Wise Men (Nadler novel)
Wise Men marks the first novel by Stuart Nadler, released by Reagan Arthur Books on February 5, 2013. The narrative focuses on Hilly Wise, who develops a romantic relationship with Savannah, the niece of an African American caretaker. The book has attracted a range of critical responses.
Plot
The story of Wise Men is told through the perspective of Hillard (Hilly) Wise and is structured into three distinct periods: 1947–52, which portrays Hilly’s teenage years; 1972; and the contemporary era. Hilly grows up as a Jewish boy in a largely non-Jewish neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, Arthur Wise, works as an ambulance chaser and gains considerable wealth by handling class-action lawsuits related to airplane disasters. The family relocates to Bluepoint on Cape Cod, a community dominated by WASPs, bringing their black caretaker Lem Dawson along, who earns $8 weekly.
Although Arthur forbids it, Hilly forms a friendship with Lem and encounters Lem’s niece Savannah, with whom he falls deeply in love. Savannah’s father, Charles Ewing, was once a baseball player who was cut from the Milwaukee Braves because of racial discrimination. When Savannah decides to escape with Lem, Hilly initially plans to accompany them but ultimately intervenes to stop their flight. Later on, Arthur offers Hilly $70 million, an offer he declines due to ethical reasons. As an adult working as a "race relations" journalist for a Boston newspaper, Hilly journeys to Iowa to pursue a story concerning Ewing that may be connected to Savannah.
Literary commentators have likened Wise Men to the works of John Cheever for its portrayal of flawed male protagonists during the latter part of the twentieth century and noted similarities in its timeline with Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera.
Reception
The novel Wise Men has been met with varied opinions among literary critics. Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the book’s title, setting, and central love story as "whoppingly bland," yet conceded that it "evolves into a larger and more unexpected work than it first appears." Sara Nelson, editorial director at Amazon.com, selected it as Best Book of the Month and hailed it as “a truly Great American Novel.” Kate Tuttle from The Boston Globe found the story “genuinely moving.” Some reviewers criticized the use of first-person narration and an abundance of red herrings. On the other hand, Oprah.com recognized Wise Men as a "Book of the Week." Nicholas Mancusi of The Daily Beast commended its "surprise ending." People Magazine compared it to "a historical novel with the zest of Gatsby," while Kevin Nguyen at Grantland referred to it as "the second coming of John Cheever." The New York Journal of Books characterized it as "a compelling narrative addressing family dysfunction and racial issues, evoking raw human emotions with perceptiveness and depth.” On November 12, 2012, the National Book Foundation named Nadler a “5 Under 35 Honoree.”