Sex and the River Styx by Edward Hoagland, Howard Frank Mosher

Abstract

UnitedStatesand othercountries. Whilethemodernhistorical novel focuses onsocialchange andpolitical intrigue, inHeller's viewitis rather deficient on thesubjectoflove.In her opinion, the modern writer treats its characters withconsiderable skepticism , things notbeingwhatthey seem,and peoplehidingtheir true motives. Thebooksthatinterest Agnes Hellermostare thosewhichtake placeat a timeofa "suddentransformation of [a society's] view of history/' Herperceptive analysis of these novels reveals a common thread: momentoussocial change.While Hellerpuzzlesovertheworldwide success ofDanBrown's The Da Vinci Codeas justa fast-moving thriller withsomeobviousand occultculturalreferences , it is stilla good read.Itis likea light cocktail rather thana glass of a vintagewine.If somereadersreachforthevintage titles onHeller's winelistofhistoricalnovels , herbookwillhavebeen worth itsprice. George Gomori London Edward Hoagland. SexandtheRiver Styx.HowardFrankMosher, foreword . White River Junction, Vermont. Chelsea Green. 2011.xiv+ 247pages. $17.95. isbn 978-1-60358-337-4 Those whoagree with Edward HoaglandthatEmerson is the"cynosure ofAmerican literature" and havea tastefora writer who is "bytemperament a rhapsodist" will share thegeneralopinionthatHoagland is a majoressayist.An argument can be madeforsuchviews.They accountforHoagland'sundoubted seriousness, his biophilicconcern for allofnature, including humans, and themoralstancewhichmandatesthat we "actpurposefully but minimally, and keep [our]reason under wraps." Butthese premises alsoexplain theunderlying current of self-satisfiedmoralsuperiority exhibited in batchesof reader-nudging rhetoricalquestions ,oftenfollowed by abstract assertions of principle thatallow no questioning, as in "anybodywinningmoreof life's rewardsthanwe are is probably sellingout to some extent, don't youthink?" He dislikes thespread oftechnology butadmits that some ofithas prolonged hislife, and he callsforseniorsto makespace for newgenerations. (That'srather like thepublisher's note,whichboasts that 30percent ofthepaperusedis postconsumer, savingall kindsof resources and energy. The logical conclusion isnever reached.) Hoagland'sEmersonian desire to embrace"All" - he quotes"All natural fact is anemanation" - may accountforhis inability to end a seriesinthree elements oranything near it. Some of his rhapsodies aboutnature soundrather likeWilliamBoot 'scolumn "LushPlaces"in Evelyn Waugh'sScoop. Therelative absenceof a sense of humorand a markedironydeficiency maybe tracedto Hoagland'skinship with whatPhilipRahvcalled"Palefaces" as opposedto"Redskins" likeMark Twain.Twainand,later,Hemingwaywereabletoshowus thewonderofnature rather than(notquite merely) insisting onitthrough generalizations in a stylethat, in Cyril Connolly's terms, is mandarin ratherthan plain. Furthermore, thesenseof the interconnectedness of everything mayrelieve Hoaglandofthenecessity ofimposing a structure onmost oftheessays.Formostofthebook, theproseislikewater from anoffice cooler - you can get more,but it won'teverhavea different flavor, and theonlyprinciple oforganizationisprovided bythecup. The mostcoherent essays in thebookarethetravel piecesabout India and China,since theydeal withmovement from one place to another. And to offset overwritten passagesliketheone about"one's ability to marinate in thespicesof solitude,"thereare quitesensible observations like"Existentialism . . . was kindof fun,whenhedonism andpessimism still boastedoftheir novelty." His viewsofhis generation - he was bornin 1932 - accord withthoseofmanyofhiscontemporaries , andhisattempts tounderstandwhathappens tous as weage areoften quitesensible, though he maybe wrong aboutolderpeople's beingkinder andmoreforgiving. Robert Murray Davis University ofOklahoma 78 1 World Literature Today ...