Spoiled Jewish college kid Ben Steiner goes off the rails in this lively coming-of-age tale set in 1970s New York.
New York City, 1975: Decent-hearted but spoiled Jewish college kid Ben Steiner is naively possessed by an overwhelming desire to be cool. At a springtime party on the night of his twenty-first birthday, he meets two people: Rebecca Glaser, the longed-for sweet girl of his dreams, and P.T. Deighland, a beguilingly knavish wiseacre from Princeton. Seduced by Deighland's cocksure irreverence while simultaneously succumbing to his own temptations, Ben makes a cascading series of unfortunate choices which not only threaten his budding relationship with Rebecca, but expose him to ruin at the hands of a ravishing but ruthless fashion model named Anthea Montague.
Against the background of a vanished period in American history, STAINER offers a bittersweet nostalgic trip back to a less complex world, during a time of incautious excesses that, while deceptively fun and carefree, in due course forced many unwary youngsters like Benjamin Steiner to learn some necessary -albeit painful- lessons about growing up.
Excerpt
P.T. headed up the narrow stairs, admonishing over his shoulder, "Charm her ass off, Stainer. I know you can do it, I watched how you smoothed your little Jewish princess. Montague thrives on flattery, so lay it on thick. Fawn over her. Indulge her every whim. Who knows, you may get luckier than your wildest imaginings."
"Well..." Benjamin swallowed, and straightened his tie. "Okay, I guess."
"Attaboy." Deighland winked. "Avanti! You're about to find out what it's like to be eaten alive..."
Professional Reviews
STAINER by Iolanthe Woulff
Stainer by Iolanthe Woulff follows the life of Ben Steiner, a precocious but terminally uncool college student living in 1970’s New York City. Beginning on his 21st birthday, he meets the girl of his dreams, as well as the dynamic P.T. Deighland who’s a magnetic presence but doesn’t always have Ben’s interests at heart. As Ben awakens to new experiences, and struggles with breaking free from his conservative upbringing, his desire for acceptance may just end up being his downfall.
Though the cover might suggest that this is a political novel, this is a true coming of age novel – not just for Ben, but for the country itself, as the 70s play an important part in Ben’s sense of displacement during the “Me Decade.” Each character is expertly drawn by Woulff, to the point where characters’ actions are exasperating, in the way that many of us were when we were young. Ben may not be the most dynamic person, but this is a dynamic portrayal.
It has to be mentioned that this book has had a very interesting trajectory, as Woulff lays out in her preface. First written in the 70s, when Woulff went by “Nate,” she transitioned to a woman and then rewrote the earlier work with this new perspective. She says that readers can “disregard” the preface, but it paints the novel in a fascinating light. What it does is give Ben’s narrative the flavor of a memoir – not so much a “period novel,” as a partly non-fictional account of a time and place, as well as mistakes Woulff may have made herself.
As a literary novel, Stainer might lack the heady intellectual lyricism of Philip Roth, but Woulff is an incisive observer of the outsider status of American Jews, and holds nothing back about emerging sexuality in the vein of Roth’s Zuckerman. A worthy project for Woulff to have revisited, Stainer is an entertaining and keenly-observed novel.
STAINER: A novel of the ‘Me Decade’ by Iolanthe Woulff
Benjamin Steiner has begun his twenty-second year high above the glittering streets of New York City — impossibly stoned and still, despite his best efforts, very much a virgin. But he hopes that will soon change.
In this superbly rendered story of a devout Jewish college boy’s headlong rush into manhood, Ben and a remarkable cast of supporting characters grapple with issues of nascent love, reckless infatuation (with both sex and drugs) and the ever-popular question of whether the KBH really cares (Kadosh Baruch Hu: Holy One, blessed be He).
Make no mistake. This is no ordinary coming-of-age story about a privileged undergrad unsteadily feeling his way into the eye-opening wonder of first love. It is, rather, the poignant and often raucous recounting of just how Ben traverses an emotional minefield of his own making.
Along the way, award-winning author Iolanthe Woulff explores what it meant to be Jewish in the 70s subculture of Gotham and its major universities like Columbia and Princeton. And she probes with a practiced authorial hand the complexities of each well-drawn character — from feckless but endearing Ben, to his wisecracking, dope-dealing bud P.T. Deighland, to the impossibly sweet Rebecca Glaser, whose sudden emigration to Israel sets an unfortunate set of events into motion.
Almost cinematic at times, this could easily be adapted to the wide screen, with entire sequences, dialogue and plotline left firmly in place. Indeed, one particular party scene during Princeton’s famed annual Reunions event is especially memorable. Fans of the film classic Animal House will love it.
Five-plus stars to Ms. Woulff, who relates a singular story of her own in the Author’s Preface. It has nothing — and everything — to do with the book itself, and provides fascinating background into the creative — and oft-delayed — process surrounding the book’s publication. We’re glad she persevered to produce one of the best works of fiction we’ve seen this year.
STAINER: A NOVEL OF THE ‘ME DECADE’ BY IOLANTHE WOULFF
How many friends can a freshly 21-year old Jewish man make in a few days or at least in a few months? Benjamin Steiner is just such a person. He has just turned twenty-one, and he is a junior at Columbia. He lives in a Jewish hostel-type building with several others. The building, Rabbi Yitzhak Teller Memorial Residence Hall, is a converted abandoned building that houses Jewish scholars from Columbia. It is known as Beit Yitzhak or “B.” This is the focal point for much of the action here, but don’t believe for a minute that young Ben, embarking on his 21st birthday celebration, is going to be hampered by old traditions. Tonight is the time to get experience that has been denied him so far in life.
The story begins as Ben journeys to the “B” for the party that comes at the end of finals week. It is the highlight of the “B’s” season and one where Ben hopes to at least meet an attractive girl before the end of this birthday evening.
In a strangely prescient encounter, Ben meets a street evangelist with a sign, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap, Galatians 6:7.” This night is going to be one of Ben’s most memorable.
So comes the party. Ben is an active participant and anxious to see what new people might show up. This fateful night, Ben meets two very particular people. Rebecca Glaser is the girl of his dreams that comes to the party and eventually moves into the “B.” P.T. Deighland is the friend of a younger brother of a resident at the “B.” This explains the major thrust of the story.
The tale starts slowly but actually builds through the slowness into an in-depth analysis of a young man messing up his life in celebrating his 21st birthday.
Things keep getting worse and worse. There are times when Ben looks like he is destined to become another statistic but always a redeeming factor brings him back.
The next few months become a dichotomy, with Ben hiding the other side of his life from those Jewish friends that are residents and friends of his from before the fateful party.
There is a climactic, desperate and final crash that shakes Ben to his roots and makes him realize that sometimes friends are not friends, but users and abusers.
The story is one of loss and redemption with a properly ironic twist and ending.
This reviewer would recommend this book for any interested in coming of age books, in Manhattan college life and just life in general. It would be of particular interest to those who have read Iolanthe Woulff’s previous book, She’s My Dad.
5/5 Stars.
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