English major, huh? What are you going to do with that? A Contrary review by Mike Frechette  If a writer wants to lure and indulge a certain class of pretentious readers (i.e., those who studied literature in college or even worse, graduate school), then he should title one of his novels The English Major. This is what Jim Harrison did with his most recent publication, and I must admit that the English major in me could not withstand the urge to read it. Sixty-year old Cliff has recently suffered the dissolution of his thirty-eight-year marriage to Vivian. Now anchorless, this NPR-listening English teacher turned farmer decides it’s time to see the country. Starting out in Michigan, Cliff embarks on a series of memorable adventures as he tours the West and Southwest. From a physically taxing sexual affair with Marybelle – a mentally unstable former student – to a reunion with his gay and wildly successful son in California, Cliff temporarily escapes his painfully changed situation before turning back and heading home. Like many road-trip novels, this story ends where it begins, which can be regarded as a symbol of futility or wholeness. While the novel concludes on a positive sentiment, Cliff has by no means come full circle. Vivian, who has become a local real estate success over the years, sells the farm from underneath his feet, keeping most of the profit for herself and leaving Cliff in poverty. His sexual release on the road only further enslaves him to his animal desire, revealing “the hopelessness of sex to improve the human condition.” Cliff’s trip represents an attempt to break free of his social, economic, and biological constraints, but his fetters loosen only moderately by the novel’s conclusion. His only weapon against the tragedy of life is his caustic wit and self-deprecating sense of humor, which largely define the book’s tone. Cliff’s eloquent running commentary is by far the book’s best feature and makes for a pleasurable, humorous read. From insightful cultural critique to inane observations, he finds something witty to say about almost everything that enters his consciousness: “One thing that has gone wrong in America is the general acceptance of bad ham.” Even Cliff’s more serious criticisms do not lack his trademark humor. After listening to a senseless message from his son Robert, who mistakes Marybelle for someone with mental acuity, Cliff has “a sudden troubling thought that nobody seems to know much of anything. Everything in our culture seems to be marinating in the same plastic sack and the ingredients are deeply suspect.” For Cliff, the increasing homogeneity of contemporary culture is disconcerting. Literature is sacred, and its status should be preserved. Favorite quotes serve as life mottos for him as circumstances change. While Thoreau’s claim about the farm owning the man inspires Cliff at the start of his trip, Joyce’s famous maxim “silence, exile, cunning” comforts him as he returns home to an altered existence. Stylistically, the conversational prose flows well. Commas are sparse, creating a momentum to match Cliff’s pace of life on the road. Structurally, the novel is divided into chapters named after the various states through which he travels. At first, each state warrants only one chapter, but Cliff decides that some of his adventures deserve more attention, resulting in Nebraska II, for example. However, by the time we get to Montana Redux VI, the reader is ready for Harrison to put the car back in the garage. Cliff is a funny guy, but much like an actual road trip, the same traveling companion grows stale after a while. The English majors who read this novel may recoil at one of their own experiencing such disappointment in life. Cliff’s major triumph – aside from renewed sexual prowess – consists of renaming the states and their official birds, which is both funny and sad. If Cliff represents the archetypal English major, then late middle age amounts to little more than the ability to quickly compose witty, seemingly unrehearsed remarks about society and culture. It means a lifetime of being “high minded and low waged,” as Cliff’s father used to tell him. If so, then maybe Cliff has the right attitude – better to laugh about it than cry. Mike Frechette lives in Chicago with his wife, Michelle. Index of Reviews...>Reviews.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0

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The English Major

Jim Harrison

2008, Grove Press

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