We are no strangers to family drama in Literature. Alone in these pages, we have witnessed cohesion and splintering in Bellow, mental health and loss leaving irreparable holes in the unit via Salinger, and substance abuse and its shattering of trust from O'Neill. In Walker Percy's 1961 novel "The Moviegoer," Binx Bolling unknowingly details the disillusion of his family as his narration unearths several uncertain implications.
Dining with his "adopted" family, there is always a sense that Binx knows he is never completely included for a variety of reasons. Aunt Emily has a distinct purpose for summoning Binx - to help with her daughter/his beloved cousin Kate and a hidden addiction. Percy seems to know the bounds of this conflict and instead puts Binx at a slightly confrontational lunch with Uncle Jules and Walter.
Binx enters the foray with a pair of advantages: knowing Kate's private suffering is largely on all minds at the table and that the patriarch Uncle Jules is pleased with him because as a stockbroker minding the distant branch - he has in his words, "the trick of making money."
What Binx does not let on, is how Jules and Walter's relationship possibly represents a passing of the torch of the Southern Male Archetype.
Walter and Jules like football. While Binx does as well, his admiration is more literate and distant being able to discuss it with enough detail to be included. In his private narration, points out the duality of Jules' Catholicism ("For the world, he lives in, the City of Man, is so pleasant, that the City of God must hold little in store for him.") which illuminates that Jules is a man who does see/does not want the change that is coming.
Walter, being the true outsider at the table, does not catch on to Uncle Jules and Aunt Kate's unique parlance. Kate certainly does and uses it as a reason to emotionally withdraw from the proceedings. The shift in the balance of power is not necessarily noticeable to Binx who tries to look smart and erudite borrowing from Shakespeare. His forecast that Aunt Emily is about to "become Lorenzo," could be a hint of greed or a playful volley that she returns with a reference to Hamlet's Rosenkranz and Guildenstern.
The unpredictability of this witty but slightly savage repartee catches Binx off his feet. He focuses on Walter painting him as a weakling or even a dullard - despite already ascending to a partner position in oil-lease law. Then, he focuses on Kate - who promptly excuses herself from the table, with Walter shortly after leaving to check on her. Percy's central conflict has adjourned to the other room - what is there to discuss now. Also, not a single ill word has been spoken - but the energy in the room is clearly weird.
Jules departs to return to work. Walter rejoins to urge Binx to join the Krewe of Neptune. However, Walter is about to dig in like he was given dominion over the conversation from Uncle Jules. With no further distractions, Binx sinks into the movie of his own life with Walter at college. Dismissing Walter in the present, Binx remembers when he dropped his "sour-senseless way of talking" just as Binx was joining his fraternity. A moment later as Walter is egging on those around them to accept Binx, there is a question asked that is parallel to what Aunt Emily asked Walter - which caused Binx to see him as less formidable.
"Did you or did you not feel a unique something when you walked into this house?" It is a vague and pressing question like countless ones he has fielded. Binx never responds well to commitment. Even after saying what is necessary to gain acceptance - he knows it is as conditional as all of the other ones in his life. What he does not yet know, is that these queries shape so many of the other decisions that follow.
Binx is not a rugged individualist like Aunt Emily. As much as he wants a father figure, Uncle Jules is there to comfort, care, and support - but feels like a relic. He does know that he will never be a "company man" like Walter ("Whenever I'm with him, I feel the stretch of the old tightrope, the necessity of living up to the friendship of friendships, of cultivating an intimacy beyond words.")
Basically, Binx leaves dinner realizing that he is just as simple ("I spend my entire time working, making money, going to movies, and seeking the company of women") yet completely alone in his journey. As for the meal, nary an unkind word was spoken.
—
Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
New MUSIC This Week
49 WINCHESTER - Leavin' This Holler [GOLD LP/CD](New West/Redeye) • Castlewood, VA's authentic Appalachian Americana group returns with an album that echoes what is popular on both Country radio (the Red Clay Strays/Chris Stapleton-esque Bluesy "Fast Asleep") and AAA radio (the more twangy "Yearnin' For You.") These ten songs are as road-ready as their album, even if the now 10-year old band does not see the need to fit into modern Pop-based writing.
ORVILLE PECK - Stampede [PINK 2LP/CD/CS] (Warner) • Speaking of Pop-based writing, Orville Peck's third album is a surprising bevy of delights as he celebrates with an all-star cast including Willie Nelson, Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Beck and more. "Stampede" crosses the line between covers and originals that honestly feel like covers (the disco-y grower "Midnight Ride" with Diplo and Kylie Minogue.") Where it works best is when Peck is a match for his partner (Willie Nelson, of course) or even lets them standout (the surprising soulful addition of Teddy Swims on the hidden gem "Ever You're Gone.") "Stampede" is most notable because as Peck gives in to all these different musicians and backgrounds, you hear his new lower vocal range - which like his suits - he wears well.
X - Smoke and Mirrors [BLUE LP/CD](Fat Possum/ The Orchard) • It had to end sometime, but after 47 years of blazing the trails of Punk, Cowpunk, and Americana, Los Angeles' legendary X calls it a day. Back to the original four-piece lineup of Exene, John, DJ, and Billy, "Smoke and Mirrors" feels most like the underrated "More Fun In The New World." "Big Black X" proves that the trademarked Exene/John vocals are still intact (even as their ranges have grown more similar) as well as their knack for turning poetry into lyrics. Billy Zoom's rockabilly revved-up guitar sounds just as good as it did before he departed. DJ Bonebrake's drums still clap like thunder. Even as the band goes rat-a-tat-tat on their way out, "Smoke and Mirrors" manages to feel strangely like a new beginning.
