We Think the World of You

First published in 1960, this book is a delicious souffle, which J. R. Ackerley has whipped to perfection. It tells the hilarious story of the love triangle involving Frank, a buttoned-down civil servant, Johnny, the working class guy he's in love with, and the beautiful, headstrong Evie. As the story opens, Johnny has been sentenced to a year in jail for breaking and entering, and Frank is worried that this will give Johnny's pregnant wife, Megan, the chance to freeze him out of Johnny's life altogether. But in the end it's the beautiful Evie that precipitates the final crisis, forcing Frank to go through some painful self-discovery along the way. Ackerley's tone is pitch-perfect throughout. An offbeat book that is completely hilarious. Did I mention that Evie is a German shepherd?

It's practically impossible to imagine a book like this being published in today's publishing atmosphere, but thankfully, NYRB is around to buck that trend. I mean what editor today would manage a straight face upon opening a proposal about a middle-aged gay man taking care of the irrepressible dog of his working-class lover who's in jail? But as usual, with any work of art -- craft, talent, intelligence, compassion -- this remarkable work is so much more than that. Around its droll premise, Ackerley found a way to brilliantly expose the pettiness of people, regardless (or precisely because) of their social standing. The dog, which is just as vividly alive as each of this novel's (bipedal) characters, is really only it's lovable catalyst. But finally, what makes this work astounding is how it slyly and assuredly gets funnier and funnier and more blackly though generously hilarious with each successive page. A real snicker of a book.

This fantastic piece of high art just gets funnier and funnier and more blackly though generously hilarious with each successive page. Brilliant.

I agree that "We Think the World of You" is brilliant, poignant, subtle, and funny, but would like to make the additional point that it is a stunning example of literary construction. It is widely admired for its construction, but what is not widely acknowledged is that the construction, like its brilliance, poignancy, subtlety, and funniness, is the product of a well trained and accomplished intellect. Ackerley took 12 years to write the book -- he had important ideas he wanted to express as effectively as possible, and the result is a very serious and rewarding novel.

The fact that this book was ever allowed to go out of print is a disgrace -- thank goodness it is finally being reprinted. As a dissection of the English class system, as a "gay novel," as simply a piece of literature, it is one of the most brilliant and poignant and subtle and funny works of the late 20th century. This is the sort of elegantly written, in some ways understated book that gets called "a minor classic," but judging from the way it lingers in the mind, from the way it discombobulates one's thinking on any number of subjects (including the afore-mentioned class system and homosexuality), it may not be a minor classic but just a classic, period.