The true mark of a good book is its ability to withstand the test of time. Alison Lurie's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Foreign Affairs is one that easily falls into that category. Despite having been published over 15 years ago, its themes of love, solitude, and social expectation still ring true.
Vinnie Miner, an English professor at Corinth College, has taken a six-month sabbatical from her teaching position on a foundation grant to continue her study of childhood folk-rhymes in London. At best, she is nondescript and unassuming; middle-aged, divorced, and neither exceptionally pretty or unattractive. Her story overlaps with that of Fred Turner, an associate professor of English and colleague of Vinnie's who has also taken six months from his teaching responsibilities to work in London on his book documenting the work of 18th century writer John Gay. Unlike Vinnie, he is young (29 to be exact) and remarkably handsome - he invariably attracts the attention of complete strangers wherever he goes, causing them to wonder "if they haven't seen him somewhere before, maybe in some film or on the telly."
The paths of these two English professors cross in London - not so much as a result of their similar professional interests as Fred's eventual involvement with renowned English television actress Lady Rosemary Radley, known as much for her acting as her looks and unpredictable nature. Vinnie has already established her membership in certain social circles in prior visits to England, but Fred is new to this upper-crust social scene of London, comprised of actors, writers, politicians, and the like.
While Fred embarks on his own romantic adventure, spurred by the breakdown of his marriage to a photographer/feminist back in "the States," Vinnie finds herself in the midst of an adventure of her own. As the novel progresses, she becomes surprisingly more entangled in the affairs of Chuck Mumpson, a Midwestern sanitation engineer who befriends her on the plane ride from New York to London - though "friend" may be too warm a word, given her initial attempts to dodge his banter.
Lurie skillfully combines various issues to create a complex yet cohesive novel. Despite exploring issues that range from romance to self-perception to the fundamental tension between the British and Americans, Foreign Affairs remains consistent throughout. And although complications and complexities relating to love, marriage, and physical pleasures are the novel's dominant themes, it somehow sidesteps becoming a romance novel. It is never trite or clich?©, but rather honest and lyrical in its examination of the effects of a sexual relationship on an individual.
Contributing to the consistency of the novel is the author's unfaltering voice. Even as she shifts from Vinnie's perspective to Fred's in each alternating chapter, Lurie manages to capture each time their subtleties and particular qualities. The writing style changes noticeably but comfortably to further demonstrate the differences between Vinnie and Fred, but not outside the realm the novel established in its early chapters.
Foreign Affairs is a droll, idiosyncratic blend of British and American culture and custom. Lurie creates this combination of two worlds in the behavior of the two protagonists as well as in the language of the novel itself. It is an endearing and effortless joining of the American style ingrained in Vinnie, Fred and Chuck, and the British colloquialisms that inevitably work their way in.
Although it lags somewhat in the middle - as novels often do - Foreign Affairs is a well-crafted novel. With compelling themes, sympathetic characters, and beautiful language, it remains familiar and powerful well after being first received by literary audiences at a time when we were just beginning to read books ourselves. It has certainly stood the test of time.
