By Love Possessed

I was 17 when I read this book the first time, and it blew me away. I went about quoting it and recommending it to friends for years. Ironically, I read it as a highly intelligent affirmation of love. When I was in my 20s, I read it again and was aghast. Suddenly I saw it for the conservative, insular 1950s sort of book that it is. And worse, I saw that the central theme is that we ought to be suspicious of love because it can possess us and cause us to behave irrationally. Now I'm three re-readings past that, and maybe I'm ready to put Cozzens in perspective. It isn't a giant of a book that deserves the close attention I've given it, nor is it merely a period piece that can be dismissed as dated bigotry. If you can't appreciate a book that is tainted with the dated morality of an earlier time, you don't deserve the pleasures of reading a novel like this one that is so insistently intelligent and interesting. Ultimately, the star of By Love Possessed is the interior monologue of the central character (although the voice of Julius Penrose is actually closer to the heart of the novel than is the voice of Arthur Winner). What a fascinating voice that is. Robustly intelligent, skeptical, humorous, bold, sympathetic but knowing . . . it is a voice that takes ultimate delight in understanding human beings and pondering (often with an ironic smile) why they do what they do. A liberal who basically believes in love, I have that voice stuck in my head, and I long ago realized I would have to accept it as part of me. This brilliantly plotted novel gives that voice countless opportunities to make deliciously perceptive comments on the human comedy. Then--as befits such a smart reflection on human nature--the voice itself is dumped on its butt and shown to be bumbling and self-deluding. A great book? Nah. A great read, I'd say, and in a few years I'll enjoy sharing those astonishing 49 hours with Arthur Winner again. I improve my ability to see people with each reading.

First of all, Cozzens remains an impressive manager of his material. Multiple plots and personalities weave tightly through the work, and just when you think that the novel is nothing but a big pile of disconnected pieces, Cozzens turns just a couple of corners and the whole things snaps into place in a stunning moment of revelation. It's masterful craft, and both emotionally and intellectually moving.On top of that, Cozzens manages to write for grownups in a world where compromise, settling, and just muddling through are sometimes as heroic as it gets-- sacrifices must be made, and it's NOT always a bad thing. If you find Steinbeck a tad too mushy, Hemmingway too mannered and ballsy, and Fitzgerald too melodramatic, this underappreciated author may be for you, and this novel is a great place to start.

James Gould Cozzens is an outstanding author who writes fairly-long, serious books which address important issues regarding the myriad stresses of human life. By Love Possessed is an interesting story which deals with matters of responsibility and conscience. If you are not put off by this sort of thing you will probably find this book both rewarding and enjoyable.

By Love Possessed isn't the easiest novel to read: the style is involved and detailed. But no novel I know of is as gracefully written, and no story contains such gripping insights and profound characters.

I'm not surprised that By Love Possessed has received such polarized views from readers. It's not an easy book to digest: it has a baroque, almost arcane style and features views of race, religion, and homosexuality that are quite uncomfortable in today's age. Yet it is a novel that I cherish.Cozzens' novel covers 49 hours in the life of Arthur Winner Jr., a small-town Pennsylvania lawyer who has prided himself for living his life according to a strict regimen of reason and yet finds all those around him seemingly throwing their lives away to emotion. Rape, suicide, jealousy, and greed mark the behaviour of his friends and relatives, much to his consternation. Not until the end, when a deep secret is revealed, does Arthur Winner realise that an emotional reaction is sometimes the only recourse to an unreasonable situation; indeed, it may be a neccessary reaction.Because of its style and conservative stance, I've always been surprised that By Love Possessed was such a huge bestseller when originally published; perhaps its title and small-town setting confused readers that it was another Peyton Place (which, ironically, it replaced at #1). But it IS an incredible book, very influential (just read anything by Scott Turow), and a must read for those who want to understand the mindset of the middle-class American male in the mid-20th century. Personally, I find Cozzens' prose fascinating--the more a book makes me reach for the dictionary the better. And as a gay man, I take less offense at Cozzens' occasional prejudices than I do with those politically correct readers who only blindly see bigotry and not a man truly trying to understand the world around him.