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Parallel Pages: Jan Elizabeth Watson’s debut novel cojures up the Harper Lee classic. Photo courtesy of Tin House Books |
Comments"Asta in the Wings": A First Novel Takes Flight Much Like "To Kill a Mockingbird"
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By Eve QuesnelPublished: January 15, 2010
Haunting. Beautiful. Eloquent. Such is Jan Elizabeth Watson’s first novel, “Asta in the Wings,” a magical tour de force that takes its readers on a macabre yet intriguing journey alongside 7-year-old Asta and her slightly older brother, Orion. The journey is one of living solely indoors, for Asta and Orion are kept home by their germ-phobic mother who protects them from the “plague,” a disease she imagines with nosebleeds, swelling body parts, spots, growths, and sometimes death. Surely, this distorted scenario reveals a disturbed and abusive parent, but somehow Watson creates a love story from this. Somehow she manages to sweep readers in and make us care for all three main characters.
Instantly, we are transfixed by the bewildering setting and persons, wanting to know the cause of the mother’s paranoia plus the ways the children confront their indoor world. Part two of “Asta” prompts the children outdoors, which adds conflict and contrast to the story. At that point, not only does Watson open our eyes to the inside-outside dichotomy but, with an introduction of several more characters, also to the impact of different relationships, much as we would consider our own.
Throughout “Asta,” I kept hearing Scout’s voice from Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird:” the way she innocently views and questions her father’s civil rights cases, her adoration and love for her brother, Jem, and her fear but inquisitiveness toward Boo Radley. In the same vein, Asta sees the world, and similar characters, through innocence and naïveté. Lee and Watson’s brilliant craft of revealing the human condition and the environment — from the inside and outside — with fresh eyes, is the beauty of both “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Asta.” While “Asta” may not be worthy of Pulitzer Prize status like Lee’s renowned classic (also a first novel), it is nonetheless great writing and storytelling.
Particular to “Asta” are three items unrelated to storyline or writing capability, but that add uniqueness to this premier novel. First, it’s published by a small Portland press, Tin House Books. On the Tin House website, a mission statement reads: “Tin House turns up much of what’s still righteous and nervy in American writing … works that show real human texture, works that admit to both the stress of our times and the depth of our essential spirit.” Yes, this encapsulates the voice and themes of “Asta.” Second, the pages are thicker than most and are of a cream-colored hue with the fore edge (the outermost edge on the side) jagged, seemingly homemade. Lastly, the overall size of the book is smaller than most, making it easy to cradle in two hands. In other words, “Asta in the Wings” is a feel-good book to hold; no Kindle can replace this one. Purchase or loan Watson’s page-turner for a stormy night, settle indoors, and imagine what that inside world might look like. Then get lost with Asta and Orion, much like you might have with Scout and Jem. Book it!
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