The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County
Encyclopedia
The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County (often referred to as The Serial) is a satirical
novel about Marin County, California
, written by Cyra McFadden
. Beginning in 1976, the book's chapters had been serial
ized in the Marin County alternative newspaper, Pacific Sun. It was first published in book form in 1977.
The book deals with life in the mid-1970s in Marin County, a suburban and affluent county just north of San Francisco
.
The book was popular at the time of its initial publication. It has since been out of print for several years in the United States. It was reprinted in the United Kingdom by Prion Humour Classics
in 2000.
A film version of the book, called Serial
, was released in 1980 and starred Martin Mull
and Tuesday Weld
. It was received with limited critical praise did not fare well at the box-office.
and the culture loosely described as "Yuppie
". There are elements of soap opera
in the book, although the tone is comedic (specifically, satirical) rather than tragic. The novel describes its characters' lifestyles, including their interest in various New Age
beliefs and human potential movement
groups (including est
, transcendental meditation
, consciousness-raising, and rebirthing
); their unconventional and arguably lax child-rearing techniques; and their embrace of a number of then-current fads, such as fern bar
s, jogging
, and organic food. Wife swapping and open marriage
are common as are cocaine
use and frequent divorce
s. Many things associated with the human potential movement are mentioned and satirized, including est, the Fischer-Hoffman Process
, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull
; radical feminism
and Sierra Club
membership are seemingly ubiquitous; and kids are sent to free-form summer camp
s offering survival training and "spontaneous rap sessions". The book satirizes many of the elements of a particular mid-to-late 1970s subculture, also described to some degree by author Tom Wolfe
in his 1976 non-fiction essay "The Me Decade and the Third Great Awakening", particularly as manifested in the lives of people then between the ages of about 30 and 45 in affluent parts of California
. The book was said by some to satirize suburban California in the manner that John Updike
or John Cheever
were satirizing Northeast suburbanites.
Many of the characters in The Serial also speak a particular jargon or lexicon, saying words and phrases like "flash on" (a phrasal verb
meaning to "have a sudden insight about"), "Really" (to signify assent), and others.
The Serial contains a great number of specific references to actual locations (restaurants, stores, streets) in 1970s Marin County. In the original edition of the book, and in most if not all later editions, black-and-white illustrations of scenes from the novel accompany the text in many of the chapters.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
novel about Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, written by Cyra McFadden
Cyra McFadden
Cyra McFadden is an American writer, living in the San Francisco Bay Area.McFadden's 1977 novel The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County satirized the trendy lifestyles of the affluent residents of Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco...
. Beginning in 1976, the book's chapters had been serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
ized in the Marin County alternative newspaper, Pacific Sun. It was first published in book form in 1977.
The book deals with life in the mid-1970s in Marin County, a suburban and affluent county just north of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
The book was popular at the time of its initial publication. It has since been out of print for several years in the United States. It was reprinted in the United Kingdom by Prion Humour Classics
Prion Humour Classics
Prion Humour Classics are a series of small-format hardback novels published by Prion Books in the UK....
in 2000.
A film version of the book, called Serial
Serial (1980 film)
Serial is a comedy film from 1980 produced by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay, by Rich Eustis and Michael Elias, is drawn from the novel The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County by Cyra McFadden, published in 1977...
, was released in 1980 and starred Martin Mull
Martin Mull
Martin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
and Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
. It was received with limited critical praise did not fare well at the box-office.
Plot summary
The Serial is divided into 52 short chapters. It chronicles the lives of a group of residents of Marin County, mostly in their mid-to-late 30s and early 40s. The plot revolves around Harvey and Kate Holroyd, a couple in the midst of the mid-1970s Marin County lifestyle who are undergoing marital problems, with many other characters introduced in the book.Analysis
The period of the storyline covers a time between the heyday of the 1960s countercultureCounterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
and the culture loosely described as "Yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
". There are elements of soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
in the book, although the tone is comedic (specifically, satirical) rather than tragic. The novel describes its characters' lifestyles, including their interest in various New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
beliefs and human potential movement
Human Potential Movement
The Human Potential Movement arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people...
groups (including est
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
, transcendental meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
, consciousness-raising, and rebirthing
Rebirthing
Rebirthing may refer to:*Rebirthing-breathwork, a form of alternative medicine mainly consisting of a breathing technique*Attachment therapy, a controversial category of alternative child mental health interventions intended to treat attachment disorders...
); their unconventional and arguably lax child-rearing techniques; and their embrace of a number of then-current fads, such as fern bar
Fern bar
Fern bar is an American slang term for an upscale or preppy bar or tavern catering to singles usually decorated with ferns or other "fussy" plants, as well as such decor as fake Tiffany lamps...
s, jogging
Jogging
Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.-Definition:...
, and organic food. Wife swapping and open marriage
Open marriage
Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's...
are common as are cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
use and frequent divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
s. Many things associated with the human potential movement are mentioned and satirized, including est, the Fischer-Hoffman Process
Hoffman Institute
The Hoffman Institute Foundation is a non-profit organization headquartered in the United States and is affiliated with Hoffman Institute International. As of 2008, Hoffman Institute International has Centers in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain,...
, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection...
; radical feminism
Radical feminism
Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that "male supremacy" oppresses women...
and Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
membership are seemingly ubiquitous; and kids are sent to free-form summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
s offering survival training and "spontaneous rap sessions". The book satirizes many of the elements of a particular mid-to-late 1970s subculture, also described to some degree by author Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
in his 1976 non-fiction essay "The Me Decade and the Third Great Awakening", particularly as manifested in the lives of people then between the ages of about 30 and 45 in affluent parts of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The book was said by some to satirize suburban California in the manner that John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
or John Cheever
John Cheever
John William Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy,...
were satirizing Northeast suburbanites.
Many of the characters in The Serial also speak a particular jargon or lexicon, saying words and phrases like "flash on" (a phrasal verb
Phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition, any of which are part of the syntax of the sentence, and so are a complete semantic unit. Sentences may contain direct and indirect objects in addition to the phrasal...
meaning to "have a sudden insight about"), "Really" (to signify assent), and others.
The Serial contains a great number of specific references to actual locations (restaurants, stores, streets) in 1970s Marin County. In the original edition of the book, and in most if not all later editions, black-and-white illustrations of scenes from the novel accompany the text in many of the chapters.