Love in the summer stock wings
Who doesn鈥檛 dream of just one more book by their favorite author 鈥� a sequel to 鈥�Stuart Little鈥� buried in E.B. White鈥檚 Maine barn, say, or news that Harper Lee has been sitting on a follow-up to 鈥�To Kill a Mockingbird鈥� all these years? So a new novel by Newbery Award-winner Madeleine L鈥橢ngle is, by definition, cause for rejoicing.
A few caveats, though: The Joys of Love (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; 272 pp.; $16.95) actually isn鈥檛 L鈥橢ngle鈥檚 last book 鈥� it was written in the 1940s, well before 鈥淎 Wrinkle in Time鈥� catapulted her to classic children鈥檚 literature status. Her agent didn鈥檛 want to take the book on, so L鈥橢ngle later gave the manuscript to her granddaughters to enjoy. The book reads more like a period piece than a young adult novel 鈥� full of trips to the Automat, dirndl skirts, and endearing postwar slang. Readers will appreciate it most if they approach it like a newly discovered artifact rather than a work by a mature writer.
The plot is simple: A 20-year-old orphan wins a scholarship to a summer theater. The work is unrelenting drudgery, the manager is a notorious tightwad, and apprentices aren鈥檛 allowed to watch the professionals rehearse, but Elizabeth couldn鈥檛 be happier. Her cup runneth over when a young director starts paying attention to her. (It鈥檚 immediately clear to readers that Kurt is just using her, if only by the condescending way he calls her 鈥渓iebchen鈥�; Elizabeth, bless her, is a little slower on the uptake.) Meanwhile, the tall assistant stage manager is waiting patiently in the wings for his turn as her leading man. Then, Elizabeth鈥檚 magical summer is cut short by her Aunt Harriet, who鈥檚 convinced the troupe is a hotbed of iniquity (which, hey, it probably is) and announces she鈥檚 cutting off her funds for room and board.
There鈥檚 a foreword by one of L鈥橢ngle鈥檚 granddaughters detailing the ways in which the 鈥淭he Joys of Love鈥� draws on L鈥橢ngle鈥檚 own life, which will be of great interest to fans. Younger readers probably will need some explanation of 1940s mores to understand why Elizabeth鈥檚 Aunt Harriet is so upset by the easy mixing between the sexes at the summer theater camp. The writing is intensely sincere 鈥� there鈥檚 none of Meg Murry鈥檚 angry awkwardness, no questions of science or theology, and everything is neatly tidied up by the end of a long weekend. Don鈥檛 start a young reader here 鈥� definitely hand them 鈥淎 Wrinkle in Time鈥� or 鈥淢eet the Austins鈥� first. But a theater-loving teen might just get a kick out of Elizabeth鈥檚 old-fashioned adventures.
In fact, that鈥檚 who will probably most appreciate 鈥淭he Joys of Love鈥� 鈥� along with grad students doing theses on L鈥橢ngle鈥檚 work and ardent fans, grateful for a last chance to dip into something new by the author.
Yvonne Zipp regularly reviews fiction for the Monitor.
