The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 17 February 2005
by Louis Auchincloss
This short novel is a collection of portraits of characters created by Louis Auchincloss from the fabric of the mostly wealthy landscape of upper east side New York. Auchincloss, himself, is a resident of this Society, and his writing reflects the genteel, civilized and somewhat constrained character of that social realm. While the book is a novel, it does parallel much of Auchincloss's own career as a very prolific author and as an estate lawyer serving New York clients. Here, the narrator, Dan Ruggles reflects upon a number of the strong characters who punctuate his life. We read of some of his relatives, we read of his friends in college, and we read of the clients in his New York law firm. All of them are seen through Ruggles's eyes, but there are few clues to Ruggles's own character. He seems to be secure with the rules of the Society in which he moves, but as a writer is bemused and attracted by the quirks of character he finds around him. The book is smoothly written, erudite and entertaining, as if one is listening to a story-teller over cocktails in a stylish and traditional New York bar. The heady atmosphere through which these characters move might be fascinating, but can also become somewhat tiresome, if one is given to dwelling upon the relative comfort and ease in which they live. But, as has been noted elsewhere, Auchincloss is sticking close to what he knows, and this book, a fairly late one in his career (though, late in life, he released another in a line of scores of books), provides a window into decades of relatively high society living in the twentieth century.
Also by Auchincloss: [Edith Wharton]