H.M. Pulham, Esquire is an immersion into a single character and his parochial perspective.
High Point: Through the first-person narrative, the reader will see things that Pulham’s naive nature won’t let him see.
Low Point: There are a few–but not many–passages that are so detailed they become a bit of a mire.
Authors: John P. Marquand
Publication Date: 1941
Genre: Fiction
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One appealing aspect of John P. Marquand’s novels is that their resolutions are not always neatly tied up. Marquand’s stories may conclude in such a way that leaves a lingering bit of uncertainty—as real life often does. That’s what you get with H.M. Pulham, Esquire.
Told through a first-person narrative, the novel offers a bittersweet deep dive into the life of Pulham, an upper-class gentleman in early 20th century Boston. We know his thoughts as he struggles to reconcile the expectations of his family and his social class with his pursuit of the people and vocations he loves. They don’t always mix well, and Pullham must often choose between others’ expectations and his own wants.
The reader will see things that Pulham’s naïve nature won’t let him see. Although other characters close to Pullham are experiencing similar conflicts, he may not recognize the parallels. Marquand pulls it all together in the final chapter in a clever and effective way.
This is an immersion into a single character and his parochial perspective. And that is the draw of H.M. Pulham, Esquire.
Movie/TV Adaptation
H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
Sources For This Book
Free eBook (Project Gutenberg): Not available
Free Audiobook (LibriVox): Not available
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