beautiful and sexually kinky than thennext. Schultz might well have been subtitled,n”Suffocated by Sperm.” On thenother hand, that gesture toward ribaldrynis taken care of in the name of the companynSchultz hopes will bankroll him—nSperm Productions. The odd thing isnthat all these sexual hijinks are neithernfunny nor witty nor farcical nor angry,nbut instead dully pornographic andnwearisome. Donleavy’s creative juices,nto stay with his argot, are dangerouslynlow.nAs a gesture to some half-remembered,nearlier sensibility, willinglynor by accident, Donleavy introducesnsome poorly thought-out, weakly articulatednsocial commentary. The rich getnthe pleasure and the poor get the pain.nIt appears in the novel in much the samenway that social commentary is used innobscene rock songs: sappy, pubescent,nand puerile. The representative richnaristocrat is made to say that “Lurkingnin the psyche of the British upper classesnis a strong desire to discipline the lowernclasses.” Schultz, alas, is not only annAmerican but a commoner, left to wishnthat he had been born an aristocrat,nadmiring the way they have life arranged.nWhat Donleavy knows of thenaristocracy appears to have been learnednfrom magazine advertisements. In anynevent, this aborted motif is soon lostnin the frenetic sexuality of Schultz andnthe others.nYet, perhaps all of this trashy nonsensenis made interesting by the writing,nby somegrace and wit which might causenthe degenerate reader at which it isnaimed to smile, to be titillated a bit.nThe following is a representative samplenof the style:n”This was Lord Nectarine’s statementnupon the occasion of his first meetingnwith Schultz. A winterish gloomynday of pouring rain. And drops werenstill rolling off a black curly Schultz’snhead, which had just hystericallynrushed across half London by foot,nbus and taxi to meet the rich peer.”nWhat is one to make of Schultz’s headnrushing across half of London by foot.”nAfter the first few pages, the readerngives up trying to figure out why periodsnare used instead of commas. “Henenjoyed to consult” is followed by “Henenjoyed to stroll.” After a good deal ofnthis, I finally concluded that Donleavynis attempting to imitate the rhythms ofnRing Lardner. (John O’Hara’s Pal Joey,na Lardner spin-off, is also a candidate.)nThe model is, I think. You Know MenAl, those brilliant short stories done innthe form of letters to Al. Throughoutnthe novel Schultz is frequently on thenphone with his pal, Al. Lardner, however,nknew what he was doing in creatingna realistic speech rhythm for a newnsocial caste. Some immediately realncharacter was created by the dialect,nand it was, of course. Jack Keefe speaking.nSchultz is not a character, and henis not the speaker of the novel. It seems,nhowever, as if the narrator is trying toncapture the tone of Schultz’s voice withoutnmaking him the speaker.nP. G. Wodehouse’s ghost is also presentnin Donleavy’s attempt to capturenwhat he imagines to be the rhythms ofnBritish aristocratic speech.n”Ah Schultz, early to work are younand as usual, taking up the seat ofnauthority in the chairman’s chair.nAnd also as usual looking the worsenfor wear. Upon how many au pairs didnyou perform your rite of simulatednprocreation last night.-“‘nJust as “Sigmund Franz Schultz” merelynas name is supposed to send us intongales of laughter, so, too, the Wodehousenimitation of British names:n”The marriage has been arranged andnthe wedding will shortly take placenbetween Basil, the eldest son of thenlate Lord Nectarine, eighteenth Earlnof Eel Brook Common and Lady Nectarinenand Violet, youngest daughternof Admiral and Mrs. S. O. S. ClutterbutterbucksnD.S.O. of Castle Cranpickity,nMoss of Barmuckity, Scotland.”nnnJeremy Balthazar Bink Sunningdale andnLady Jane Pricklygorse are also married.nThe subtleties of Wodehouse comingnto the reader through Donleavy isncomparable to imagining Johnny Carsonnplaying Molifere.nWhat this novel adds up to can benunderstood from one scene. Schultznis returning clothes rented for a fashionablenwedding but damaged as a resultnof an incident there. When told by thenclerk that he must pay for the damages,nSchultz goes on a rampage, destroyingneverything in the department. Afternpaying 165 guineas for the damage, henis stopped by an observer:n”I should like to firmly and warmlynshake your hand. I’ve been wanting fornyears to do what you’ve just done innthere. I simply never had the courage.nThank you.”nThe observer is supposed to representnthe response of the reader. Schultz isnour barbarian, the one we await, saysnCavafy, to act out with his brute strengthnthe outrages our timidity will not permit.nTo escape the demands of freedomnand responsibility, the terrible burdennof particularity, we imitate the desiresnof another. God(s) or heroes no longernlink us to the universal; but unable tongive up infinity we choose substitutes.nSchultz is Apeneck Sweeney who makesn”them” take crap full in the face. Hisnjolly antics tickle us; his attack on thensacred provokes our secret vulgar guffaws.nHis inversion of our creed andncode provides a new banner on which tonfix our hidden anxious gaze. He is SaulnBellow’s Rumkowski, the mad Jewishnking of Lodz, out of the ghetto and innfull majesty at the center of civilization.nWe smile at his blasphemy; butnbehind him, as Bellow warned us,nstands the thug, and on his face therenis no smile. Dnf ?nJanuary/February 1980n
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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