About Schmidt

ABOUT SCHMIDT

by Louis Begley

 

Nominations: Dublin Longlist 1998, LA Times Finalist 1996, National Book Critics Circle Finalist 1996

 

Date Read: December 9, 2020

 

Schmidt is a pitiful soul, wandering through the echoing halls of his life, facing head-on the fact that he has become obsolete. His wife Mary passed tragically from cancer. His daughter Charlotte is engaged and consumed by her own life. He is a retired lawyer, somewhat estranged from the colleagues. So what is a man to do? 

 

As lonely and hopeless as Schmidt is, he seems to attract females right and left. His daughter’s fiance’s mother puts the moves on him and he seems somewhat receptive to her advances but nothing ultimately comes from this. And then there’s Carry, the waitress at his local diner who is in her early 20’s and is definitely interested. I found this relationship difficult to swallow. I couldn’t help thinking she was simply using him for his money.

 

This brings me to his wealth. Schmidt is very well off due to his career and real estate. Couldn’t he find some renewed purpose to his life by serving his community? Instead he is completely preoccupied by his own desires and moment-to-moment wants. Couldn’t he have uncovered some deeper purpose and use for himself? I had a difficult time sympathizing with this overprivileged, old, wealthy, somewhat racist white man. But perhaps that was Begley’s point…

 

Looking Forward: Wartime Lies

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