‘Noah’s Compass’ tells of a man who can’t remember and won’t commit

 

Editor’s note:  Anita Paddock’s review of books we should read are scheduled to appear on the second and fourth Friday of each month. Enjoy.

review by Anita Paddock

Anne Tyler has recently published her 18th novel (That’s really something!), and once again, just like always, she has shown us how fascinating ordinary people really are.

The main character is Liam Pennywell, a bland kind of fellow, who enjoys reading philosophy and steers clear of anything that might require emotion. He’s the father of three daughters, but he isn’t close to any of them. First widowed, and then divorced, he’s reached the age of 61 without much to show for his life.

The novel begins when Liam is fired from teaching fifth grade at a second rate private school. He decides to move to a cheap apartment where he may retire — or may not — depending upon how his finances hold out. On the first night in his new apartment, he goes to sleep only to wake up in the hospital with a concussion. He remembers nothing about the events that led to a fight with a burglar that is heard by neighbors and reported to police.

This loss of memory worries him, and his hospital stay provides an excuse for his sister and daughters to visit him, something he’s not exactly happy with, mainly because their presence complicates his uncomplicated life.

On a doctor’s visit, he meets a young woman, Eunice, who works as a “rememberer” for a wealthy man who is becoming forgetful. He pursues Eunice, who wears long earrings and wide sandals, hoping she can shed some light on how he might remember the attack he suffered by the burglar. Liam and Eunice sort of fall in love, but like everything else in his life, it requires a commitment and he just isn’t up to it.

Stay with this book. It starts off slow, but I found the characters as true as true can be. It’s like sitting at a kitchen table with a friend you’ve known for a while, and all of a sudden that friend is telling you some of the saddest and most poignant stories you’ve ever heard. You find yourself, saying, “Oh, I’m sorry. How did you live through that?”

Then the friend says, “There were some happy times too. You don’t want to throw away memories because the good might go along with the bad.”

The title is a little vague, and all the time I was reading the novel. I was waiting for that “oh, yeah” moment when I would realize how the book got its title. I’m not exactly sure, but I think Liam lived life without a compass, just like Noah did in the flood. He just loaded the animals on the boat and waited.

Don’t we all sort of do that?

•••

In my long years in Fort Smith, I’ve known lots of people who tried to follow a plan, or a compass, if you will. They wanted to go to a certain college, marry a certain person, get a certain job, live a certain life. And some of them did, and only they can say if they’re really happy.

One person, a friend I admire and think is the funniest person I’ve ever known is Carla Ramer. Carla grew up in Spiro, lived in Dallas and other parts of the Southwest before settling in Fort Smith. A poet who performs frequently around town, she has lived her life without a compass. She’s been through her share of floods, but she’s here to tell about them, the way good poets do. Read her book of poetry, “Beneath the Black Water” and see for yourself.

“Ramona, the Pest” was Carla’s favorite book as a child, and anyone who knows her as an adult can understand why that book was her favorite. She is reading “The Portrait” by Iain Pears,“The Bell Tower by Robert Graysmith, and “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov.

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