Pure Poetry

A Novel

by Binnie Kirshenbaum

Simon & Schuster, 192 pp., $22

A book titled Pure Poetry, about a poet living in New York, suggests exquisite meditations on the human condition, imaginative metaphors, and bold, colorful imagery. Not so. Lila Moscowitz, the heroine (and I use that term with reservations), kvetches and divulges, but there are no observations about the world at large. The chapters are divided up between the points of view of Lila’s ex-husband, lover, best friend, and mother, a narrative structure that should make Lila a well-rounded character. Though the characters surrounding Lila have amusing quirks that make them seem real, they have importance only in relation to her. Any revelation of character flaws are the result of Lila’s visits to her therapist, obligatory in the life of an urban, neurotic writer. Kirshenbaum is following a well-defined literary tradition, established by writers such as Erica Jong and Philip Roth, and she explores sexual details with gusto. Yet after the fornication, bravado, and self-destructive gestures are done with, we are still left with a story about a writer who cannot communicate on a personal level with others.

This article appears in March 17 • 2000.

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