Disturbances in the Field: A Novel
by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lynne Sharon SchwartzEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-05-31
ISBN: 1582433321
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Counterpoint
Book Reviews of Disturbances in the Field: A Novel
Book Review: "SOME SAY THE WORLD WILL END IN FIRE, SOME SAY IN ICE. FOR US IT WAS BOTH."
Summary: 5 Stars
Disturbances in the field is a deep novel and book of philosophy in one. It opens up slowly, developing characterization and heading very slowly towards a tragedy.
What, you might ask, is a disturbance in the field? The field is the entire environment that we experience. Any occurrence that changes the the equilibrium of the environment is a disturbance in the field. The field is then in disequilibrium until it achieves a new balance. This is one of the reasons that this books develops very slowly - - it describes the field and all of its elements.
The book begins with a group of close-knit students at Barnard College: Lydia, Esther, Nina and Gaby. Their friendships are one of those rare ones that last their entire lives. Together they take philosophy classes and study the pre-Socratics, Aristotle, Plato, Dante, Sartre, and others. The philosophers and their beliefs are discussed among them as they try to interpret their lives. Lydia narrates the book and the book is written on two different planes - - that of the intellect and that of the heart.
The women finish college and begin their lives as independent people. Lydia, Gaby and Esther marry while Nina remains single. They are close friends with some male college friends as well. George is a psychotherapist who has slept with all of the women. Victor is an artist who marries Lydia and together they have four children. Lydia is a pianist in a small quartet. Gaby gives up her dance career to marry Don, an Orthopedist, and they have two children. Esther marries twice, both times to unsuitable men. Nina, a professor of the sciences, has a number of serially monogamous relationships. As the years pass, they try to understand the meaning of their lives while dealing with their heartfelt emotions.. Their lives intersect in many ways as their relationships endure through the years.
It is difficult to review this book without spoilers. The author carefully and methodically draws out each character as perceived by Lydia. The reader reaches a point where she feels like she knows each and every one of the characters like a trompe l'oeil painting. We know that the book is building up to something very major and tragic but there is no hint of what it is or when it will come. When it does come, everything is changed.
The writing is superb, not a word is wasted. This is a book of the mind and heart. It makes the reader think and cry. The author has created a major piece of work with this book, one that has enriched me in the reading.
Summary of Disturbances in the Field: A Novel
As powerful now as when first published in 1983, Lynne Sharon Schwartz's third novel established her as one of her generation's most assured writers. In this long-awaited reissue; readers can again warm to this acutely absorbing story. According to Lydia Rowe's friend George, a philosophizing psychotherapist, a "disturbance in the field" is anything that keeps us from realizing our needs. In the field of daily experiences, anything can stand in the way of our fulfillment, he explains--an interrupting phone call, an unanswered cry. But over time we adjust and new needs arise. But what if there's disturbance you can't get past? In this look at a girl's, then a wife and mother's, coming of age, Schwartz explores the questions faced by all whose visions of a harmonious existence are jolted into disarray. The result is a novel of captivating realism and lasting grace.Poetry Books
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