“Vincent’s Party”
by Tessa Hadley
from the July 1, 2024 issue of The New Yorker
When it comes to New Yorker fiction, not much excites me more than seeing we have a new one by Tessa Hadley. I’m a bit wary, though, since this is the opening of her forthcoming novella — her debut novella — The Party. I’d rather read the whole novella at once, of course, but it doesn’t come out until November, and then only in the UK. For the US, it appears it will not appear until next spring. So, given how much time will pass before we can read the whole thing, I’m more interested in sitting down and feeling this out as an excerpt. Plus, I’m on holiday this week. I’ve been looking forward to sitting down during a lazy afternoon with whatever showed up in The New Yorker. So I’m in. How about you?
Anyway, here is how this story begins:
The party was in full swing. Evelyn could hear the sexy blare of the trad jazz almost as soon as she got off the bus at St. Mary Redcliffe and began walking over to the Steam Packet, the pub that Vincent—who was a friend of Evelyn’s older sister, Moira—had commandeered for the evening. He’d decided that they all needed a party to cheer them up, because the winter had been so bitter, and because now, in February, the incessant rain had turned the snow to slush. It was raining again this evening; the bus’s wiper had beat its numb rhythm all the way into town, the pavements were dark, and the gutters ran with water. Frozen filthy formless lumps, the remainders of the snow, persisted at the street corners and in the deep recesses between buildings, loomed sinisterly in the gaping bomb sites. Crossing the road, Evelyn had to put up her umbrella—actually, her mother’s worn old green umbrella with the broken rib and the duck’s-head handle, which she’d borrowed without asking on her way out, because she’d lost her own somewhere. Probably she’d get in trouble for this tomorrow, but she didn’t care; she was too full of agitated happiness. Anything could happen between now and tomorrow.
I hope you’re all about to start a wonderful week, and I hope to hear your thoughts on this story. Or, if you decide not to read it since it’s an excerpt, I’d love to hear about that as well.
What? Not a comment yet? I waited to read the story until yesterday, when my magazine came—especially considering the story is fairly long and I hate reading on my phone!
Maybe I needn’t have read the story at all. Tessa Hadley or no, I didn’t linger on it. I could hardly wait for it to be over. Alcohol parties: not my favorite subject. I never went to them. I never liked alcohol, only drank *any alcohol a score or so times in my life, more often than not just a beer—why?(nyuk!)—and that was a long, long, long time ago. I hated bars, only ever went into one 4 or 5 times.
Oh, I’m not saying the story wasn’t interesting, well written for what it is, amusing at times, sorts of characters I never associated with… But I was waiting for something meaningful to happen. So okay, Moira had something to tell Evelyn, and then… I can relate. Evelyn finds she doesn’t much like the scene or the people in it any more than I did.
Was the story set many years ago? I’m supposing so. I ask because, if not, I wonder how Hadley would be familiar with the scene. Oh—I’d better go read the interview. Just a moment…
Okay: just after WWII. Her parent’s generation. Interesting. In fact, I liked the interview better than the story. I highly recommend. In fact, it makes me feel more positively about the story. But no need for me to go back and study the story, is there? — Oh yeah, there’s more: the novella. That probably explains why the last few columns seemed too little of an ending to justify the long party scene. Not fair! Let me know if the novella might be worth my reading. Probably is. If not, there’s plenty of other Tessa Hadley I haven’t read.
Actually, I started reading the story last night—after listening to the debate! That affected my mood. That’s relevant. I fell asleep in the middle of the story, and finished it quickly in the morning. I didn’t really give it its due. So maybe I shouldn’t be foisting these comments on everyone. I’m spouting off partly because I’ve long been reading so many stories a lot better than most of the New Yorkers. I still read them nowadays largely because others are reading them. Social reading. I’ll hang in for that.
I got about halfway through this in the middle of the week and, as much as I like Hadley’s writing, it was easy to put down and practically forget about until today when I finished it. This isn’t particularly compelling. Hadley usually has so much insight into the mindset of a woman (old or young), and while that was here with Evelyn a bit I felt it was very outweighed by the party stuff. Maybe I’m like you, Eddie! That setting doesn’t do too much for me.
Maybe this will be better as a full novella with some more development after the party itself.
I liked the writing but was put off by the abrupt chopped-off ending. A “story” should be labeled as a fragment if it’s so aggressively without an ending, especially when the pace of the narrative looks like a novelette/novella until it just stops. Ran out of paper?
I agree, Joe. I’ve always been ambivalent about published fragments in the first place (leaning toward not liking it), though I get why they do it from a business perspective. But to me it usually doesn’t do the novels or novellas a favor since they are so often disappointing. I know there have been a few that made me excited to read something I would otherwise have missed, but mostly I just skip them these days. I also agree that they should mark these better in the magazine. It is noted online that it is from her forthcoming novellas, but it is not in the print edition. Seems to do a double disservice to the piece when it isn’t even clear that it is just an excerpt!
I’ve found Hadley very consistent and always decent but never great or transcendent. She observes class well and historical shifts and I found the story interesting because of that and because of the music being played. I didn’t see the drinking as that key here despite it being about a party. It’s more about coming-of-age and discovering one’s tastes, desires etc. It is also clearly a fragment.