The Review of Contemporary Fiction

Gould: A Novel in Two Novels by Stephen Dixon
Thomas Hove

Stephen Dixon. Gould: A Novel in Two Novels. Henry Holt, 1997. 277 pp. $24.00.

The strength of these two connected novellas, “Abortions” and “Evangeline,” lies in their stimulating treatment of two familiar themes: the mutual deceptions of lovers and the anxieties of becoming, or of trying to avoid becoming, a parent. Written in Dixon’s trademark style (long paragraphs with rapid-fire dialogue and abrupt temporal leaps and compressions), Gould portrays a dizzying variety of oral and written mendacities between lovers and documents one man’s gradual transformation from selfish lout to caring husband and father. In “Abortions” Dixon takes us from Gould Bookbinder’s first long-term relationship at age seventeen through five more relationships. Each is recounted with exceptional economy and virtuosity, and each ends with some form of abortion. Some of these abortions occur in dangerous and illegal conditions; some possibly never take place; some Gould wishes he could have prevented; one is accidental. Initially, Gould cannot tolerate his lovers’ social, intellectual, and physical shortcomings, and he betrays them in various ways in order to avoid taking on the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. Eventually, he settles down, has two daughters, remains devoted to his ailing wife, yet is haunted by a desire to have a third child. The mother of the boy who may have catalyzed his transformation is the subject of the second novella, “Evangeline.” Although Dixon devotes many more pages to this relationship than to any of the six covered in “Abortions,” we realize that this was neither the longest nor the most significant one in Gould’s life. But Dixon lends an elegiac tone to Gould’s memories of it, perhaps because these memories ultimately provide him with the third child he has been longing for. With admirable detachment and without lapsing into heavy-handedness, Dixon has written a profound meditation on what makes both romantic and parental love maddening yet irresistible, on what it takes to become and remain a parent, and on how twentieth-century American social conflicts and mores complicate both of these endeavors. Like good poetry, Gould implies and evokes more than it specifies and resolves, and it is well worth reading more than once for the insights it affords. [Thomas Hove]


Interview with Founder Board of Directors Funders Submission Guidelines Dalkey Archive Full Catalog Current and Forthcoming Titles Recent Titles Review of Contemporary Fiction Special Library Offer Special Backlist Sale Stores & Wholesalers Academics Libraries Reviewers Context Casebooks Author Interviews Links Dalkey Archive News Events Newsletter

The Review of Contemporary Fiction Gould: A Novel in Two Novels by Stephen Dixon Thomas Hove Stephen Dixon. Gould: A Novel in Two Novels. Henry Holt, 1997. 277 pp. $24.00. The strength of these two connected novellas, “Abortions” and “Evangeline,” lies in their stimulating treatment of two familiar themes: the mutual deceptions of lovers and the anxieties of becoming, or of trying to avoid becoming, a parent. Written in Dixon’s trademark style (long paragraphs with rapid-fire dialogue and abrupt temporal leaps and compressions), Gould portrays a dizzying variety of oral and written mendacities between lovers and documents one man’s gradual transformation from selfish lout to caring husband and father. In “Abortions” Dixon takes us from Gould Bookbinder’s first long-term relationship at age seventeen through five more relationships. Each is recounted with exceptional economy and virtuosity, and each ends with some form of abortion. Some of these abortions occur in dangerous and illegal conditions; some possibly never take place; some Gould wishes he could have prevented; one is accidental. Initially, Gould cannot tolerate his lovers’ social, intellectual, and physical shortcomings, and he betrays them in various ways in order to avoid taking on the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. Eventually, he settles down, has two daughters, remains devoted to his ailing wife, yet is haunted by a desire to have a third child. The mother of the boy who may have catalyzed his transformation is the subject of the second novella, “Evangeline.” Although Dixon devotes many more pages to this relationship than to any of the six covered in “Abortions,” we realize that this was neither the longest nor the most significant one in Gould’s life. But Dixon lends an elegiac tone to Gould’s memories of it, perhaps because these memories ultimately provide him with the third child he has been longing for. With admirable detachment and without lapsing into heavy-handedness, Dixon has written a profound meditation on what makes both romantic and parental love maddening yet irresistible, on what it takes to become and remain a parent, and on how twentieth-century American social conflicts and mores complicate both of these endeavors. Like good poetry, Gould implies and evokes more than it specifies and resolves, and it is well worth reading more than once for the insights it affords. [Thomas Hove]

Search the full text of our books: