The Middle of the Journey

by Lionel Trilling

Book Overview

Published in 1947 as the Cold War was heating up, Trilling's only novel was a prophetic reckoning with the ideological conflicts that would come to a head in the McCarthy era. But this work of complex... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380005204
• ISBN13: 9780380005208
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Still very relevant to political debate

A neglected semi-classic, Lionel Trilling's only novel is less of a traditional story and more an inspection of liberalism's purpose and effect outside of narrow intellectual circles in 1930's New York. The actual story line, a summer vacation for a man coming to terms with life, death, and his philosophy, is the catalyst for intellectual introspection as opposed to the underlying purpose of the novel. In the story, John Laskell is a New York intellectual who takes a summer vacation in New England after emotional and physical devastation (his lover died and he later contracted scarlet fever). Invited to the country by two people from his circle, Arthur and Nancy Croom, he boards with a local family and gradually moves from pastoral observer to active participant in the rural life of New England. Throughout the summer, he slowly overcomes a small portion of his initial arrogance and allows himself to become involved with various locals. Most notable are his foil Duck Caldwell, Duck's wife and daughter, his hosts the Folgers, and the Folger's aristocratic and feudal benefactor, Julia Walker. These continued involvements force him out of some long-held beliefs and a final, unexpected tragedy forces Laskell to break with his earlier philosophies and, consequently, his inner circle of friends. Aiding in this change is Gifford Maxim, a mutual acquaintance of Laskell and the Crooms, whose earlier break with the Communist Party and subsequent religious fervor places an additional strain on the relationship between Laskell, his friends, and his ideas. (It is important to note that the Communist Party held a certain sway amongst intellectuals in the 1930's and 1940's that did not fully diminish until Stalin's atrocities became irrefutable.) The pace of the novel is extraordinarily slow at first. In early chapters, Laskell's every word is excruciatingly planned and subsequently reviewed for appropriateness, potential misperception, and consistency with his stated philosophies. As he moves away from constant introspection and towards a gradual embrace of the simpler things in life, the pace quickens and begins to approximate a traditional novel until the climax moves us violently out of the intellectual world and into a much more humane realm. Through it all, Laskell's painstaking inspection of each word in each exchange stands in stark contrast to Duck, a man who Laskell holds in cautious contempt but whose actions he follows almost without realizing (specifically, Duck's philosophy on sexual relations). One of the book's chief arguments is whether or not an intellectual should hold true to an idea no matter the cost. I personally do not believe that betrayal of an idea is morally repugnant, but this is obviously the position of the Crooms. It is also the key struggle for Arthur throughout the novel as he considers both Maxim's break with the Communist Party and his own break with long-held ideals. An interesting idea hinted at by Maxim's co

Critique of Intellectual opium

A novel with a political point that is a good read, and that avoids being didactic or preachy. That many liberal intellectuals, writers, and artists in the 1930s allowed themselves to be beguiled by the profoundly illiberal Great Experiment of Communism is well known. Lionel Trilling was a prominent literary critic based at Columbia University who was a liberal, but who also managed to remain skeptical about Stalin's paradise. That stance put him out of step (to use Sidney Hook's phrase) with very many of his colleagues and fellow members of the New York intellectual and artistic communities. This novel is built around the political, intellectual, and moral conflicts of those times, with one of the main characters based on Whittaker Chambers. Trilling's own views are pretty well represented by these three quotes from the book: "Nancy's feeling was not about conforming or not conforming, not about freedom or submission. It was a feeling about human nature, a profound dissatisfaction with the way human beings had ever been..." "And never has there been so much talk of liberty while the chains are being forged. Democracy and freedom And in the the most secret heart of every intellectual, where he scarcely knows of it himself, there lies hidden the real hope that these words hide. It is the hope of power, the desire to bring his ideas to reality by imposing them on his fellow man." "You believed me when I brought you good news of it. Now that I bring you bad news of it, you not only will not listen to me, but you fear me and call me names. I am sure you will say that I have no proof. But I had no proof before. You believe as you want to believe." Nicely done, with a good deal of subtlety, and without spitefulness or malice in any direction. Everybody had their reasons and ideals, after all, misplaced as some of those turned out to be.

Who's afraid of Lionel Trilling?

The Middle of the Journey (published 1947) is a NYRB classic which I finished reading some time ago but have only gotten around to reviewing now for reasons which will probably become evident. I have long been aware of Trilling's essays on literature, particularly his take on Henry James, and was not surprised to find out that Trilling's novel is very Jamesian in its psychological detail and fine probing of character, motivation, and action. I suspect that this sort of narrative complexity may be enough to kill the pleasure for a reader wanting something to take to the beach. Having said that there is one sex scene and one scene of violence in the book, but Trilling's carefully marinated prose shows that sex and violence take place in a person's mind long before the acts happen. Trilling shows us what happens when four East Coast intellectuals--who espouse communist, socialist, or progressive and liberal ideas--meet for a summer month in the Connecticut countryside. (Note that at the time of publication in 1947, Trilling claimed that none of his characters drew upon any living person; later, Trilling confessed otherwise.) The Middle of the Journey shows the development of the lives of people we ought to care about: sensitive, intelligent "knowledge workers" who have the power and ability to use their brains toward the good of the nation and to benefit marginalized people. But these literati and intelligentsia are human, and they have typical weaknesses: difficulties recognizing their own emotions, particularly when they are vulnerable to fear and delusion, and they have difficulties communicating with working-class, provincial people (the very ones they intend to help). The central consciousness through which the reader perceives events is John Laskell, a 33-year old economics professor (if I recall), who is in the process of recovering from a near-fatal case of scarlet fever. Regarding the craft of writing, Trilling created Laskell to be the best moral compass for this novel for many reasons: Laskell is a liberal thinker who wants his life work to benefit the working poor at the same time he has a conflicted relationship to the United States Communist Party, which was still believed to be the best hope for the oppressed. The book opens while Laskell is boarding a train for the countryside, to the home of his friends, the Crooms, to recover from his near-death illness. After a close brush with the complex Maxim Gifford, Laskell waits in the destination train station for the Crooms to pick him up. Laskell begins to ponder why his friends are late to meet him, and thus begin the reader's suspicions as well. Laskell is also trying to find out what "recovery" means, recovery from his brush with death: "The vertigo of fear began in his stomach and rose in a spiral to his brain. He did not know what he was afraid of. He was not terrified by anything, he was just in terror" (10). Trilling continues, "Laskell sat there, sweating and trem