Graham
Joyce's The Facts of Life tells the story of a typical family in
Coventry, England following World War II, set apart because, while
typical, they are also atypical. The Vine family, which forms the
focal point of Joyce’s novel, is comprised of Martha Vine, her seven
daughters and their respective spouses.
Joyce uses the appearance of Frank, an illegitimate child of
Martha’s youngest daughter, Cassie, to move his novel, which is
essentially without plot, along.
The
vast size of the Vine clan allows Joyce to depict a microcosm of the post
war period. Aida and Gordon
aspire to a higher social status while Una and Tom are happy on their farm
in the country. Olive and
William are undergoing the strains of middle class living while Beatrice
experiments with socialist communes at Oxford.
Evelyn and Ina have turned to spiritualism for answers, in part,
perhaps because Martha seems to have a tie to the fey.
Finally, Cassie is lost in a society in transition and needs as
much protection, if not more, than her son.
While the Vine sisters are all representative of the new world
emerging from World War II, Martha is a throw back to the wise old woman
of the countryside, despite living in the heart of Coventry.
What makes The
Facts of Life work as well as it does is the fact that while Joyce
eschews plot, he more than makes up for it with atmosphere and
characterization. The Vine
sisters (and their spouses) are shown as real people with their strengths
and foibles. Their lives are
in a constant state of flux, not least caused by the decision for the
family to shuffle Frank around to give him the best upbringing possible
for the family. Moments of high emotion, such as the spat between Aida and
Olive which threatens to rupture the family, are punctuated by absurdity,
like the ghost of Lady Godiva. Even
as conflicts get resolved, other conflicts brew and, while the lives of
the sisters are left open ended when the book is done, there is a
satisfying conclusion of sorts.
Joyce’s
writing is so firmly grounded in the real world, and the post war Coventry
he describes is so realistic, that when something inexplicable does occur,
it jolts the reader out of complacency and effectively brings home the
strangeness of the situation in a manner which most fantasy novels cannot
capture. Nevertheless, the
intrusion of the other into The Facts of Life is neither
unwarranted nor untelegraphed. Despite
the supernatural agency which appears to be at work, it is woven into the
novel in a manner which is completely natural.
The Facts of Life is
an historical novel which is entirely self contained. While the events of the war and the subsequent years effect
the Vine family, little of their interaction with the population beyond
their family, and none with historical figures, is described.
Despite this, The Facts of Life manages to
successfully convey the sense of this people in recent British history.
