Who leaves a grand
piano in the middle of their cramped New York flat for almost half their life
without even playing it? Well that would be Bea Nightingale in Cynthia Ozick’s
excellent and illuminating Foreign Bodies.
It (that is, the
piano) belonged to her former husband, and the metaphor of a dead weight
weighing Bea down and a giant potential space in her life for maybe creativity
or love or passion is really quite excellently conceived.
I know I’m not meant
to imagine myself into a book, but as a pianist the compulsion to play this
imaginary piano in the pages of Ozick’s novel is overwhelming. What am I meant
to do with that urge?
The storyline of the
novel is rather complicated. We are led from America to Paris, then back again
to New York, then back to Paris, then over to the west coast (to the owner of
the piano), all in the vain attempt made by Bea’s brother Marvin to control her
and his children. Marvin has already placed his wife in care, unable to deal
with her mental well-being. In fact the scenes with the wife, although she is such a minor character, have stuck with me, strangely, the most of all. But the novel doesn’t really focus on Marvin; it has
rather a patched-together perspective mainly dealing with Bea and her nephew
Julian. This is partly told through letters between Bea and Marvin, which
convey so brilliantly Ozick’s skill and character painting. I truly loathed
Marvin!
What was unusual for
me was that I very rarely have patience with characters who are unlikeable,
yet with Ozick’s Foreign Bodies they
are ALL frustrating and flawed. Somehow though Ozick compelled me to keep
reading, and I even found myself enjoying the portrayals of such annoying
characters.
Definitely one to
re-read with time. Though probably not for all, as this excellent review by Kevinfromcanada makes clear with an apt use of metaphor.