It is hard to be too disparaging about this novel, seeing Stanley Elkin wrote it in the last few years of his life, probably in the fleeting moments when his crippling multiple sclerosis let up long enough so he could type or handwrite. It is an heroic act that in his last years he chose to power through and work rather than let this horrible wasting illness vegetize him—a man of restless spirits and comic energy. Still, we separate the work from its writer and its composition. Mrs. Ted Bliss is not a good novel. Despite quotes from heavyweights Kurt Vonnegut, Saul Bellow and Michiko Kakutani and the fact it won National Book Critics Circle Award in 1995, it barely scrapes a pass. I managed 160pp before shutdown. Reasons? Bland prose lacking all the linguistic showmanship Elkin is famous for. A tired and unamusing plot centred around an old woman whose past is explored in long tedious expository patches. The novel has no sense of pace, no lively characters, no real structure . . . seemingly not much life. Given Elkin’s circumstances this seems pretty sad.
I read over half of this book, and then skimmed to the end. Elkin has a very accomplished style, yet I didn't understand the premise of the book. Dorthy Bliss is an elderly woman who is living in a retirement high-rise near Miami Beach. Her husband is recently deceased, and the novel charts the changes in her life. The narrative hinges on her connection to a group of South American gangsters who live in her building. When her husband dies, one of the cartel members offers to buy Ted Bliss's car. She agrees, and this somehow connects her to this gang. I never understood why this was so important. She testifies at the trial, but what possible damaging testimony could she possibly provide? The characters were well developed, yet with such a terrific idea for a story, it just went nowhere. An old woman's inadvertent involvement in the underworld could have really made for an interesting read, but MRS. TED BLISS certainly fails to connect.Although I didn't care for this novel, I haven't given up on the author, and plan to checkout another of his books.
What do You think about Mrs. Ted Bliss (2002)?
So, the main character is a spineless elderly woman (starts when she is in her 60s and ends when she is 82) with (admitedly) no interests. She worships men (simply because they are men) and spends her free time taking baths. A few of Elkin's comments about the necessity of having interests in life and the repetitive nature of life are interesting. A few of the moments (especially the debate between Dorothy and Ellen about who is chief mourner) are true to life, yet comical. Overall, though it was hard to swallow a (even short) book about a main character who is not appealing in any way. Maybe if I was an old Jewish guy I would have liked her...is she Elkin's Venus?
—Sheri
