Lost in the Stacks: The Walsh Girls

If you're interested in middle class suburban American life ca. 1943 Elizabeth Janeway's The Walsh Girls may just be the book for you.  Lately I've been coming across books that have the description printed on an inside page just before the title page, which comes in very handy as our books don't have their dust jackets (this makes choosing books something of an adventure).  On the same page as the blurb is a little box that assures readers that this book is complete, unabridged and was manufactured under wartime conditions in terms of paper.  There must have been government restrictions concerning paper use, and The Walsh Girls adheres to those restrictions.  It's good to know Doubleday, Doran and Company was doing their patriotic duty during the war!

The Walsh Girls, Janeway's first novel, tells the story of two sisters, Helen and Lydia and Helen's second marriage to George Peterson in a typical American town (in this case a New England mill town).  There's a hint of something in Helen's past life and Lydia's "repression and rejection of the normal intimacies of married life", all of which leaves George "bewildered".  Sounds like it makes for a good family drama. 

The novel received a favorable review in the New York Times.  "Here is a novel about people and nothing else, fashioned by a novelist who can be as penetrating (and as delightful) as Jane Austen--and modern enough to treat Freud as a next-door neighbor."  It's a penetrating character study with a "quiet virtuoso touch".  And there must be something more to it than just plain storytelling as the NYT reviewer notes "The Walsh Girls requires cooperation from the reader.  Emphatically, it is not the sort of book you can take or leave alone."  Here's a little taste:

"The train leaped out of the darkness and New York ran swiftly by on either side, cold in the harsh January light; dusty streets that the wind had blown clean and deserted, dingy red brick tenements frozen under a lumpy sky."

"The rails took up their inevitable reminiscent click.  So many journeys began to this sound.  It had been the background for so many landscapes, so many countries, sliding by behind the dirty glass of the windows.  The Pullman shook a little, swinging across a wide railroad yard.  The man with the portfolio and papers spread out on a little table, the mother and small son, the old lady who insisted on keeping her hat on, they were all there, fixtures in every Pullman car.  They were, perhaps, Helen decided, provided by the railroad like a claque at the opera."

"She smiled a little at the thought.  But she didn't want to look at them.  Like New York--or at least the ugly streets outside the windows--they were more depressing than interesting.  She closed her eyes and thought of sleeping, but the quiet wouldn't come.  She could not relax.  The click of the rails came louder, and she would catch herself listening for it and counting."

Janeway wrote seven novels, but she also wrote feminist works and worked as a reviewer for The New York Times and Ms. magazine.  She also served as a judge for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.  She had quite the literary life.  You can read her obituary from the Guardian here. 

Comments

[catharina]

The name sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe I tried Man's World, Woman's Place long ago. She sounds like a very interesting woman.

[litlove]

Amazing how these writers, who by their credits you'd think would last, get buried back in the past. Another very intriguing discovery, Danielle!

[Danielle]

Catharina--I had not heard of her before, but it sounds like she was quite involved in not only the literary scene but in feminist circles as well. She does sound very interesting!
Litlove--It's a pity that so many authors just fade away, but I guess that the vast majority of them must. It's a shame, but I am happy the books remain on library shelves to be rediscovered--something that will disappear with ebooks I feel. At least the books won't be immediately browsable unless you have an idea of what you're looking for.

[Caroline]

This sounds quite interesting and seems to be very modern for the year. I guess this is due to her being a feminist.

[Danielle]

Caroline--She reminds me of Dorothy Whipple--bookwise that is--for some reason. Maybe it's the domestic fiction slant. I'm curious about her feminist works.

[Stefanie]

I thought the name sounded familiar and then you mentioned she wrote for Ms. and that must be it. Had no idea she wrote fiction too.

[Danielle]

Stefanie--I had no idea she wrote other books as well when I pulled this one off the shelf. I'm curious what her reviews and other writings are like. It's cool she was a feminist--I wonder what The Walsh Girls is like!