Foreign Affairs
by Alison Lurie
Award: Pulitzer 1985
Nominations: National Book 1984, National Book Critics Circle 1984
Dates Read: April 16, 2011 & June 2, 2020
Foreign Affairs follows to professors from the same university who travel to London to further their research. Both fall in love and both return to their small university town empty-handed but more self-aware for having loved.
Vinnie Miner is a fiercely independent, modest, older woman who's expertise lies in children's rhymes. She is an Anglophile, having been to England many times and carved out a second life for herself whenever she's in town. On the plane, she meets Chuck, a sanitary engineer, not well educated, the complete opposite of everything Vinnie is and stands for. Due to an accidental meeting after they land, they begin spending time together and embark on a romantic liaison. Through this relationship and its ultimate ending, Vinnie learns that she is lovable, whereas previously she has believed that all relationships were doomed to fail.
Fred Turner, a colleague of Vinnie's and who specializes in literature, also falls in love. His marriage on the rocks and unsure of what waits for him when he returns to New York, Fred meets and woos Rosemary, a neurotic actress with a dazzling persona. When Rosemary finally realizes that Fred is going to leave her as soon as his research grant ends, she severs all contact with him. Yet, in the end, he begins to realize that his relationships with both his wife and Rosemary only work when they serve his purposes. He realizes that he needs to be more considerate of his partners, rather than himself.
While both of these London affairs take differing tones and paths, both parties grow in their understanding of and capacity to give love.
Lurie's writing here is outstanding and what could have been a selacious page-turner, turns out to be a beautiful tale of love, both quiet and loud.
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