Appointment in Samarra: A Novel [Paperback]

Julian English, the main protagonist, inherits a place at the top of his society in Gibbsville, Pennsylvania---a pseudonym for Pottstown, where O'Hara grew up. He has married the most desirable girl of his set. What makes him throw a drink in the face of a gentleman who annoys or bores him ? Whatever it is, that starts a most precipitous decline, which only a few days later, leads to a (by then) non-surprise ending. Fate has written it thus, and Julian cannot escape. He doesn't struggle much, that's for sure. Much of the book explores the previous lives of several characters: wife, friends, a small-time gangster. Pottstown life comes across as narrowly provincial, sexually active, fairly alcoholic, at least in its upper reaches, and divided into rigid categories. It has been said before about O'Hara that he creates excellent atmosphere, builds up an intricate plot, and then crashes at the end. This novel is no exception; it just trickles across the finish line.

O'Hara's America is one in which Anglo-Saxons still rule, but live under challenge from newer, perhaps more dynamic groups. The rulers dislike all their challengers intensely. Snobbism is writ large in O'Hara's work---though a Catholic of Irish descent, he obviously placed himself with the ruling class and he did come from a wealthy background. He constantly emphasizes the importance of "being with the right people", consuming the right items, living on the right street, and "being at the right social events". And it's no wonder that he reserves his nastiest cracks for Jews. Never a mention without a sneer, a condescending witticism, or outright nastiness. I often felt like throwing the book out the window. I thanked my good luck that I outlived that narrowminded America and can look back on Mr. O'Hara and his heyday with considerable relief that America has changed, at least in this way, for the better. Nothing can prove my point better than the experience of reading this outdated novel.

What strikes me as a distinct divergence from such works as The Great Gatsby is that it, unlike Gatsby, it takes place at the onset of The Great Depression - just after Gatsby's epoch. So, in a sense, Appointment is not all fun and games and infinite debauchery without any foreseeable repercussions. Of Fitzgerald's works, I liken it most to The Beautiful and Damned - the perpetual dynamics of a moral vacuum, alcoholism, self-destructive proclivities, failed relationships, adultery, etc. are all readily present -- as is the constant and unflagging conviction of Julian as he steadfastly holds on to any vestige of his integrity through it all.

In summation, the extraordinarily crass (although realistic and highly entertaining) dialogue, superb characterization of a veritable endless array of diverse individuals, & a fluid and genuinely suspenseful plot are what make this a great, although somewhat morose, American novel not to be missed.