Review: Archie Henderson

The English Understand Wool, by Helen DeWitt (Storybook ND)

The title was enough to deter me, but the size and the cover did appeal (yes, you can sometimes judge a book by those!) Wool, it turned out, is a warm, comforting read.

DeWitt is best known for her debut novel, The Last Samurai. It was her 50th completed manuscript, which she finally handed in to a publisher in 1998, hitting the shelves in 2000. Then began a runaround for the author after the publisher went belly up, leading to what appears to have been terrible exploitation of DeWitt.

Behind the enervating attempt to be published and what followed must lie a story: a difficult relationship with publishers. Is Wool her revenge? It certainly is not a good optic for publishing and all who sail in it, from agents, to lawyers and all the rest of that crew.

Before reading her novella – and it can be done in an afternoon that will lift your spirits and make for a good evening – familiarise yourself with the French phrase mauvai ton. (The book does not help you.) It means, roughly, “in bad taste” and is crucial to following the story.

Marguerite, the narrator, uses it as early as page 2 – and repeats it often as her motif.

National Public Radio describes the book as part psychological thriller and part satirical critique. That last part fits the main character perfectly. No mauvai ton there.

Marguerite, it turns out, has been the victim of a con – actually a kidnap, but a generous one in which the two con artists/kidnappers are not only kind to the baby they have stolen but make sure she has almost everything she needs, even over-indulging her with activities like horse riding. She is raised in Marrakech but taught to be comfortable in all the cities of Europe and also New York. She is taught to speak perfect French and English and to understand the complexities of being sociable in high society.

By the time she is 17 she is intelligent enough to figure out what had happened to her as a baby after the con/kidnap is exposed. Then, instead of being angry with her kidnappers, she uses the guile she has learnt from them to take on the real villains of the piece (I will go no further here).

Marguerite has been brought up as a little lady, with a sharp brain to match. Her intelligence allows her to smell not only a rat, but a whole nest of them who are seeking to exploit her. How she leads them on, manipulates them and finally turns the tables is the theme of the book. But even in only 69 pages, there’s more to the story of revenge.

Unlike her first kidnappers, the second lot are greedy and not nearly as smart as their perceived naïve victim. How she strings them along is a large part of the book and she uses her sophistication to not only get the better of them, but completely humiliate them. A most satisfying finish.