Review: My Face for the World to See by Alfred Hayes
November 15, 2014 November 15, 2014 / jpbohannon
Cover for the NYRB edition of My Face for the World to See
The narrator of Alfred Hayes' novel works in Hollywood. That is all we know. He is semi-separated from his wife; he lives alone for months at a time in L.A. and for months in New York with his wife, though his marriage, from his perspective, is a failed and sad relationship.
In fact, the narrator finds his life and work as a failure. He sees no value in the work he does, although, as he says, the studio pays him handsomely. (He states that he is a "writher" rather than a "writer.") He condescendingly (and somewhat snobbishly) observes the people around him, their vanities and egos, their manipulating and positioning, their theatrics and ambitions.
At a party one night, the narrator–bored with this gathering at an expensive beach house–steps outside for a smoke and sees a young woman walk into the sea. When she goes under, he rescues her and resuscitates her. And thus begins a relationship that he did not want to happen. That the woman is disturbed is revealed gradually, and she is much more than simply a young girl with unrealized Hollywood dreams.
Initially, it is her cynicism towards the business, towards love and towards life that draws him to her, that allows himself to give in to what he is also trying to hold back from. And as the two become more closely entwined–and as more of her anxieties are displayed–it becomes apparent that the two of them are very similar, a realization that is devastating to the narrator. In truth, it may be that it is the narrator whose face is now "for the world to see."
The narrator's deliberate and reflective thinking, his cool, detached observations, his knowing emotional cover-up, all work to create a modern anti-hero, an existentialist who is "forced" to live and work in a world that celebrates the superficial and is built basically on the dissemination of lies. It is a taut and harrowing read, a tale of self-discovery, acceptance, and angst.
My Face for the World to See was originally published in 1958. At the time, Hayes was more known as a scriptwriter. He had twice been nominated for an Oscar, had written successful screenplays for films directed by Fritz Lang, John Huston, and Fred Zinnemann, and also wrote many pieces for television including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. As a novelist, he was most celebrated for The Girl on the Via Flaminia, and as a poet, for "Joe Hill" which was later put to music and became an anthem for workers' rights. (Joan Baez famously sang it at Woodstock. See below.)
The New York Review of Books re-issued My Face for the World to See in 2013, with an introduction by the film critic, David Thomson. But this novel is by no means a Hollywood novel. Apart from the brief description of the initial party where the narrator rescues the suicidal young woman, there is no glamor, no behind the scenes peeks, no tabloid scandals. There is simply a couple of apartments and the narrator's self-examination and his lover's revealed past. It is discrete yet raw, fast-paced yet thoughtful. It is memorable novel that deserves this re-issue.
And here's a treat. A sweetly innocent Joan Baez singing Alfred Hayes' "Joe Hill" at Woodstock. Enjoy:
Authors, Book Review, Books, Literature, Los Angeles, love, Writers
Alfred Hayes, Alfred Hitchcock, Existentialism, Fred Zinnemann, Fritz Lang, Hollywood screenwriting, Joan Baez, Joe Hill, John Huston, Los Angeles, My Face for the World to See, the business, The Girl on the Via Flaminia, The Twilight Zone, Woodstock
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