See Now Then, Jamaica Kincaidâs first novel since 2002âs Mr. Potter, shouldnât be read as purely autobiographical. The facts do line up well: Kincaidâs former husband, Allen Shawn (Wallace Shawnâs brother) is a composer; they had two children together, a boy and a girl; they lived in Bennington, Vermont. The novel depicts a crumbling marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Sweet, a composer and a writer, respectively, who live with their son and a daughter in a small New England town. But it isnât a book about another American divorce. See Now Then elevates marriage difficulty to the level of myth and archetype, to represent a fundamental part of the American story. Unfortunately, Kincaid focuses so much on the style of the lyric novel that it hinders the potential emotional impact.
There is truth to Mrs. Sweetâs experience. This is the same author who said, âEverything I say is true, and everything I say is not true.â Kincaid draws from personal material, adapting it lyricallyâsentences frequently run for more than a pageâsteeping the novel in the duality of Mrs. Sweetâs love for her husband, and her knowledge that he despises her. Mr. Sweet denigrates his wife in front of their children, making fun of her for arriving in America via a âbanana boatâ; Kincaid was born in Antigua, though sheâs taken great care to note that Mr. Sweetâs behavior should not be attributed to her former husband.
The children are Heracles and Persephoneâevidence of the divorce-as-myth guiding principle. Mrs. Sweet has a tough relationship with her daughter, who Kincaid holds at armsâ length until the later stages of the novel; for a while, sheâs only a name. Heracles is a problem for Mr. Sweet from the moment heâs born, representing someone who will grow bigger and stronger, and eventually overtake him. Kincaid depicts the father-son relationship as a constant battle the child canât comprehend or participate in, and Mr. Sweet as an insecure manipulator with a Napoleon complex.
Most frustrating is the sense that Kincaid is far more interested in the effect this particular anti-narrative style has on a familiar story. At times, Kincaidâs deliberately oblique, lyrical approach goes overboard, coming off as long-winded and unnecessarily repetitive. The amount of direct information revealed throughout the novel would take up a single chapter, yet Kincaid stretches the material out, circling back through poetic phrasing again and again, wallowing in Mrs. Sweetâs misery and the dysfunction of a family coming apart at the seams. See Now Then is classical in its movement, interrupting plot for mood setting like a Greek chorus. Itâs rhythmic enough to lull readers to sleep. This isnât Kincaidâs most accessible work, but it does distill divorce into compartmentalized, easily identifiable pain.