By Nightfall

Still straying from "the list," I recently picked up Michael Cunningham's latest, By Nightfall, at an author event. A slim novel, it tells the story of Peter Harris, a middle-aged art gallery owner in New York. Peter is seemingly happy in his marriage, but when his wife's much younger, wayward brother comes to stay with them, he finds himself attracted to the young man. A loose homage to Thomas Mann's Death in Venice, this book isn't nearly as heavy-handed with literary references as The Hours or Specimen Days. And neither is it the sprawling family drama of Cunningham's earlier work, Flesh and Blood. In fact, it is a fairly quiet novel compared to these other examples. Not bad, but just not quite as remarkable as The Hours or Flesh and Blood.

Seeing Michael Cunningham in person was utterly delightful, however. I went to a reading and signing for this book. He read a couple of short scenes from it, then a rather lengthy chapter from what he's currently working on. He said it was a first draft, but if that's true, I can't imagine how I ever thought I could be a writer. It's so polished--I can't imagine he just sits down and writes that beautifully! I hope by first draft he meant the first draft that he was willing to show anyone. Otherwise, he's even more talented than I thought!

What I found most interesting in his talk was his theory that prose should sound rhythmic and artistic when read aloud even to someone who doesn't speak the language of the work. He really pays attention to the stresses of the syllables as he strings together his sentences, but not in a labored way. I hate prose that is trying too hard to be poetic--I'm sure everyone has seen that. You can tell each little word in a sentence is labored over. Cunningham's prose is beautiful and artistic but in a way that feel natural. You can imagine someone speaking the dialogue. The narrative doesn't feel forced. That, I think, is the sign of a truly talented writer.