One of the dangers of writing a book in this style is that the different
little stand-alone sections are inevitably pitted against one another.
Some work better than others. A sudden quote from Simone Weil,
"Attention without object is a supreme form of prayer," seemed a little
bewildering. And a questionnaire about sparrows, a page after the
revelation that the couple had lost their baby, made me want to say:
let's get back to our characters now.
But there were other times when I was more willing to be taken far
afield, such as in a little story about the scientist Carl Sagan's
infidelity. Because, in fact, infidelity comes into play in Dept. of
Speculation. The husband strays, and the ensuing drama has a heldbreath suspense to it.
And the novel is often really funny. Offill refers to the Internet meme
of the cat saying, "I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?" And the payoff
comes later, after men are flirting with the wife, who muses to herself,
"I CAN HAS BOYFRIEND?"
Offill has successfully met the challenge she seems to have given
herself: write only what needs to be written, and nothing more. No
excess, no flab. And do it in a series of bulletins, fortune-cookie
commentary, mordant observations, lyrical phrasing. And through
these often disparate and disconnected means, tell the story of the
fragile nature of anyone's domestic life.
PENELOPE FITZGERALD: A Life
By Hermione Lee
77
Le portrait magazine