March 5, 2003

"A Spy in the House of Love" by Anais Nin: Sabina is an accomplished actress and the wife of Alan, a successful, loving husband. She has everything and nothing. For Sabina is not a complete woman. She has no sense of self. Exploration and discovery is the only cure.

Sabina's emptiness leads her to take a series of lovers; Philip, a handsome man of little substance; Mambo, a passionate African drummer; John, a grounded aviator that thirsts for excitement; and Donald, a helpless innocent that brings forth Sabina's more maternal instincts.

Experience teaches lessons. Sabina employs passion on her behalf, learning to separate sex from love. This only complicates matters. The act of love doesn't fill the void within her, it only increases her despair. It drains her of any emotional ties to others, leaving her more alone that before. All that remains is guilt.

"A Spy in the House of Love" is one of five novels, containing the same general cast of characters, written by Ms. Nin that are often collected under the title "Cities of the Interior." While they can be read in sequential order of publication, they are all crafted individually so as to stand alone. "Spy" is the most famous of the quintet, and for good reason. Sabina is a remarkable character and her quest for self-awareness will touch a chord with any lost soul. Yet it's the structure that finds favor. Ms. Nin pulls the string on nonlinear storytelling, allowing the reader his or her own sense of discovery right along with our heroine.

The story opens with Sabina making a desperate phone call late at night. She picks a number at random. She needs a confessor. She finds a sleeping lie detector. The man, whose occupation is in fact the operation of a polygraph, traces Sabina to a nearby bar. The scene in which he first encounters her is repeated later from a different perspective to glorious effect.

This is an exceptional book. Its examination of love, and love's impact on one's being, is on par with any this humble reviewer has ever encountered.

RATING:

"The Four-Chambered Heart" by Anais Nin: Another fifth of "Cities of the Interior," "The Four-Chambered Heart" never reaches the emotional depths, and in turn the staggering heights, of "A Spy in the House of Love." It's more romance novel than timeless classic.

Djuna, the daughter of a domineering father, and Rango, a gypsy guitarist of slight ambition, are in love. Djuna secures a love nest all their own in the form of a dilapidated old boat docked along the river. If only Chris Farley would have been around to warn Rango in his youth that unless he got his act together he'd be a gypsy guitarist living in a boat down by the river.

Anyway, things are all cool except for one minor catch: Rango already has a wife. Adultery can be so maddening at times. The odd thing is that Rango's wife, Zora, really doesn't mind her husband taking lovers. See, Zora is practically bedridden by an endless list of ailments undetectable by modern science. She puts the psycho in psychosomatic. She's just pleased that Rango has found someone as beautiful and kind as Djuna to share his love. Really. Honest.

Zora's actions betray her pleasant words. Her imaginary illnesses begin to increase in frequency and intensity. Djuna sees through the woman's act. Love blinds Rango's eyes. He can't bear to break his connection to Zora. He is all she has. The situation places a strain upon Djuna and Rango, forcing Djuna to keep the different aspects of her love for Rango divided within her heart.

The attempt here is to answer for jealousy and the manipulation of love. Unfortunately, things are grossly overwritten. Everything gets explained to death. There's no emotion that goes undeclared. There's nothing for the reader to do. All the dots are connected, all the meaning exposed. If published today, there's no doubt it would be a bestseller and the subject of book clubs all across this great intellectually-challenged nation of ours. Stickers would be slapped on its cover.

I'm still going to give it two shots out of respect for its author and for a brief cameo by Sabina.

RATING: