Book Review: “The Invisible Hour” by Alice Hoffman
A Cult and a Classic
Author Alice Hoffman knows that magic resides in books. She has written about that magic in her latest novel, The Invisible Hour. This is the story of a young girl who finds escape and solace in her local small-town library and within the world of classic novels — even though reading is prohibited by the community (read: cult) that she belongs to. This is an ambitious modern-day fairy tale that’s also about the bonds between mothers and daughters, and what one will put on the line for the life of the other. However, The Invisible Hour is also one big sopping love letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his 1850 classic novel The Scarlet Letter. And it’s a romance, to boot, with the main protagonist falling in love — quite literally — with said historical figure. Thus, The Invisible Hour is a big and bold book, despite its brevity at less than 300 pages. That all said, it’s not altogether all that successful due to a tonal shift that turns what might be a natural story told in conversational style into a work of science fiction and time travel. But I may be saying too much here.
The book is lobbed into two distinct halves: one that takes place in the present day (or what amounts for the present day) and one that is set in the year 1837. In the former time setting, a young woman named Ivy lives a tony life with her parents in Boston. However, when she gets pregnant thanks to a young man from Harvard University (who then turns his back on her), her parents decide to ship her off to Utah and have the child there, where it will be given up for adoption. Ivy thus flees to western Massachusetts and attracts the attention of a cult leader named Joel who marries her. Ivy comes to live with this cult, called the Community, with her daughter Mia. When Mia is 15, she has a rebellious streak that gets her into trouble with the cult leader, who intends to brand her with the letter A on her skin for all of her “wrongdoing.” Mia manages to escape from this leader with an iron fist, but where will she go? And once she’s rescued, what will stop Joel from demanding that she returns to the Community? And what about the fact that there’s magic in the world that can transport a person back in time nearly 200 years? But I may be saying too much here.
I can say that The Invisible Hour is not really a book meant for me — it’s more of a women’s book due to the fantastical romantic elements and feminist angle. This was a book that was given to me by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review, but I didn’t select it from any of the e-galley platforms that I belong it. Instead, this was a gift. I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I found The Invisible Hour (and the book never explains why it is called that) to have some issues with the plot. For starters, I’m not sure why Mia or any of her handlers don’t go to the police to have Joel charged with stalking her. I know, I know — the police usually don’t believe women who are the victims of domestic abuse, and Mia’s situation is also a little tenuous because she’s a minor. However, surely, they might have tried to do more to fight back. Secondly, it is not explained how Mia can travel back in time. It’s as though she can just magically transport herself back to 1837 and the life of Hawthorne if she happens to be in a certain spot at a certain time — which the book doesn’t adequately explain. Hawthorne’s sister Elizabeth spends time defending the ideal of logic in this novel, but The Invisible Hour is often lacking this. Things just happen because they need to happen. But I may be saying too much here.
Ultimately, I found that The Invisible Hour’s reach exceeds its grasp. I don’t want to be cruel because — as is the case with any book — there’s bound to be someone who will adore this read. I’m sure that if you come from an abusive family background, this novel will provide something of an escape hatch and offer you hope that you can overcome your travails in a similar way to Mia’s fight to establish some independence for herself. I did find the author’s style — a kind of digressive raconteur speak-song voice — to be charming and refreshingly different. However, there’s a big shift in tone in this work halfway through that may similarly jolt you in the way having cold water thrown onto your person might. And I did find the part of the novel involving the Community to be oppressive and depressive. If life in this cult is so bad, why don’t more people find a way to get out? Surely, cult members could band together and mutiny their abusive leader or find some way to leave in droves? It’s hard to believe that this one man could wield so much power. However, this may be a comment against leaders such as Donald Trump who are difficult to get rid of. I don’t know. In any event, The Invisible Hour has its plusses and its minuses. If you’re a fan of classic American literature, you’re bound to get something out of this book. For me, I suppose you could say that I’m on the fence about this one. This is not a terrible novel, but it probably comes down to a matter of taste and this book wasn’t for me. Maybe I needed to read The Scarlet Letter first before this one. I don’t know for sure but why do I get the feeling that I might be saying too much here?
Alice Hoffman’s The Invisible Hour will be published by Simon & Schuster / Atria Books on August 15, 2023.
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Get in touch: zacharyhoule@rogers.com
