The Arrangement

by Elia Kazan

This is Eddie Anderson's story. He's successful, well-off, with a nice home and an attentive wife. But he's restless. So he has a mistress, and now she wants to change that arrangement. How Eddie got in this mess and how he tries to get out is the story of this best-selling book.

Elia Kazan won two Academy Awards for directing before turning to writing.

"THE ARRANGEMENT is about those 'arrangements' by which we live, in marriage, out of marriage, between marriages. It is an earth-shaking book and the earth it shakes is the plot on which we're standing." (Publisher's Source)

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical, Regency, Classics, Mystery

544 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 1967

About the author

Credits of Turkish-born American stage and film director Elia Kazan include A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) of Tennessee Williams and the movies On the Waterfront (1954) and East of Eden (1955).

This award-winning theatrical producer, screenwriter, and novelist co-founded of the influential actors studio in New York in 1947. Kazan won Academy Award thrice, Tony Award five times, and Golden Globes four times and received numerous awards and nominations in other prestigious festivals as the Cannes film festival and the Venice film festival.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elia_Kazan

Reviews

[Nabilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a bloody good read. I did not expect this to go the way it did. RTC.

[piperitapitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'inconsistente fascino della borghesia

Prendiamo un americano (nel senso di statunitense) di origine greca - ma questa è una storia che meriterebbe un commento a parte - della media borghesia e di mezza età; poniamolo negli anni Sessanta, diciamo verso la fine degli anni Sessanta: in quegli anni in cui tutto e tutti vengono messi in discussione, e poniamo anche che egli abbia trovato il suo perfetto equilibrio in due lavori: il primo come pubblicitario di successo, alla mercé del mercato e del superfluo, è quello che gli fornisce i soldi necessari per pagare la villa con piscina, i divertimenti, le macchine, gli abiti, lo psicoterapeuta per la moglie... Il secondo, in netto contrasto con l'ipocrisia del primo, come giornalista critico nei confronti della società e dei suoi maggiori esponenti.
Il suo equilibrio, comprende anche un matrimonio ventennale, una figlia adottiva, un discreto numero di amanti tollerate purché discrete, una casa al mare.
Tutto in perfetto equilibrio finché il nostro americano (nel senso di statunitense) di origine greca - ma questa è una storia che meriterebbe un commento a parte - della media borghesia e di mezza età, non incontra la giovane Gwen che lo costringe a guardarsi allo specchio e accorgersi che la sua intera vita è fondata sui compromessi, al punto tale da non conservare più nulla di autentico.
Ho un doppio debito con questo romanzo (ma attenzione, Kazan stesso ci diffida dal definirlo "un romanzo"!): per prima cosa non avevo la minima idea del fatto che Elia Kazan oltre ad essere stato un grande regista - che come ci ricordano critici autorevoli si è cimentato nelle sue pellicole cinematografiche con Letteratura d'altissimo livello: da John Steinbeck a Tennessee Williams, da Francis Scott Fitzgerald ad Arthur Miller - fosse stato anche un grande romanziere.
La seconda è che questo libro l'ho letto veramente male (causa gruppi di lettura e arrivi improvvisi di libri in catena: maledetto aNobii!) mentre invece meritava un'attenzione e una costanza nella lettura sicuramente maggiori di quelle che gli ho dedicato.
In ogni caso, nonostante la lettura troppo frammentaria, è stata una vera e propria rivelazione.
Come afferma Gian Paolo Serino nella postfazione, Kazan, come già Richard Yates, "inchioda la pellicola su carta" e con essa inchioda la sua epoca: quella in cui, a fronte di tutte le "false" necessità imposte dal consumismo si è disposti a qualsiasi compromesso.
"Dietro la scelta del compromesso - scrive sempre Serino - ha raccontato le illusioni e i fallimenti degli intellettuali americani: destinati, nella maggioranza dei casi, a trascinare la propria esistenza tra i velluti radical chic di un'opposizione subito pronta a passare dagli scontri agli scontrini."
Ma al contrario di Richard Yates, con il quale ha davvero molto in comune, al di là dell'epoca e della società che vanno descrivendo, Elia Kazan offre una possibilità di riscatto che allarga gli orizzonti del lettore; se leggendo Disturbo della quiete pubblica o anche lo stesso Revolutionary Road, l'annichilimento e il fastidio sono le sensazioni più forti che ci restano a fine lettura, e personaggi come April e Frank Wheeler, ma soprattutto John Wilder, sono fortemente disturbanti, Evangelos Arness/Evans Arness/Eddie Anderson (il perché dei tre nomi lo scoprirete solo leggendo!) offre a se stesso - e a tutti coloro che si riconosceranno in lui - una via di fuga.
"Credo che la letteratura sia in grado, anche in modo indiretto, di disturbare: cioè di cambiare un mondo che se lo accetti davvero così com'è, sei come minimo un idiota." scrive infatti Elia Kazan, e con la sua letteratura, come dicevo, non si limita semplicemente a disturbare il lettore, ma anche ad offrirgli la possibilità di sottrarsi all'ingranaggio che lo sta stritolando.
L'unico rischio, come spesso avviene, è quello di essere scambiati per pazzi (ancora Yates!):
"A parte tutto, c'è sempre la possibilità che lei abbia ragione. Si parla sempre di paranoia, certo, ma è anche vero che tutti quanti complottano l'uno contro l'altro. L'animale umano è assai restio a tollerare chi esce dalla linea. Le prigioni e i manicomi sono zeppe di matti, ma alcuni di loro, beh, hanno ragione."
"Già."
"Suppongo sia una delle cose spiacevoli della vita. Come è sottile la linea!"
"Che linea?"
"Tra realtà e fantasia, tra lucidità e pazzia. Il territorio intermedio è molto esiguo."

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the rating, I think I waver between 4 and 4.5 stars for this one. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy myself while reading this book, but it really is something of an unusual book, particularly when you consider that it was published in the 1990s.

This Regency historical is set well outside the familiar world of London soirees and vouchers to Almack's, and unlike most historicals, the story is told in the first person. Our narrator is Abigail (Gail) Saunders, an impoverished widow. Unlike many of the widows of 1990s Romlandia, Gail is (1)not a virgin widow (2)clearly loved her late husband, and (3) decides that she wants to have sex with the hero because she is attracted to him and goes for it. That last fact is made rather obvious in this book, and I loved seeing a heroine making decisions for herself and owning them. Raoul is a strong hero and sometimes a tad overbearing, but he doesn't show his alleged strength by forcing himself on the heroine.

Gail is an impoverished widow of genteel background. She lives with her young son on a rented property, and makes ends meet by giving riding lessons to children of the newly rich Cits. While she often struggles financially, her life is rather calm until she receives word of an unexpected inheritance being left to her son. The messenger in this case is Raoul Melville, Earl of Savile, and executor of the estate.

Gail is horrified by the inheritance because while the money may be welcome, she fears that the reading of the will could unveil secrets she would rather leave hidden. She is also keenly aware that in her line of work, reputation is important and she doesn't want rumors of her possible involvement with the deceased to ruin her. Raoul doesn't entirely understand Gail's fears and he doesn't know what she is hiding, but as they spend time together, the two strike up a friendship. Even though Gail is clearly not someone who would be considered a suitable wife for an earl, Raoul is attracted to her and somehow the two keep being thrown together.

The romance that blossoms is somewhat slow to start, but once things get going, the chemistry is very well written. Many of the scenes in this book take place at Raoul's home, where the other heirs to the estate are also housed as guests. As a result, there is plenty of family drama. The story drags in a few places, but I still greatly enjoyed it. I know some readers do not like first person narration, but it worked quite well here. First of all, this is a story where everyone has some secrets and seeing those revealed gradually as the couple got to know one another made me feel like I was right in the middle of the action. In addition, Gail is a wonderful narrator. She is grounded and rational, and while I was sometimes frustrated with her reasoning for trying to reject the inheritance, she did have a way of being honest with herself about her situation that I found refreshing. Not every heroine has that much self-awareness.

If you like Regency historicals and want to read one that's a bit different from the usual, definitely search this one out.

[Cheesecake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gail meets Raoul when he arrives to tell her that her 8 yr old son Nicky is in the Wil of Lord Devane, a man she used to know in her home town. The last thing she wants is people thinking Nicky is Lord Devane's by-blow! And of course this is what the reader assumes, but it's not so straight forward as that.
Both Gail and Raoul were both married to others before. Gail loved her first husband as they were childhood sweethearts and she assumes that Raoul loved his beautiful wife as well, who died in childbirth along with the baby.
I felt so bad for him that he lost his child as he was so good with his nephews and loved kids. He was just a wonderful person and handsome too (of course). For the first 3rd of the story, Gail is pretty prickly to him but she is at a disadvantage being a woman in the 1800's.
Things conspire to make her temporarily dependent on Raoul's assistance. There the story becomes more of a mystery. Accidents start to befall Nicky.
Who would want to harm Nicky?
Well there's a strange man in town, Lord Devane's shrewish widow and her unscrupulous wealthy father. There's Raoul's cousin who was to inherit the Devane estate. Basically no shortage of possible culprits.

I liked that friendships, trust and love were built over time in the story. I liked that it was hard to guess who was the villain. I loved that Raoul was such a wonderful man. His interest in Gail is kept in question till near the end, but his actions speak louder than his lack of words.

The author does a lovely job setting the scenes so you can really visualize it.

Now there's a violence safety warning. A young boy (who you never get to know as it's all 'off stage') is murdered.
Safety of the romantic kind is just fine. Now these spoilers might spoil the mystery a bit too He loved this wife when they married, but they were too different and the romance was fading by the time she died. Gail loved her husband but she has grieved and is ready to move on. There's been nobody else for Gail since her husband died although she has had a couple marriage proposals over the years. No mention if he's been celibate but I doubt it. Gail and he do become sexually involved and she assumes it's a fling but tells herself she is fine with that.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fast-paced, complex book...even though written in the 60's, the main characters face the same universal problems and issues with life we struggle through today. Highly recommend to all.

[D'Ailleurs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η ανάγνωση του "Θεραπεία" μου έφερε στο μυαλό και ένα άλλο βιβλίο παρόμοιου θέματος αλλά βαθύτερων νοημάτων. Ο "συμβιβασμός" του Ελία Καζάν θα έλεγα ότι είναι η "βίβλος" των μετα-εφηβικών επαναστάσεων (σαφέστατα πολύ πιο απρόβλεπτων, καταστροφικών, αναγκαίων και αυθεντικών) όπου ο ήρωας Έντυ Άντερσόν οδηγημένος από τον εμμονικό έρωτα για μια πολύ νεώτερη γυναίκα σπάει όλες τις κοινωνικές συμβάσεις που τον καθηστούσαν "ευυπόλυπτο πολίτη" και ξεκινάει ένα ταξίδι αυτογνωσίας χωρίς γυρισμό.

Ο "Συμβιβασμός" είναι, παρόλο το ανάλαφρο και σε σημεία χιουμοριστικό ύφος του, είναι ένα σοκαριστικό βιβλίο. Είναι η ιστορία ενός ανθρώπου που πηγαίνει κόντρα σε κάθε κοινωνική και οικογενειακή σύμβαση, ένα πόλεμο όχι μόνο στον καθοσπρεπισμό αλλά και στα σύγχρονα δεσμά που καθοδηγούν την ζωή του. Υπάρχει νόημα σε όλα αυτά; Αξίζει για τον Έντυ να θυσιάσει την ζωή του για ένα τίποτα; Δεν νομίζω ότι υπάρχει απάντηση, παρά μόνο τι νιώθει ο καθένας.

Ως εκ τούτου "Ο συμβιβασμός" είναι ένα δυσνόητο βιβλίο αλλά αρκετά εύκολοδιάβαστο (αν και το είχα διαβάσει σε παλαιότερη έκδοση) ως προς την πρόζα του. Υπάρχει και ταινία με κουκλάρες Deborah Kerr και Faye Dunaway (και τεράστιο Kirk Douglas).

[Annabelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a soulless bit of mediocrity.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a strange book. A best-seller in 1967, its been out of print for decades. It was Kazan's first novel, and as everyone knows, he'd spent his first 50 years as an actor and director - not as a writer.

Basically, its the story of a middle-aged, rich, L.A. Adman, a 2nd Generation Greek, who finds his job and marriage intolerable - attempts suicide - and ends up destroying his perfect "arranged" life.

Like I said its a strange book. For example its 576 pages, but its written in 1st person, and there's little description of the physical world these characters inhabit. For example, the suicide attempt is described in 3 sentences. The shooting is a paragraph. Its not even clear what Eddie (the main character) looks like. The physical description of his wife and mistress are equally vague..

What we do get is a lot of dialogue and Eddie telling us things. Plus, there's a LOT of sex. Not really descriptions of the sex act (although we get a few of those), but constant talk *of* sex. We get Eddie talking about his sexual encounters, mistresses, and adultery. There's talk of who's doing it, how they're doing, how you should do it, and who's *not* doing it. It was probably pretty shocking for 1967, and accounts for it being a best-seller.

Pluses. It has some good set-piece dialogues between Eddie and the various other characters. And the best of the part of the novel is Eddie's description of his Greek parents and his relationship them.

Overall the novel kept me interested, although my attention lagged in the last 100 pages, when it just dragged on too long. Male middle-life crisis isn't the most thrilling of subject's and its to Kazan's credit he made a best seller out of it.

[Oscar E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kazan's novel exposes the characters' soul (his own, most likely). Feelings are well described along the whole path to renewing his whole life, to a reunification of his private ego and his pen-name self. At the same time, the story features an early (the book was written half a century ago), underlying critics to the American dream. Four stars instead of five because, as John Steinbeck said about the book, we don't like the reality described by Kazan. No less than four stars because this Actor's Studio founder and multiple Oscar winner descibed the reality and his personal experience using his inimitable expressive tools.

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had already forgotten why I had put this one in the TBR pile and so I had few expectations when I picked it up.

This is a story told in the first person by the heroine. As the story opens Gail Saunders finds herself in a difficult financial situation. She runs a horseback riding school but she is not making enough money to support herself, make improvements in the house she lives in and eventually send her son to school. When she receives the visit Raoul, the Earl of Saville, who wants her to attend the reading of his cousin's will because there's a bequest to her son we can immediately see that there's a mystery in Gail's past.

Gail and Nicky, her son, eventually move to Raoul's house, where his family is gathered, and speculation about Nicky's paternity immediately begins. Gail stands firm on trying to deny any relation between her son and the man who left him money but as she and Raoul seem unable to fight the attraction between them and eventually start an affair her reputation is further damaged. At the same time it becomes obvious that a villain is afoot and someone is trying to attack Nicky. As more than one member of the family may have an interest in making him disappear it is not easy to find the real culprit.

I did like both Gail and Raoul. It is easier to like Gail I think because she is the one telling the story so we don’t have his point of view. It is clear though, from the beginning, that he is a nice man and that he is trying to do the right thing. The story seemed, to me, a bit more complex than your average romance novel both in the romance storyline and in the mystery plot.

I think Wolf managed to write and intriguing and compelling story. I had my suspicions about the bad guy but the final twist was a surprise. I also think the book benefitted from the first person narrative.

Grade: 4.5/5

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Spoilers)

This is a book about a man in his late middle age going through an identity crisis, yet it reminds me of books about much younger protagonists such as Catcher in the Rye, The Bell Jar. The story is very engaging and still in some ways quite modern, despite being written in the 1960s. In many ways, Eddie Anderson is an adolescent.

It is easy to relate to the narrator in the first half of the book, even if he is a self-centered jerk. While reading the first half and enjoying it immensely, I wondered why it hadn't become better known. But by the second half you find yourself rooting for him only by default, hoping the guy gets with the girl and live happily ever. But in the end when they do, it's unsatisfying and you wonder why you spent the time reading 500 pages of triviality and it makes sense why the book hasn't been in print for decades.

It's a shame, because the breakdown of Eddie Anderson and his efforts to fight off modern society are intriguing and well-written. Unfortunately, the second half gets bogged down by long descriptions of new characters and Kazan's ending disappoints.

[Yacoob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mám takový zvyk, že dodělám skoro všechno, co začnu. Nenechávám nedojedený talíř, z hospody odcházím poslední a každou knížku dočtu až do konce. Díky této vlastnosti jsem mimo jiné byl schopen přečíst asi 50 Verneovek, které všechny začínají tím, že se 100 stránek nic neděje. A také Kazanovu Dohodu.

Po prvních ca sto stránkách jsem si říkal, že už se na to vybodnu, ale pak to najednou nabralo strhující tempo a i když se to někdy hrozně špatně četlo (v tom smyslu, jako se blbě kouká na filmy s Pierrem Richardem, kdy se bojíte, co zas hlavní postava vyvede), jsem nakonec strašně rád, že jsem to dočetl.

Je asi zbytečné provádět tady rozborku všech tichých dohod, které Eddie ve svém životě udělal, a jak se jich všech pokusil vzdát, až nakonec zjistil, že je z něj naprostý sobec. Ale když se mnou půjdete někdo na pivo, rád si o tom pokecám, koneckonců z hospody odcházím vždycky poslední, tak času bude dost.

P.S. Mám vydání z roku 1990, kde je je na předsádce krásný "uvědomělý" textík vrcholící pasáží o "kruté a nemilosrdné vivisekci Ameriky" a "kořenech citových a morálních krizí současného intelektuála". Na strusku s nimi!

[Николай Кръстев · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing I knew about Kazan was a "Greek American communist traitor film director". So I was expecting a leftist immigrant search for roots novel and I was really shocked to find out a Great American Novel - the missing link between Steinbeck and Franzen. A bit too long but still great (the immigrant search for the roots was there). But I guess I at 45 was the right target of a book about the midlife crisis of a man with Balkan roots.

[Bern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aslında 3 ile 4 arasında kaldım. Güzel başlayıp sürükleyici şekilde ilerleyen kitabın son çeyreği "bitsin artık" cümlemle devam etti. Yazar da bunun farkına varmış olacak ki kendi romanından uyarladığı filmde (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064041/...) bu bölümde yer alan bazı hususlara yer vermemeyi tercih etmiş. Kitabı okurken aklıma Max Frisch'in Stiller'i geldi, tekrar okumanın zamanı gelmiş demek ki...

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 2-star read, with a whole extra star for the cover

Joan Wolf is pretty reliable, and The Arrangement is not a bad read, with a slightly unusual plot. But the characters didn't really grab me, for some reason; not a keeper.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, this is a trashy, pot-boiler-type novel; however, as a Greek-American I appreciated the cultural references and adjustments that the protagonist Eddie (obviously, a version of the author) needed to make, and that´s what made the book special for me. As a first-generation Greek-American, I could identify with the difficulties and the sense of not ever really wholly belonging either in the Greek immigrant world or the US world (Kazan actually was born in Turkey but was brought to the US with his family as a toddler). There were characters, such as Gloria, the protagonist´s boorish, pushy, yet simple-minded sister-in-law, who seemed uncannily similar to relatives I have known. But also sympathetic characters - although not too many - the character of Gwen, with whom the protagonist is obsessed, likewise is both saintly and exasperating, perhaps the quality that made her so fascinating to Eddie. The book also reflected an era of turmoil, transition, when youth especially were looking for authenticity and rejecting the phoniness of the world that had been handed to them, which was neatly embodied in the lies Eddie had to convey in his career as an advertising executive, especially lying with respect to his main account, a cigarette brand.

There is nothing that great about this novel although in its own melodramatic, soap-opera type way, it does keep the reader engrossed in the plot twists (some, finally, predictable) and what will befall the protagonist next. It also immerses the reader in the world of the 20th century, just as it was about to culturally disintegrate with the youth-quake.

The book describes the tortured personal development of the protagonist - he manages to survive, but only just, his prior established life as an advertising executive, by escaping from it into a much simpler albeit less wealthy, but more authentic life as a result of his crack-up. The twists and turns his journey takes, perhaps in conventional terms, his downward spiral, is the substance of the book - there is plenty of interesting self-reflection in this novel, opinions on New York in that era, and on everything else. Eddie wakes up to new possibilities by rejecting the status quo that society has prepared for him, and embarking on a much simpler life, starting a new family, losing the prior trappings of affluence etc.

I can see why this would have been a best-seller in its time, the fame and respect of Kazan the film director must have had a synergistic effect on his book sales. Unfortunately, Kazan filmed a version of ¨The Arrangement¨ which was not only not that well received despite a stellar cast including Kirk Douglas, but effectively ended his Hollywood directorial career (although he did go on to make a couple of independent films afterwards).

The book´s heroine is based on Kazan´s second wife the actress Barbara Loden, an interesting figure herself, given her surprisingly effective sole directorial effort the film ¨Wanda.¨ She, an extremely talented and beautiful actress, must have thrown him for a loop, in the midst of the youth-quake, and the book and later, the film, was the result. Sadly, their relationship petered out and Loden died of breast cancer at a relatively early age, but the much younger Loden must have been a thunderbolt into Kazan´s life when they first met and subsequently took up with each other. Probably, rather than have the book turned into a film by the book´s author, it should have been directed by another director, because Kazan had so much invested in it, the story was a reflection of the central relationship in his own life at the time. The book was mostly critically panned although it sold well but the movie was a flop.

Here are a couple of quotes from the book:

¨[About Chet Collier, the interviewee who later becomes a key character in the book]: Then he [Chet] took after our schools. Especially the progressive private schools, with their emphasis on adjustment. He was drunk by then, and the room was pretty dark, and he roared, ¨Anybody who´s adjusted to the way this country is today is an idiot, and a man who tries to train his children to adjust to what´s around them would do better to slit their throats.¨ His voice was going up and down in a sort of chant. He was getting out of control.¨

¨..I knew that was as at stake was nothing as trivial as this girl or that; it was something about my whole goddam existence, something like the hopes that I had once had for myself, of the thing honor, the thing that´s always threatened--honor or any dying self-respect, one of those words you never use now because it seems irrelevant to the way we live our days.¨

¨[Florence to Eddie, during their ¨fortress¨ period:] Everything was possible to you that day. And now it seems like some sort of grotesque joke. To use that talent and all that training--how you worked!--to use all that to sell cigarettes.¨

¨[Florence & Eddie create their spiritual ¨fortress.¨] Inside this hedge of evergreens was our domain. There we were to abandon our old selves and create new solves, with new dimensions, and a new structure made of a new fabric. Inside we would divorce ourselves from things of the flesh and the market-place.¨

¨[Eddie--or Evans--to Florence:] There can be a good life on this earth, but the way it is here and now makes no sense; it´s insane. I´m not insane, *it´s* insane!¨

¨[Looking at the abandoned tennis court at his dad´s house:] What was left, I wondered, of the effort and passion, the sheer energy of his life?¨

¨...if I had been forced to answer and give a verdict at that moment, I would have had to say that I thought the whole passage of my family to this country had been a failure, not the country´s fault perhaps, but the inevitable result of the time and the spirit in the air in those days. The symbols of affluence gained had been empty even by the standards of the market place. The money they had acquired wasn't worth much; they had found that out in 1929. As for the other acquisitions--the homes, the furniture, the cars, the pianos, the decorations, the clothes, the land--they had meant nothing.¨

¨[Judge, at hearing at sanitarium:] Let me put it to you once more and in the simplest terms. No one can live completely as he´d wish. We all pay something in time and in disgust for rent and for groceries. It´s an arrangement you make with society, which is itself an arrangement, you understand? To be old-fashioned about it, it goes like this: I give up a piece of my soul; you give me bread. We all, to one degree or another, pretend we like what we abhor. Usually we do it for so long that we forget we abhor it. But, despite all this, it is a civilization of sorts, isn´t it? No?¨

¨[Eddie to Father Draddy:] It´s because I doubt. It´s because I think it takes courage not to take the answers of other men. It takes courage to look back in scorn at myself and say NO to myself, and to look at this world and to say NO to this world.¨

¨It rained all that night. And I could hear the sea, the same ocean it was that my uncle and my father had crossed long ago. Now at the moment when I was staring out again, I had come back to where they had started. They had made a run at a false prize. Now I had paid some of their debts--it had cost me many years of my life--and was ready to make my own run.¨

[Fede La Lettrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si può vivere senza accettare compromessi, senza sottostare a nessuno dei mille contratti che la vita ti suggerisce di sottoscrivere? E poi sono suggerimenti o obblighi? Quali le conseguenze di scelte a dir poco controcorrente?

"Per la prima volta in vita mia mi sentivo vicino alla gente, perché per la prima volta evitavo quei giudizi preconcetti e quegli incasellamenti sommari che mi avevano impedito in passato di conoscere veramente il mio prossimo. I nostri colloqui erano autentici incontri tra due persone, e non un modo di mostrare la faccia che si voleva far vedere al mondo."

Il compromesso
Elia Kazan
Traduzione: Ettore Capriolo
Editore: Mattioli 1885
Pag: 539
Voto: 4&mezzo/5

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Widow Gail Saunders has run a small riding establishment and raised her son Nicky alone for nine years since her husband’s death. A fancy coach carrying the Earl of Savile and an unwelcome summons arrive during an intense snowstorm. An omen to be sure.

The Earl’s cousin has died and included Nicky in his will. Even though her financial position is tenuous at best, Gail wants no part of the weak willed Lord Devane and his estate, but the will and the Earl won’t allow her to refuse Nicky’s legacy. Nicky is the heir.

There is contention over the will’s provisions. Lady Devane is pregnant – what if she gives birth to a son? Accidents come close to eliminating several of the protagonists. Who and what are endangering Nicky?

The Arrangement is a truly delightful romance. The characters are likeable, reasonable, believable, and enjoyable. There are side plots and suspense. Gail and the Earl actually speak with one another as their attraction grows, even though a marriage between two such different social classes is impossible.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable romance. Highly recommended.

Readalikes:
Novels by Amanda Quick; Stephanie Laurens Bastion Club and Cynster series; Catherine Coulter Sherbrooke Brides series; Loretta Lynda Chase Scoundrels series; Elizabeth Thornton – The Pleasure Trap; Eileen Dreyer’s Drake’s Rakes series; Stephanie Sloane’s Regency Rogues; Regency novels by Joan Smith; Mary Jo Putney’s Lost Lords; Manda Collins – Why Lords Lose Their Hearts; Mary Balogh; Julia Quinn.

Pace: Fast
Characters: Likeable; admirable
Story: Intricately-plotted
Language: Engaging; 1st person
Tone: Sensual; strong sense of place; suspenseful
Frame: Kent; Surrey; Regency

[Ffiamma · Rating 4 out of 5]

quanto può reggere una vita basata sulle bugie e sui compromessi? e a quanto si può rinunciare per riscoprire il vero se stesso? eddie anderson, una volta fatto saltare il compromesso che reggeva la sua vita- si ritrova davanti a una serie di scelte, in parte obbligate e in parte volute, sbaglia ripetutamente per cercare la propria strada, affronta problemi e situazioni che aveva sempre evitato di trovarsi davanti. e tutto questo per riscoprire la propria umanità, rifiutando schemi e conformista.
(mi piacciono molto i film di elia kazan- nonostante sia stata una persona discutibile. questo romanzo, modernissimo, conferma che il talento può essere multiforme)

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

metto Evangelos Arness insieme a Mosez Herzog e allo Svedese (non so se al posto dello svedese dovrei mettere Alex Portnoy oppure Micky Sabbath) nella trinità dei personaggi maschili della letteratura americana del 900... impossibile non vedere l'influenza di Fante nel rapporto tra Evangelos Arness e suo padre Sam Arness, e altrettando impossibile non vedere nel rapporto Evangelos Arness/ Florence Arness l'influenza di Norman Mailer con Stephen Rojack/ Deborah Caughlin...

[Beth Glanvill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has apparently been out of print for a couple of decades and I'm not sure why. Whilst some of the content may be dated, it's one of the most gripping and exciting novels about an affair and a man's downfall that I've ever read. If you can get hold of it, I highly recommend! The protagonist is an asshole. But you like him anyway.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book: in the first person and done so well. Personally, a 4 1/2 star read.

... I changed my rating to * * * * * stars because any book I read and re-read that often gets a top stellar rating. I wish I could find a great review of this book. Can anyone point me to one?

[Michael O · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inflated, self-absorbed, and bloated - just like the main character. There's an interesting story in here somewhere about the morally vacuous excesses of the free love era, but that story could have been told in 200 pages, and the last half of this novel is a major slog. You'd think a director of Kazan's stature would recognize the need for an editor, but, like the main character Eddie/Evangelos, he may have lacked any self-awareness. Or maybe he wrote this tome in a blackout drunk, which seems to be the standard operating condition of most of these characters.

Ultimately, The Arrangement is a sometimes interesting relic of the 60s - and apparently sold somewhere near a billion copies that decade! It has some merit as a historical document, and for fans of Kazan's filmography, which has some very high peaks. But if your interest is exclusively literary, you can take a hard pass.

[H is for Hydraulics · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family drama mystery, good use of POV

[Charybdis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year is 1818 and our heroine is Gail, 27, a widow with an eight-year-old son, Nicky. She's been barely making a living by giving newly rich people riding lessons. The hero is Raoul, the Earl of Savile. He turns up at her house with an invitation to attend the reading of the will of his cousin, because her son Nick stands to inherit something. Gail would rather have nothing to do with this inheritance or the deceased's family, but she thinks it's best to resolve this matter in person, so she travels with the earl to his castle. There she will meet several people, who may or may not have her best interests at heart.

The first mystery the reader is presented with, is the parentage of young Nick. Is he the bastard son of the Earl of Savile's cousin? Gail denies it, but won't tell you the real story.
Then attempts appear to be made on Nicky's life, so someone must be in on the mystery.
In the meantime the attraction between Raoul and Gail grows stronger and they become lovers, although Gail knows that Raoul will never marry her because of their differences in station.

There's much I liked about this book. The story was captivating, the people were sympathetic, the dialogue lovely, and above all: everything was credible and logical. The prose was wonderful, light, and never over-the-top or confusing. Savile castle and the way its residents lived in total luxury was portrayed excellently and you knew that Gail would truly hit the jackpot when she married handsome, wise, charismatic Raoul. (You really didn't believe they couldn't marry because of the differences in station, did you?).

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo leí en español intitulado "el arregloo"
Me parece una historia intensa casi en todas sus páginas, bien contada por el protagonista, y con un cierre que te deja una agradable sensación: habla sobre a quién o a quiénes estamos dispuestos a dar gusto en la vida, a quienes nos rodean, o a ti mismo.
No quiero hablar de más pero es de esas historias que hacen conocerte más a fondo o ver con más claridad como es que vives tu vida.
Claro que la recomiendo.
Solo encontré esta versión en italiano aunque yo la leí en español es el mismo libro. Saludos desde México.

[Nina Draganova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Елия Казан ми стана симпатичен от пръв поглед.Има една снимка от неговата младост на която е много красив,поне за моя вкус.И ми вдъхна доверие,което не е лесно.Разбира се бях чувала за него,но не се задълбочавах,беше ми малко архивен.И стила на тази книга е поостарял,но същността й не.Радвам се ,че ми я препоръчаха и я прочетох , и не само това.

[TinaNoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, solid read. Vintage Signet regency stuff that still holds up very, very well today.

Along with the lovely romance there are two mysteries. The resolution to one I figured out very quickly. The other was a big guess until the end.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I simply did not find any interest in reading about a person who did nothing in his life more than cheat on his wife and attempt suicide . It may even have been well written, but I did not enjoy reading it.

[Sujit Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the best of Elia Kazan with each nuance cleanly etched out, defined - ever stroke a work of art.