April 4, 2011
In Scribner's evocative latest, Naomi, a professional nose who's lost her sense of smell, and her husband, Scanlon, professor of mass movements and radical action, have just moved to Douglas, Ore., for his tenure-track position when Naomi wakes up to find the air full of the smell of mint. What turns out to be an olfactory daydream, however, becomes reality as Naomi's nose returns and is hungry for experience. Despite the smalltown feel of Douglas, the city is host to forces that threaten to tear apart the young family, namely anarchist Clay and secessionist Sequoia, whom Scanlon meets through field research but quickly loses his objective distance. Naomi, meanwhile, is terrified her revived sense of smell will abandon her again, and, as Clay becomes increasingly involved with Naomi and Scanlon, what once looked like a smart career move for Scanlon starts to feel more like a nightmare. Each character struggles with the line between idealism and realism, and, to his great credit, Scribner (Miracle Girl) avoids making the reader feel lectured to as he plays out his exploration of what happens when ideas and desires get put into practice.
April 1, 2011
An East Coast couple grows increasingly entangled in the political and emotional lives of Oregon radicals.
As the third novel by Scribner (The GoodLife, 2000; Miracle Girl, 2003) opens, Scanlon and Naomi are a married couple heading west under a cloud of anxiety. Scanlon is an academic who specializes in anarchist and secessionist movements, but a much-derided journal article has shut him out of teaching jobs at first-tier universities. Naomi, for her part, is worried about her pregnancy and unhappy to be living in a fogbound Oregon college town. But there are upsides: The clean air appears to have revived the acute sense of smell she lost in a car accident, which ended her career as a perfume designer, and Scanlon has plenty of source material for his research. Indeed, as Scanlon becomes increasingly involved in one such movement he's eventually appointed its leader—which on top of being bad form academically puts him in the awkward company of Sequoia, a tempting Earth goddess type. Naomi, meanwhile, struggles to manage the new baby while growing closer to Clay, a young, brooding and sometimes violent anarchist. Scribner realistically captures the nature of secessionist movements, but he leaves room for humor, usually at Scanlon's expense: He's routinely put into humiliating situations with his skeptical department chair or academic colleagues, and sweats over his attraction to Sequoia. And writing about Naomi gives Scribner's prose an interesting degree of sensual detail; she captures a surprising amount of information through smell. Still, the book feels overwritten, full of dry subplots and scenes packed with needless detail. Eventually, the plot strains credulity: Scanlon's academic colleagues hardly bat an eye that he's lost his objectivity in leading the anarchist collective, and the collective is largely oblivious that they're thesis fodder. The author resolves the many plot threads, but requires a contrived ending to get there.
Scribner has done his homework on everything from radicalism to perfumes, but in service to an overly schematic plot.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
Starred review from May 15, 2011
Scanlon Pratt takes one last shot at tenure and accepts a faculty position in radical studies near Douglas, OR. By studying a grassroots movement far from the rarified tweedy radicals back east, he is convinced he can write the required scholarly articles to make a name for himself. His wife, Naomi, who gives birth to a son soon after they arrive, misses the New York social life. With her special gift for scents, she had been influential in creating perfumes but tragically lost her ability to smell in an auto accident. Their move to Oregon coincides with her useless nose, a marooned career, and a longing for her first baby given up for adoption. To gain inside information, Scanlon joins the local Pacific Northwest Secessionist Movement, only to discover just how ineffective it is. Scanlon is tempted by an earth mother type in the movement. His father comes to visit in a big RV. An energetic TV reporter dogs him for a story. Without fanfare, one of the more dedicated anarchists has plans of his own that bring the story to a tension-filled conclusion. VERDICT The award-winning Scribner (The Good Life) can't resist a friendly dig at Douglas's radical movement folks through disgruntled Scanlon and Naomi, but these lighter moments never overshadow the genuine regard Scribner has for their commitment to life outside the mainstream. Excellent literary fiction with an occasionally humorous touch.--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2011
The Oregon Experiment is both title and shorthand plot synopsis of Scribner's latest novel. Scanlon Pratt, a disgraced scholar of political theory and social movements, moves from New York to Douglas, Oregon, to teach at the university there and work on a publication about anarchism and secessionism that he hopes will redeem his reputation. In tow is his reluctant and very pregnant wife, Naomi, a perfume maker who hopes the stay in Oregon will be short. Thus begins the experiment, one of making a new life among Oregon's latter-day hippies and anarchists, learning to be parents, and discovering the rebellious spirit in themselves and the local population. Scribner's The Good Life (2000) made quite a splash, and The Oregon Experiment is equally ambitious, with rich characters and some amusing plot twists. The theme of the transplanted New York professor dealing with the strange ways of Oregonians may remind some of Bernard Malamud's masterful A New Life (1961).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
April 1, 2011
An East Coast couple grows increasingly entangled in the political and emotional lives of Oregon radicals.
As the third novel by Scribner (The GoodLife, 2000; Miracle Girl, 2003) opens, Scanlon and Naomi are a married couple heading west under a cloud of anxiety. Scanlon is an academic who specializes in anarchist and secessionist movements, but a much-derided journal article has shut him out of teaching jobs at first-tier universities. Naomi, for her part, is worried about her pregnancy and unhappy to be living in a fogbound Oregon college town. But there are upsides: The clean air appears to have revived the acute sense of smell she lost in a car accident, which ended her career as a perfume designer, and Scanlon has plenty of source material for his research. Indeed, as Scanlon becomes increasingly involved in one such movement he's eventually appointed its leader--which on top of being bad form academically puts him in the awkward company of Sequoia, a tempting Earth goddess type. Naomi, meanwhile, struggles to manage the new baby while growing closer to Clay, a young, brooding and sometimes violent anarchist. Scribner realistically captures the nature of secessionist movements, but he leaves room for humor, usually at Scanlon's expense: He's routinely put into humiliating situations with his skeptical department chair or academic colleagues, and sweats over his attraction to Sequoia. And writing about Naomi gives Scribner's prose an interesting degree of sensual detail; she captures a surprising amount of information through smell. Still, the book feels overwritten, full of dry subplots and scenes packed with needless detail. Eventually, the plot strains credulity: Scanlon's academic colleagues hardly bat an eye that he's lost his objectivity in leading the anarchist collective, and the collective is largely oblivious that they're thesis fodder. The author resolves the many plot threads, but requires a contrived ending to get there.
Scribner has done his homework on everything from radicalism to perfumes, but in service to an overly schematic plot.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)