HerbertClydeLewis. Overboard. Auteursdomein-Amsterdam

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1 OVERBOARD

2 Firstedition: VikingPres,NewYork HerbertClydeLewis Secondedition: StichtingAuteursdomein,Amsterdam 2019 Cover: PaulinevandeVen:Overboard(2018) ISBN

3 HerbertClydeLewis Overboard Auteursdomein-Amsterdam

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5 PREFACE Overboardemergedfrom aremovalboxthatwas sentto usby a catholic m onastery.itcontained fivesmalgreenenamelashtraysandanumberof books,leftbyadistantunclewholivedanddied in theseclusion ofan institution forthem entaly im paired.the torn cover bore the faded stam p ofa library in Hawai. I read itwithout interuption from cover to cover and was im presed by the austere language, the strong im agesand the universalscope ofthe haunting story. There wasno doubtin my mind that Overboardbelongsinthesamegaleryofhonor wherethedeathofivanlyichbyleotolstoyand TheGentlemanfrom SanFranciscoby Ivan Bunin havefoundarestingplace. A searchforthewriterrevealedthathewas borninnew Yorkin1909asthesonofRusian immigrants. Hehad anewspapercareerasa reporterfortheshanghaieveningpostandchina Presand quithisjob atthenew YorkJournalto

6 workasanindependentwriter.whenhisfirst novelgentlemanoverboardwaspublishedin1937, Lewis wasforcedtodeclarebankruptcy.he moved to Holywood, became a succesful scriptwriter and worked as an editor fortime magazine.lewiswrote three m ore novels,spring O6ensive (1940),Season'sgretings (1941) and Silverdark (posthumous,1959).he died ofa heartatack in 1950,leavingbehind awifeand two children. Overboard hasbeen wrongly considered a comedy. Itreceivedduecriticalacclaim -Time magazinepresented itas ahair-raising litletour deforce -andlewis s blackhumorwasmuch appreciated.thatthestory wasin thefirstplace an existentialistmasterpiece,concentratingon an acting,feeling individualwho hasmade choices in life and facesthe irevocable consequencesin thehourofhisdeath,wentlargelyunnoticed. Letmebrieflysummarizeourthreebeautiful storiesaboutdeath and invite you,reader,to decide foryourselfifthere isreason to puta floweronherbertclydelewis sforgotengrave andresu recthisspiritualremains. TheDeath ofivan Ilyich (1886)telsusthe story ofahigh-courtjudge in 19th-century

7 Rusiaand death from a term inalilnes.in the finalm om entsofhislife, Ivan realizesthatam an can livein two ways,and thatwhichever we choose wilultimately determine ouratitude toward death.the selfcentered life thathe himselfhasled up to that momentmakeshim clingtoindividualsurvival and createsan insurmountable fearofdeath.by contrast,hiscaretakergerasim makeshisown interestssubordinate to those ofothers,hisisa lifeofempathy, compasion andsacrifice. As Gerasim sodiscountshisownindividuality,the destructivepowerofdeathisdiscountedaswel. Thisinsightbringsinstantrelief.Forthe first tim e since his ilnes,ivan puts him self in the desolatepositionofhiswifeandchildren,hisfear disappearsandhelongsforaquickend. InTheGentleman from San Francisco (1915) Buninintroducesustoa58-year-oldAmerican milionairefrom SanFranciscowhohasacquired a greatfortune and setso@ with hiswife and daughteronagrandtour.a luxuriouscruiseship firstbringsthem tonaples,wherethegentleman isdism ayed by the unusualy bad winterweather and findsthatthe city doesnotmeethis expectations.they go on to Capri,where he

8 diesinahotelroom.theendisabrupt,leaving him no time to oversee hislife. Thusthe pamperedgentleman ofsan Francisco,who had traveled on the first-clas deckin every conceivablecomfort,returnshomein acob n in the dark, pounding hold, while dining and dancing goeson above hishead andthe ship continuesitsserviceunperturbed. InOverboard(1937)we meethenry Preston Standish,partnerin the stock brokerage ofhis wife sfamily,apromising young man with a handsome,dedicated wife,two children and a largeapartmentinnew YorkCity.Whenhe getssudden anxiety atacks,standish decidesto dispeltheroutinebymakingacruisetohawai. Hethoroughlyenjoysthefreedom,thesunsets overtheocean and thesociallifeon board the ship. O n the return trip he slips and fals overboard.inhislonelystruggleinthewaterwe are made familiarwith hislife and personality. Standish overseeshisexistencewith thehonesty thatthe situation im poses.above alhe deeply regretsalack ofappreciation forthegood things thathislifehad to o@erhim. Tolstoy s story is probably the most philosophicalofthethree.withaltheuplifting

9 qualitiesofthe relatively happy ending,italso hasaflaw. Ivan Ilyich stransition from one atitude to anotheroccursasadeusexmachina; emotionaldevelopmentorrealisticeventscannot sub ciently explain it.lewishad an easierjob,as hisleadingcharacterdoesnothavetomakeauturn.h isdeath crushesa m an who rem ainshis unchangedselfandperisheswithoutredemption. LewisshareswithTolstoyagreatsenseofpaceas welasasubtle humor.tolstoy restrainsthe later,with thee@ectthatthestory gradualy gets heavier.lewiskeepsitup.hislight-footedtone and a sharp eye for the absurd create a breathtaking contrastwith the approaching demise and the growing isolation ofthe protagonist. Lewispublished hisstory twenty-two years afterbunin.itisnotunlikely thathe hasread The gentleman ofsan Fransisco and wrote Overboard in response.both useacruiseand there is a sim ilarity in the title, Lewis s being originalygentleman overboard.wherebunin s ship stands for a reprehensible way oflife,for Lewisitrepresentsjustlifeitself. Bunin has created some of the best characters of world literature,the choice for a conceptualapproach

10 that does not focus on a character but on a thoughtcan only have been a considered one. Lewischoseto concentrateon flesh and blood. Althe psychologicalphasesofdisbelief, extinguishing hope, panic, loneliness, melancholyandregretarewelworkedoutand leaveapoignantaftertaste. It is not easy to coincide with Ivan Ilyich, whountiljustbeforetheendexhibitsthe selfcentered behaviorimposed on him bythestory. Bunin also useshisprotagonistto condemn a wayoflife.ifevenhiscreatordoesnotlikethe gentleman,how shouldweidentify?standishby contrast,wearealowed to like.hiskind oflife andhismistakesarefamiliartous.wefloatwith him inthewater,seetheshipsailawayfrom us andsharehisdeepregret.apartfrom theother propertiesthatmake Lewis sstory survive a comparisonwith the best and the greatest,it o@ersitsowncomfort.notthecomfortofclear insight, transcendence orredemption, butof shared lonelinesandthepowerofhum or. D PaulinevandeVenD Amsterdam,August2,2019

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