My Next Bride
by Kay Boyle
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kay BoyleAfterword: Doris Grumbach
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Published: 1986-10-07
ISBN: 0140161473
Number of pages: 330
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of My Next Bride
Book Review: Early classic from an overlooked American Modernist
Summary: 4 Stars
Published in 1934, My Next Bride is one of Boyle's first novels. Like many of her works, the book is largely autobiographical. While many of the details are changed, Boyle's early Paris years are chronicled fairly accurately. Thus, one can see Raymond Duncan (brother of the famous dancer Isadora Duncan) in Sorrel, though Ida Duncan is here depicted as a dead wife rather than sister. Likewise, Harry and Carresse Crosby are easily identified in the characters Antony Listerand his wife Fontana. The power of these relationships, the disillusionment with Sorrel, and the affection toward Antony are driving forces in this novel, inasmuch as they were in real life: Boyle had to escape from Duncan's house, kidnapping her own daughter in the process; and her intimate friendship with Harry Crosby was cut short after his suicide in December 1929.
Yet, while Boyle's own history is interesting, particularly within the context of "Literary Paris" between the World Wars, what makes this novel worthwhile is Boyle's writing. This is an early novel, so one can see her "finding her voice" - there are rough edges where the transitions are a bit abrupt. Yet, the descriptive power of Boyle's language leaves one in utter awe at times. Boyle has a knack for providing an image (no surprise given the advent of imagism in poetry), but also has a way of making her emotions so much a part of the text.
Again, Boyle is often overlooked as a writer. When she is recognized, it is usually as a caretaker or chronicler of her generation - a role largely due to her revision of Robert McAlmon's 1938 history Being Geniuses Together. I recommenddelving into her other work: her poetry, short stories, and novels. My Next Bride seems a great place to start since it introduces the reader to both her style and her history.
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