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A review by wolfdan9
Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara
3.0
Appointment in Samarra is a story about a man becoming unhinged. Wealthy Julian English, in an impulsive moment fueled by jealousy and resentment, splashes a drink in the face of Harry Reilly, an even wealthier man who Julian falsely believes slept with his wife. This event leads to Julian’s downfall — a string of bad decisions that seems to reflect a feeling of indifference and invincibility at first, but becomes a revelation that he’s ruining his life. The subsequent choices Julian makes are whimsical, spiteful, and idiotic: cheating on his wife with the girlfriend of a notorious gangster, fighting a one-armed man, etc. He fails to take responsibility for his actions despite the second chances and support he receives. O’Hara appears to be commenting on the entitlement of the wealthy class in early 1930s America. English represents the seemingly invincible “owner” class, whose bad decisions led to his self-destruction. This could mirror the similar implosion of upper/middle-class in the Great Depression whose investments were made on credit and wasted with the 1929 Stock Market Crash, although that’s really only based on vague allusions to the Depression and nothing solid in the text. I could also see English as being a depiction of the defiant working class who is punished for lashing out against powerful economic (Harry Reilly) and political (Ed Charney) forces.
By the second time Julian attempts to cheat, after a major fight with his wife, he is completely unsympathizable to the reader. O’Hara seems to scoff at the futility of Prohibition, with alcohol being tied clearly with bad decisions throughout the novel. O’Hara is a skilled writer no doubt, in fact maybe even a superb story teller — he certainly knows how to write dialogue, introduce characters in a meaningful way by elaborating on their various back stories so when they intersect in the plot there is some weight to their encounters, etc. — but he does come off a bit as an imitation Fitzgerald. They’re thematically quite similar and their talents are in roughly the same pocket, except Fitzgerald’s prose is more unique and ornate (and better). I actually don’t think O’Hara is much of a far cry from someone like Yates in their rather plain interest in contemporary American society (Yates is also better).
The story ends kind of lamely with Julian committing suicide. It’s a little melodramatic and a sort of cop out. No consequences to Julian’s actions, no meaningful closure. I feel like some of the well written side characters like Al Grecco were wasted and the book was 100-200 pages too short (I almost never feel that way about novels). It seems to make sense thematically, with Julian being some symbol of hopelessness or angry futility, but it’s just not interesting. Maybe I missed something.
By the second time Julian attempts to cheat, after a major fight with his wife, he is completely unsympathizable to the reader. O’Hara seems to scoff at the futility of Prohibition, with alcohol being tied clearly with bad decisions throughout the novel. O’Hara is a skilled writer no doubt, in fact maybe even a superb story teller — he certainly knows how to write dialogue, introduce characters in a meaningful way by elaborating on their various back stories so when they intersect in the plot there is some weight to their encounters, etc. — but he does come off a bit as an imitation Fitzgerald. They’re thematically quite similar and their talents are in roughly the same pocket, except Fitzgerald’s prose is more unique and ornate (and better). I actually don’t think O’Hara is much of a far cry from someone like Yates in their rather plain interest in contemporary American society (Yates is also better).
The story ends kind of lamely with Julian committing suicide. It’s a little melodramatic and a sort of cop out. No consequences to Julian’s actions, no meaningful closure. I feel like some of the well written side characters like Al Grecco were wasted and the book was 100-200 pages too short (I almost never feel that way about novels). It seems to make sense thematically, with Julian being some symbol of hopelessness or angry futility, but it’s just not interesting. Maybe I missed something.