The Petrushka Chord
Hello there. Let’s continue with our reading of Owen Martell’s novel Intermission.
We left off last time looking at the first section of the book, entitled The Petrushka Chord, written from the perspective of Harry Evans, Bill’s brother. After he learns of the death of Scott Lafaro, Bill’s bandmate, Harry has gone out looking for Bill in NYC, concerned that Bill will not handle the tragic news of well.
The major subtext here is that Harry is worried about Bill, who is a heroin user. Harry
remembers him as a boy, “when he had cheeks, and arms and legs that didn’t look like they’d snap in two at the first remotely bruising contact.”
Although it is never directly said, it makes sense that Harry fears Bill will use heroin.
“When he tried to think of the right thing to say when he saw him, Harry found himself imagining instead ways in which he might speak of Bill to strangers who’d come asking. He’d insist, he thought, in the first place, on the inalienability of the past, how he was there, in everything, to try and mask the fact that there were other people who, in the day-to-day sense at least, knew him better now.”
As Harry travels to Bill’s apartment, he remembers their childhood together, when Harry, as older brother, would watch out for Bill. Harry sees Bill on the street by his place and realizes he was home all along and didn’t answer Harry’s phone call. Now, Harry believes (probably correctly) that Bill is running away from him. Harry follows, knowing Bill is out trying to score, although this is never said explicitly. The more Bill is “…apparently unaware of his being followed, the more Hary found himself wanting to help him. Particularly if Bill’s business was in Harlem. He wouldn’t be able to do much, in all probability, beyond bear silent witness, but at least he’d be looking out for him, liked he’d looked out for him before, the heedful older brother.…It would make their mother happy, too…Not that she’d know the half of it.”
An interesting feature of the writing here is that Harry (and other characters) know Bill is a drug addict, but it’s not said directly, and this is in keeping with a story that is very close to the characters. Harry doesn’t have to say or think “Dang, Bill is an addict,” because this knowledge is implicit for him. It’s the reader who must infer this—or maybe just know it from knowledge of the real Bill Evans’ life.
Also, we are shown that Harry learns of Lafaro’s death after the fact by reading the newspaper. Apparently, he hasn’t seen Bill for several days, which kind of goes against the idea of his being over-involved. I think this is an artifact of the story. The story needs a beginning; the story starts with this event (Harry reading the paper). It is a reminder that we are dealing with fiction here, not a facsimile of real life.
Harry continues to follow Bill and thinks Bill doesn’t see him. But, “Bill had turned on his heel to face him dead on.” Yet Bill doesn’t seem to see him and walks away. This scene is a powerful confirmation of the alienation between the two brothers. Harry follows and they both get on the subway. Bill goes into a club, and Harry waits. The quest for Bill involves Harry falling into memory; he has an extended recollection of the brothers’ childhood.
The next sub-section is entitled, Theme.
A few days later, Bill calls his mother, Mary, and “told her immediately about Scott Lafaro and that he was worried.” However, he apparently believes his mother does not know about Bill’s addiction and shields her from it. She admonishes him to take care of his brother. He goes over to Bill’s house. Bill is home, sitting at his piano. “’Hey,’ Harry said. ‘Hey.’ He squeezed his way around the instrument and stood before his brother…’Sorry,’ Harry said. ‘I’m sorry.’
Why, the reader might ask, does Harry apologize? Harry has a pervasive and exhausting sense of never being enough for his brother. The apology is made to himself.
Harry asks Bill to come home for dinner. Afterward, they have a drink. “He poured them a whiskey each, thinking it would be good older brother behaviour, and told him he should stay with them for a while. The words felt sticky on his tongue and Bill didn’t respond.”
But he apparently agrees to stay.
I’m using the word “apparently” a lot because, as mentioned, Intermission calls on the reader to make many inferences. In this sense, it’s a very “open” text, inviting the reader to participate in the story—a very respectful stance. Demanding, though. It’s not said clearly that Harry knows Bill is an addict (well, later, it is) and here, it’s not said clearly that Bill accepts Harry’s offer. There is no response, but the next section shows Harry waking up in the night and hearing footsteps in the living room where Bill is supposedly sleeping and the sound of the front door opening and closing. Harry doesn’t investigate, almost as if he doesn’t want to know what’s going on. Again, it’s not said but the inference might be that Bill has received a delivery of heroin. In the morning, Bill seems to be asleep on the couch, but Harry sees Bill watching him (he’s not asleep).
Bill goes out the next two nights while Harry is in bed, listening. “It was what happened, he thought, like some part of Bill had been closed off to them for good. It was just something that happened. But it was still a shame; he had only one brother.”
This section is called Theme, and I think the theme is that Harry is torn between wanting to save Bill vs. feeling responsible for his wife and daughter. The two positions are not compatible, and we see this playing out in the conclusion to this section. Bill plays with his niece, Debby, the family goes to the beach together—it’s the picture of the 1960s happy family with kindly Uncle Bill tagging along—which is what Harry wants but knows he doesn't have. Uncle Bill continues going out late at night to score drugs, and Harry finally asks his parents if they will take Bill and puts him on a plane bound for their home in Florida. Harry is unsuccessful in his quest to save his brother and admits defeat.
Another unwritten theme here is that Bill’s family sees him as fragile. He needs their help and passively accepts it. It’s an interesting and accurate study of a family with one member seen as “troubled” who adopts a lifestyle—drug addict—that confirms this perception. But we have to keep in mind that it’s fiction.
Here, we read a story of two brothers, both with their own “music,” who, put together, clash—but are joined. This is, I believe, a nice expression of the Petrushka Chord motif that gives this section its name. And that is a distinctive feature of Intermission, that musical ideas expand and enrich the narrative in the same way a good title does. Yes, best B, Harry’s song is yearning and striving to be good while Bill’s is dark and hidden and resists help.
Let’s stop there.
Till next time.
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