Steven Millhauser is a very accomplished author with a body of work spanning back to 1972, when his debut novel, Edwin Mullhouse, was published. His book Martin Dressler has won a Pulitzer. Both of these titles are on my reading list, but I happened to have purchased The King in the Tree a while back, and my aim is to read the books I already have before getting any new ones. So, this is my jumping-off point into the work of Steven Millhauser. And I like where I landed!
The King in the Tree (2003, Knopf) is a book composed of three novellas, entitled Revenge, An Adventure of Don Juan, and The King in the Tree. Each story has a different setting, different characters, and a different tone. The three are united, however, by similar subject matter: love, longing, and betrayal.
Revenge, the first novella, starts the book off with a bang. The premise of this story is of a woman who is showing a potential buyer around her home, which is for sale. As we progress through the story, the seller reveals bits and pieces of the real story, which is about far more than selling a home. It's written in a kind of first person/second-person hybrid, because there is a narrator, but she is speaking to the unidentified (at first) buyer, which feels like she's talking to you. We're experiencing the story from the point of view of the buyer, although that person never gets a single line of dialogue, because we are passively listening to the narrator unwind the story, room by room. And yet, we are also experiencing the story from the point of view of the narrator, because she is sharing all of her feelings with us. It was absolutely spellbinding, and when I finished, I basically had to sit and go “Whoa”. I love stories that make me do that!
The second novella, An Adventure of Don Juan, is told in a more traditional third-person style, although we are fully inhabiting the point of view of Don Juan Tenorio, the famous seducer. This ended up making me uncomfortable, because he turns out to be a seriously vile person, wrapped up in the pretty packaging of his handsome face, wealth, and courtly ways. In this tale, Don Juan becomes bored with his self-indulgent lifestyle in Venice and travels to England on the invitation of a casual friend, Augustus Hood, a creative prodigy whose lovely wife and striking, enigmatic sister-in-law are given the care of their guest, with increasingly dire consequences. The conclusion of this story was harrowing, but satisfying.
The 'title track' of the collection, The King in the Tree, is the longest of the three, and packs even more twists and turns than the prior stories. It is based on the legend of Tristan and Yseut/Yseult/Isolde/Isolt, in this version spelled Ysolt. Anyone familiar with the legend knows that it is the classic “doomed lovers” tale, but this version, narrated by the king's advisor and bosom friend, Thomas, gives us a far more subtle view, showing us how the love affair between King Mark of Cornwall's nephew, Tristan, and his queen, Ysolt, is dealt with (or at times not dealt with) by the king, who deeply loves them both.
I enjoyed this book so much. The writing is just exquisite. Millhauser knows how to set a scene, hatch a plot, and keep things moving, but what I loved best is his ability to thoroughly inhabit his characters – the wounded, vindictive unnamed character in Revenge, the cocky, jaded, Don Juan, the gentle, faithful Thomas – giving us a full immersion into the story through their eyes. I can't wait to read more Millhauser!
If you enjoyed these, please check out my other book reviews:
https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-best-in-writing-half-asleep-in-frog.html
https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/review-of-your-head-is-houseboat-by.html
https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-review-of-boston-darkens-by-michael.html
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