gus Mendonca
I decided to pick up David Gates "Preston Falls" after finding out that Nick Hornby (MY favorite author) admires his writing and said Gates is the reason he became a writer. Naturally, I was expecting some similarities in these authors writing styles.Not only was "Preston Falls" one of the most boring, uninteresting books I have ever read, but the writing style is appalling! Every other word is set in italics, so the words that are set in regular text end up standing out more than the italics. The characters are flat and underdeveloped and stereotypical...how convenient that the one African American character happens to be the poor drug dealer. The main character, Doug Willis, is supposed to be this Manhattan intellectual, but just because he picks up an obscure book once in a while? Besides reading, he's a gun-wielding cokehead who has a run-in with the law, and buys a beat up pick-up truck during his mid-life crisis. Intellectual is the absolute last word I'd use to describe this character.Sorry Mr. Hornby, I won't be reading anything else written by David Gates...
—Lauren
High 2. Escaping the pressures of his professional and private life at the family vacation home at Preston Falls, the lead character, Doug Willis, narrates the first half of Gates’ exploration of mid-life crisis and marital breakdown. The author crams the novel with great dialogue but little plot, and it is only in the second half, when the narration switches to the perspective of the abandoned wife and her attempts to cope with the repercussions, that a more convincing character analysis is achieved.
—Steve
