James Purdy was one of the great authors of the 20th Century, yet many of today's readers, regardless of age and education, have never heard of him. It's a shame really, as he was a distinctive voice for the social misfits, down-and-outers and misunderstood denizens of a country that has always had a sharp demarcation line between the haves- and have-nots. While Purdy's novels are in themselves unique, they also bring to mind the best works of Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. I suspect that, in his prime, Purdy was unfairly neglected because of the frank depictions of homosexuality in his tales, his dark critiques of  religion, and the hypocrisy and repression in American society. Purdy's body of work spans decades, but he seemed to be at his best during the 1960's and 70's. For more information about James Purdy, check out my blog post from June 6, 2023. Or just click here. 

Considered by Purdy fans to be his greatest novel, Eustace Chisholm and the Works features a title character who is neither hero nor anti-hero, friend nor enemy. He may be the title character of the book but he is not the main character. In fact, Eustace Chisholm (aka Ace) is a lay-about, would-be poet living in unkempt squalor on the upper floor of a tumbledown apartment building in depression-era Chicago. When Eustace is not aimlessly walking the streets of Chicago (clearly not looking for work), he functions as an emotional sounding board for the coterie of outsiders who frequent his shabby accommodations. He reads the found letters of others, scrawls bad poetry in charcoal across pages of newspaper, and listens carefully to tales of woe and desperation, of unrequited love and misguided instincts. Of course, it hasn't escaped Eustace that he may be able to use these private confessions in his future work: the pasts, presents, and futures of his confidantes are potential fodder for his literary ambitions (such as they are). Lacking wisdom and any sense of moral clarity, Eustace simply serves as a "Greek Chorus" (as noted on the back cover of the book) who has very little interest in furthering anyone's interest other than his own. Even though Eustace is the least interesting member of this motley collection of (mostly) financially distressed characters, his voice is essential to the narrative. 

At the center of this tale is the beautiful 17-year-old college student, Amos Ratcliffe, who is attempting to teach Greek to Eustace, although he spends more time bemoaning his unreciprocated love for his brutal young landlord, Daniel Haws. These two exist in a state of discordant, misaligned desire in the crumbling, mostly empty tenement across from Eustace's building. Daniel's hardscrabble past has toughened and inured him to any notions of affection--especially from members of his own sex. However, Daniel also sleepwalks and his nocturnal wanderings often lead to Amos's small room, where, unbeknownst to Daniel (at least temporarily), his true nature is revealed. 

Maureen O'Dell is an alcoholic good-time girl and artist, whose most recent bedmate--Daniel Haws--has impregnated her and left her to deal with the consequences. In Eustace's "salon", an angry, embittered--often drunk--Maureen somehow manages to hold on to vestiges of humor as her life falls apart and is reconstituted again (for better and for worse).  Eustace has, meanwhile, taken downtrodden sign salesman, Clayton Harms into his care (and bed), after his wife Carla decamps with a younger man. However, Carla has recently discovered that her boy toy has even less ambition than her husband, and returns home to Eustace, repentant and begging forgiveness. Eustace decides to put Carla back to work if she plans on being his wife again; she brings in the money and turns her earnings over to Eustace. That the devil's bargain Carla makes in order to stay with the man she loves. Unsurprisingly, this does not sit well with Clayton Harms. There's also Reuben Masterson, a multi-millionaire lusting after Amos (who, among them, doesn't lust after Amos?), who shows up regularly at the Chisholm household in an attempt to woo Amos away from his hopeless existence with Daniel. Intending to "rescue" the young man and carry him away to his countryside mansion, Reuben has, apparently, never heard the phrase "be careful what you wish for". After all, the mansion belongs to his dragon lady of a mother (actually his grandmother), who also controls the purse strings.  

 Amidst all the sturm und drang, people strive for connection, and the luckier (or not) ones manage to find sex, if not love.  

In very short order, things with these characters go from bad to worse. Vivid memories of incest, evangelical zeal, parental abandonment, child labor and other cruelties have steered our crew into perilous waters. There's a visit to a backstreet abortionist which spares no detail in describing the graphic and shockingly vicious procedure. In fact, the prevailing undercurrent of violence finally separates some of our friends, and misunderstandings have fatal consequences. A skeptical Eustace pays a visit to a frightened clairvoyant who turns Eustace into a true believer when she bestows her "gift" upon him. And then there is the sadistic psychopath, Captain Stadger, a military commander who makes life--literally--a living hell for one of our protagonists. 

All this leads to a grand guignol finale of such horrifying savagery that I was unable to sleep after reading it. If you're familiar with Purdy's Narrow Rooms, you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect, only this is much, much more harrowing. There's an epilogue that ties up at least one loose end, although I wouldn't necessarily call it a "happy ending". In fact, I found it downright chilling (although some might disagree). 

The explicit bloodletting notwithstanding, the book also has plenty of moments of dark humor, and Purdy's prose is crisp and elegant. Initially, I wondered how his characters managed to be so well-spoken, and yet, sometimes sound so uneducated. However, I got so caught up in the story that it didn't matter because Purdy brings the downtrodden to life with a ferocity that left me astonished at his audacity. If you've read this post and wondered if this is really a book for you, then it probably isn't. But it is a modernist classic that established James Purdy as a distinctly American literary voice who never really received his due.