According to the National Mental Health Association, clinical depression affects some 19-million Americans each year. For acclaimed writer Rick Moody, the way into and out of his own severe depression leads to the mythology of his family history and, strangely enough, deeper into the history of the nation.
The Black Veil is a brainy, honest, humble and chilling voyage to the secret, dark heart of fear and anxiety Moody finds at the core of the American identity.
The author, whose novel The Ice Storm was made into a movie several years ago, takes an autobiographical turn as he attempts to find the roots of his alcoholism and mental illness, his moody disposition, so to speak. The Black Veil works best when Moody frankly recounts family or personal background, tales of his father or grandfather, accounts of his drinking, scenes of awkward family holidays, failed relationships and rehabilitation.
A mental breakdown has rarely been so chillingly and compellingly captured, and Moody's precise recollections of his problems may strike close to home for some readers.
The book sometimes drags — and Moody admits his "digressions" might be frustrating — when the author indulges his literary smarts in relation to the Nathaniel Hawthorne tale, The Minister's Black Veil. The story concerns a Puritan minister who one day appears before the congregation of the village with a black veil shrouding his face — a fashion accessory that scares the bejeezus out of the kindly townsfolk. Hawthorne reportedly based the character of the minister on a real person who, as a youth, shot his best friend in a hunting accident and, burdened forever with guilt, became a man of the cloth and took to wearing a handkerchief over his face. The last name of that real historical figure? Moody — hence Rick Moody's sometimes tedious obsession with finding a connection to that famous person. There will be a quiz on this after class.
Digressions aside, The Black Veil is an ambitious attempt to get at the difficulty of getting at what drives you crazy, makes you unhappy, haunts you in ways that you can't quite figure out. In the end, you might find that some time behind the black veil with this complex human story will leave you a bit more sober and insightful about your own dark moods.
— Mark E. Hayes
This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2002.