Caracole

Of Edmund White's novels, Caracole may be the most accessible to the reading public at large. It has a clear and impressive plot and a set of characters as arresting as Dickens'. But as in every White novel, the words and the images they create are foremost. The author deserves the reader's closest attention. White is the consummate master of language. Much of the imagery is exotic, dreamlike and even nightmarish. Every sense is evoked with startling specificity. You need no cyber-gadgets to experience virtual reality if you absorb this book and let it unfold in your imagination.White commands the broad range of moods, shifting them with disturbing abruptness or lingering within one to delve into its deepest recesses. Most strikingly conveyed are the wonders, terrors, mysteries and curiosities of youth, the overpowering initiations of body and mind that shatter the realm of childhood. White invents a vocabulary for the inarticulate that is all the more powerful for its metaphorical exactness.Unlike White's other novels, Caracole is not a first-person narrative. By using the omniscient third person, White is able to probe deeper into the interiors of his characters. This device also allows him more scope for apt epigrammatic observations, particularly about youth, middle age and the relations across that divide.Those who appreciate the power of the word should experience Caracole and indeed all of White's novels.

It has taken me two months to read Caracole. It deserves every minute. The book deserves the reader¹s closest attention. White is the consummate master of language. Much of the imagery is exotic, dreamlike and even nightmarish. Every sense is evoked with startling specificity. You need no cyber-gadgets to experience virtual reality if you absorb this book and let it unfold in your imagination.Of Edmund White¹s novels, Caracole may be the most accessible to the reading public at large. It has a clear and impressive plot and a set of characters as arresting as Dickens¹. But as in every White novel, the words and the images they create are foremost. The language is hypnotic in its power. White commands the broad range of moods, shifting them with disturbing abruptness or lingering within one to delve into its deepest recesses. Most strikingly conveyed are the wonders, terrors, mysteries and curiosities of youth, the overpowering initiations of body and mind that shatter the realm of childhood. White invents a vocabulary for the inarticulate that is all the more powerful for its metaphorical exactness.Unlike White¹s other novels, Caracole is not a first-person narrative. By using the omniscient third person, White is able to probe deeper into the interiors of his characters. This device also allows him more scope for apt epigrammatic observations, particularly about youth, middle age and the relations across that divide. Caracole has been called White¹s "cross-over" novel. The characters are heterosexual and the plot evolves in large part out of the consequences of their appetites. White describes the female body and the male and female experience as exquisitely as any writer of his stature. Reading Caracole after having read The Farewell Symphony, the last novel of his autobiographical trilogy, however, gives one an entirely different perspective. Some situations and characterizations are virtually identical in each novel though appropriately translated in time, place and gender. This juxtaposition enhances Caracole¹s intrinsic humor and correspondingly deepens its pathos. It also underscores our common humanity, regardless of our orientations.Those who appreciate the power of the word should experience Caracole and try all of Edmund White¹s novels.

Of Edmund White1s novels, Caracole may be the most accessible to the reading public at large. It has a clear and impressive plot and a set of characters as arresting as Dickens. But as in every White novel, the words and the images they create are foremost. I cannot do better than to quote Cynthia Ozick in calling his technique "seduction through language." It has taken me two months to read Caracole. It deserves every minute. The author deserves the reader's closest attention. White is the consummate master of language. Much of the imagery is exotic, dreamlike and even nightmarish. Every sense is evoked with startling specificity. You need no cyber-gadgets to experience virtual reality if you absorb this book and let it unfold in your imagination.White commands the broad range of moods, shifting them with disturbing abruptness or lingering within one to delve into its deepest recesses. Most strikingly conveyed are the wonders, terrors, mysteries and curiosities of youth, the overpowering initiations of body and mind that shatter the realm of childhood. White invents a vocabulary for the inarticulate that is all the more powerful for its metaphorical exactness.Unlike White's other novels, Caracole is not a first-person narrative. By using the omniscient third person, White is able to probe deeper into the interiors of his characters. This device also allows him more scope for apt epigrammatic observations, particularly about youth, middle age and the relations across that divide. Caracole has been called White's "cross-over" novel. The characters are heterosexual and the plot evolves in large part out of the consequences of their appetites. White describes the female body and the male and female experience of straight sex as exquisitely as any writer of his stature. Reading Caracole after having read The Farewell Symphony, the last novel of his autobiographical trilogy, however, gives one a different perspective. Some situations and characterizations are virtually identical in each novel though appropriately translated in time, place and gender. This juxtaposition enhances Caracole's intrinsic humor and correspondingly deepens its pathos. It also underscores our common humanity, regardless of our sexual orientations.I have had the intoxicating adventure of reading all of Edmund White's novels in the past twelve months. (My next stop is his collection of essays and interviews, The Burning Library).Those who appreciate the power of the word should experience Caracole and indeed all of White's novels.