Vida [Paperback]

Set up for a conspiracy, on the run for many years- what a life. I admire the work done by the activists of the seventies, but would not want to live the life forced on Vida. How can someone run for so long and remain so disconnected from people, as she had to be? She did the work that she did because of her love and concern for others so it was even harder to take that she wasn't "allowed" personal involvement. Her work in the "movement" continued, but I was left with a feeling of discontent by her life. I don't remember the details, as I read the book several years ago, but I do remember the feeling that I had when Vida had to walk away from it all, again.

I just finished Piercy's novel, and I'm really impressed. There are some literary characters who are unforgettable, who have been canonized into world literature as those rare characters who could just as well be "real" people, living among us, as they are people on pages. Holden Cauffield, Madame Bovary, Humbert Humbert, Mrs. Dalloway, Don Juan, Emma, Old Goriot, Raskolnikov. . . the list goes on and on. I think that Vida deserves a place among their literary legions. She is an extremely compelling character, fascinating, in fact, and totally unforgettable. . . She is a political activist who is continually in hiding from the authorities (i.e., the police, the FBI, the CIA), as a result of having involved herself in a sort of "network" of young activists out to "change the world." They hope to accomplish this through active political involvement, and one of the methods they employ is that of bombings, which I personally disagree with, believing that violence is never the answer. Vida would certainly call me an "armchair liberal" for this. Regardless, she is induced to spend her life in disguise, running away from the law, and her life is utter chaos. It may seem somewhat like an exciting and adventurous sort of existence for the reader, but very few people would actually choose, I think, to life a life of total turmoil. Vida is not exactly repentant of her actions, but she does often tire of having to live her life "underground," and not being able to enjoy the pleasures which people not "underground" often take for granted: a stable life, a stable job, a stable place of residence, a stable relationship, etc. Vida spends her life moving around and around, surrounded by fascinating people (most of whom are transient in her life, however), and can even be said to live a "life of mystery" (an idea which is pretty exciting in itself), but she also spends her life worrying, always looking over her shoulder to see who might be following her, who might be seeking to turn her in to the authorities. Not too many leftists would be willing to sacrifice their well-being and independence to fight for their causes, and in this sense, Vida is to be commended. She is a character from a novel, of course, but I'm sure that there are still quite a number of leftover political fugitives from the 60's running around in "real life," as there are those willing to help out the fugitives, with refuge, with money, with all forms of support to protect them. In this manner, although "Vida" is only a novel, life can and does imitate art, and so it is possible to imagine that the sort of things which occur in Piercy's novel could actually occur in "real life." Would I shelter Vida? Yes. I truly believe in the political causes of 60's activists (especially civil-rights activists and anti-corporate and anti-war activists). Would I choose to live a life like Vida's? Oh, no. All liberals draw the line somewhere! Regardless, Piercy's literary heroine is the type who fascinates, who inspires, and I found myself encouraging her in all of her "adventures" (except for the bombings!) while reading the novel. This novel is also not without its humor. Many of the people involved in the "network" are laughable, especially when they get all "nit-picky" over issues, and the way in which some of them fight with each other over trivial details. But even the idiosyncracies (and at times idiocies) of the characters in this novel have their own charm. People of all sorts of walks of life and political ideals can be absurd indeed, and Piercy transmits this exceptionally well in her novel. The only character I found thoroughly detestable is Leigh, Vida's husband/ex-husband, who is a ridiculous fraud and phony, and who represents the worst sort of armchair-liberal imaginable. (But it's really not our place to like or dislike literary characters; that is to say, that a person who knows about literature should know better than to judge literary characters, for they exist in a realm outside of the mundane, outside of "real life,"). Nevertheless, in spite of this literary caveat, shoved down our throats by countless literature professors, I read the parts of the novel involving Leigh with clenched teeth, and, to put it delicately, not wishing him well. "Bastard!" I often found myself saying. However, Joel and Eva, two of Vida's formidable lovers, are thoroughly likeable and intriguing. Joel is extremely naive, but in a pretty lovable way. "Vida" is an exceptional novel. At times it is fairly unbelievable (is it really so dangerous for Vida to venture into a diner just to purchase coffee, even when she is in disguise?) but it is literature, after all. And, as I was not alive during the 60's or know any fugitives from that era, I don't know just how far these sorts of things can go. I could go on and on about this novel, as I tend to do with novels that leave a deep and indelible impression upon me which endures far after I finish them, but I have already said quite a lot, and am very thankful to anyone who has had the patience and interest to read my review. In conclusion, this novel is a great one, and well worth your time, especially if you like Thomas Pynchon or Norman Mailer, for example, and are interested in the political activism and issues of the 60's. Enjoy! (Or "dig it!") :)