Why So Serious?

As jaded New Yorkers, we’ve got to admit that smiling seems foreign to us sometimes. A grin from a man on the subway is a crude leer. Even eye contact is dangerous in a city of millions. But hard as it may be to believe, our society is one of the most charitable toward the act of smiling in modern history.

That’s what Angus Trumble suggests in “A Brief History of the Smile.”  In this relatively short read documenting the treatment and fashion of the grin throughout history, Trumble recalls the strict intolerance by the medieval English and French (perhaps comical when you consider that they considered “spitting out of direct view” the height of propriety) and the open laughter of the 17^th-century Dutch. He delves into famous faces such as the “Mona Lisa,” the Archaic Kouroi, and the Cheshire Cat, even stopping to consider the meaning behind the sneers of Sid Vicious and Ozzy Osbourne.

Trumble’s topic is an original and intriguing choice, and he devotes a great number of his pages to mannerisms we didn’t know and obscure facts we didn’t want to (in feudal Japan, teeth were most desirable when blackened by soot). Unfortunately, the author sabotages his delivery of these fun tidbits by skipping off on innumerable and lengthy tangents which are just as interesting, but have little to do with the topic. One can almost imagine Trumble contentedly finishing such a page, sitting back to stretch and wondering what he was talking about, especially because that’s what the reader is thinking at each chapter’s end. Most confusing is when the tangent regarding European prostitution euphemisms is discussed in the chapter titled “Decorum” and not in the one immediately following, the more aptly-titled “Lewdness.”

It’s a substantial flaw, but a forgivable one, especially when you consider that most of these tangents tend to be appealing and enjoyable, even if they’re not very well placed. Over the course of 165 pages, Trumble covers the troubled (who knew?) story of the smile in contexts such as wisdom, desire, and deceit with plenty of enthusiasm.

And like smiling, his excitement is contagious. You may read the book out of curiosity or boredom, but Trumble manages to make his audience care about the topic. I only wish he had taken the discussion further, and delved a little deeper into the reason behind the Cheshire Cat’s smile, and perhaps covered some more famous grins. The book definitely leaves you wanting more, but not in the way that a cliff-hanger ending or a favorite book series does. Finishing A “Brief History of the Smile” leaves you feeling enlightened, but unsatisfied, for Trumble tends to touch on his most interesting topics rather than discuss them in depth.  

It’s a book and a subject worth diving into, built on a solid foundation of facts and rich detail. But in the end, all the little flaws add up. With a subject so potentially interesting and abundant in fun facts, the poorly-placed tangents and incomplete feeling prove to be a rather heavy rain on the parade.

Grade: B

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