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Reviews by Mla08080

The Sense of an Ending: A Novel
by Julian Barnes

Remembrance of things past (1/23/2017)

Julian Barnes' novel The Sense of an Ending is an intriguing,well written reflection by a man exploring his past relationship with a school chum and an ex girlfriend. "I’m not very interested in my schooldays, and don’t feel any nostalgia for them. But school is where is …more all began, so I need to return briefly to a few incidents that have grown into anecdotes, to some approximate memories which time has deformed into certainty. If I can’t be sure of the actual events any more, I can at least be true to the impressions those facts left. That's the best I can manage." Tony Webster and his two best mates meet up one day with a new student, Adrian Finn. Adrian is immediately recognized as brighter, more philosophical than most, and no one is surprised when he wins acceptance to Cambridge. Tony, capable enough, goes to Bristol and eventually graduates to a humdrum life of art administration, a failed marriage and a fleeting relationship with his daughter, Susie.
But his peaceful retirement is interrupted when he receives a letter from an old girlfriend's mother. In her will she left him money and Adrian's, diary; the problem is that the old girlfriend, Veronica, who ditched Tony long ago in favor of Adrian, will not give it to him. Thus starts the emails and meetings between the two which provide for the building tension in the novel. I will welcome reading more from this Booker Prize winning author.

Good passages:

"Does character develop over time? In novels, of course it does; otherwise there wouldn’t be much of a story. But in life? I sometimes wonder. Our attitudes and opinions change, we develop new habits and eccentricities; but that’s something different, more like decoration. Perhaps character resembles intelligence, except that character peaks a little later: between twenty and thirty, say. And after that, we’re just stuck with what we’ve got. We’re on our own. If so, that would explain a lot of lives, wouldn’t it? And also-- if this isn’t too grand a word--our tragedy."

"How often do we tell our own life story? How often do we adjust, embellish, make sly cuts? And the longer life goes on, the fewer are those around to challenge our account, to remind us that our life is not our life, merely the story we have told about our life. Told to others, but--mainly--to ourselves."

"We could start perhaps with the seemingly simple question. What is History? Any thoughts, Webster?
'History is the lies of the victors,' I replied a little too quickly.'
Yes, I was rather afraid you'd say that. Well as long as you remember that it is also the self-delusions of the defeated...' (less)

The Girls
by Emma Cline

Understanding the misguided (1/23/2017)

Emma Cline's debut novel explores the coming of age of a 14 year old girl, growing up in the late 60's and being attracted to a Manson like commune. Cline shows the main character, Evie, as an adult but then flashes back to reflect on her infatuation with the girls that …more

The Nest
by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Counting Your Chickens (11/4/2016)

I can always tell when I enjoy a book because I choose to finish it in the early morning. It's my best reading time, before anyone else gets up, before any responsibilities may kick in, usually before sunrise. So it was with The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. The novel …more starts out catching your immediate interest when a unhappily married man, Leo Plumb, escapes his cousin's wedding reception to lure one of the waitresses to his car. "She moved through the crowd with a lambent glow—partly because the setting sun was bathing the eastern end of Long Island an indecent pink, partly because of the truly excellent cocaine wreaking havoc with Leo’s synapses. The bubbles rising and falling on Matilda’s tray felt like an ecstatic summons, an invitation meant just for him." His indiscretion has tragic consequences that affects the releasing of the family Nest, money bequeathed from their father to be doled out when the youngest of the four siblings turns 40. And so begins the unraveling of the plot as we are provided alternating chapters of the Plumb family and how each one had expected to use that money, how each one's plan is now ruined by Leo.

I enjoyed the structure of the novel and the character development. Besides the smart, usually high, but always charming oldest child, Leo, there is Jack, his gay brother who deals in antiques and is trying to hide from his loving partner, Walker, that he has taken out a loan on the house against the hope of the Nest. Beatrice, Leo's sister, works for an online literary magazine and has stalled as a writer of promise. Her initial well received stories were all thinly described portraits of Leo. The youngest, Melody, who turns 40 soon, is struggling to keep her twin daughters in good schools, and SAT tutors as college looms with the next year. Again the Nest was her solution for college tuition. There are several side characters as well, including Stephanie, Leo's possible love interest and savior, and her Brooklyn neighbor whose 9/11 secret becomes a subplot.

I enjoyed seeing the development of the characters as they struggle through their anger. The build up to the final 40th birthday diner was well developed and the resolution satisfying. I would recommend this as an enjoyable portrait and a timely warning for the children of the baby boomers. (less)

My Name Is Lucy Barton: Amgash Series #1
by Elizabeth Strout

Imperfect Love (10/25/2016)

This is an episodic novel that weaves the events in Lucy Barton's life into a diary-like first person account. These events included glimpses of how poor Lucy grew up, five in the family, living in a garage until a relative's death lands them better shelter. "Lonely was the …more

The Turner House
by Angela Flournoy

Family Dynamics (10/25/2016)

"The eldest six of Francis and Viola Turner’s thirteen children claimed that the big room of the house on Yarrow Street was haunted for at least one night. A ghost—a haint, if you will—tried to pull Cha-Cha out of the big room’s second-story window." So begins The Turner …more

Not all Bastards are from Vienna
by Andrea Molesini

Italian spirit (10/19/2016)

This Italian award winning novel begins in 1917 as the Austrian army takes over the Villa Spada in Refrontolo, Italy, home to an aristocratic family—two grandparents; aunt Maria; 17-year-old orphaned grandson Paolo—and their servants. The story is told through the eyes of …more Paolo, whose journey to manhood, including his involvement in the resistance movement and his initiation into love , carry the narrative. The atrocities of war are juxtaposed with the humor of the characters, especially that of the grandpa Gugliemo, who shares his insights and sleeping quarters with our narrator. As the enemy troops search for valuables, it is grandpa who explains, ‘War and loot are the only faithful married couple. "

Andrea Molsini creates a handful of memorable characters here that influence Paolo and help to provide insights about this time period just before the end to World War I, including Renaldo, who though a servant for the family, works for the Italian secret forces, and Aunt Maria, the strong caretaker of the family estate. "Aunt Maria –Donna Maria to outsiders –was fine-looking, the victim of a haughty manner which both fascinated men and kept them at a distance. She was courted with circumspection by even the boldest and most passionate spirits: not a light cross to bear."

As mentioned in back notes, Molesini used the actual diaries of Maria Spada as a resource for novel. The Villa Spada acted as a microcosm of the the war, giving insights to the lives of those occupied countries.
Some memorable passages are quoted below to provide a sense of the writing:

"Giulia was chaos personified, an irresistible force. Grandpa had described her as the crupper of a horse, the shudder it gives, the lash of its tail on a horsefly. But she was far, far more than that: she was beautiful, she was ablaze. She regarded me with the hauteur of one who, knowing herself desired, strives not to reproach the unrequited lover."

"The soldiers took no notice of us, and still less did the officers, who whiled away their time smoking, playing cards and drinking an insipid brandy that according to Grandpa tasted of dry dung, iron and rotting leather, ‘the same taste as war’."

"Inside the house, the odour of poverty was notable for its absence. And that was an odour that I knew all too well. In Venice, I’d smelt it in homes I’d entered, on occasion, with a servant visiting her family. It had something to do with the odour of ashes, chickpea soup, and inadequately dried clothing." (less)

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