This is a startlingly raw and dark novel about spirituality, abuse, trauma and mental illness. In this fresh perspective, debut novelist Akwaeke EmeziThis is a startlingly raw and dark novel about spirituality, abuse, trauma and mental illness. In this fresh perspective, debut novelist Akwaeke Emezi embeds ogbanje, or nonhuman entities, within Ada, a girl born to parents who had prayed to the God Ala for a daughter. Ala, a serpentine God, the judge and mother who holds the underworld in her belly grants the parents their wish. Thus, Ada (name meaning the egg of a python) is born to suffer the fate of having spirits reside inside of her. For a time, Ada tries to present a unified front wherein she and the spirits within her are one. However, with abuse and trauma, she becomes more fractured and these spirits within her exert their influence in different ways.
Ada appeases the spirits within her from an early age by cutting. After a sexual assault in college she gives herself over to Asughara often and especially when she is to be intimate with anyone. Asughara is trying to protect the Ada from these incidents, but also derives pleasure from the experience, leading to sexual compulsion. Ada finds it hard to be herself even in a loving marriage. She struggles with self mutilation, suicidality, gender dysphoria and fractured sense of identity.
The life of Ada is based loosely on the author’s own life. Akwaeke Emezi is Igbo and was born in Nigeria. Her sister, like Ada’s, was in a terrible accident. Akwaeke was molested as a young girl. She self describes herself as gender dysphoric and has had surgeries to remove her breasts and her reproductive organs. She didn’t want her breasts removed to become male, but to be able to wear dresses and switch between genders more easily. The author’s name has a direct connection to an Igbo deity, like Ada’s. She has attempted suicide.
I love that this novel brings attention to issues of gender violence, self mutilation, suicidality, mental illness, fractured identity, and gender dysphoria. It is written in such a unique way that incorporates spirituality and the author’s Igbo culture. The writing is excellent. My only complaint is the dizzying and disorienting effect of reading narrations of the various different identities, but perhaps that is the feeling the author meant to convey. I did not trust my own recollection of what I had read at times, because one reality of the life Ada experiences is completely differently from the next. This novel offers a fascinating explanation and exploration of the experience of mental illness and gender dysphoria. There is so much to think about and ways to interpret what the author is conveying, that this would make a great book club book.
Thank you to net galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest review.
What I loved most about this book, was the unexpected heroine, Laura. She is an unassuming woman who dresses plainly despite her beauty and avoids socWhat I loved most about this book, was the unexpected heroine, Laura. She is an unassuming woman who dresses plainly despite her beauty and avoids social gatherings. However, she takes delight in the fisherman’s gaze when she sunbathes topless. She spends an eight week summer vacation in Ashuant repeating this ritual, while the other extended family members play and socialize elsewhere. Each chapter in this book is filled with quirky, humanizing stories through which we get to know Laura so well. This is a debut novel which follows Laura, and eventually her daughter too, through vignettes, each chapter representing a new year.
Laura, born to an affluent family from New York’s Upper East side, never had any interest in marriage or having a family of her own. Her friends around her are all married and starting to have children, yet she has no interest. Nor does she have interest in intercourse. She prefers to live a quiet life. Just to be sure that nothing is wrong with her, she visits an analyst so as to be declared mentally sound.
Not interested in vacations, she sometimes visted her parents’ apartment on the Upper East side while they were in Europe in August. One time, she stays there alongside Jefferson, whom she presumes to be one of her brother’s friends from back in boarding school. After a week of cohabitation, he opens up a bottle of her father’s wine which leads to a one night stand and pregnancy. He is gone the next day and she later discovers that there was no relationship between Jefferson and her brother. Subsequent to their night together, he narrowly escapes being caught from a neighbor’s home, and leaves behind all the belongings he had stolen from her parents home. She ends up having the baby, who is named Emma, and tells people that she used a sperm donor. Her mother presses her on the origins of the sperm and is very pleased when Laura responds, that it is Swedish.
From this point, the story pivots around the relationship between Laura and Emma and their immediate circle of friends and family. There are many themes running through the novel. One theme has to do with labels and how difficult it is to label others or even oneself. Laura, once a single woman with no plans of adding to population explosion, becomes a mother. She goes from not wanting to date at all, to attempting to date men, then women. She continues to accept her share of money flowing from her parents, but attempts to live less luxuriously and to help others.
Laura seems to be a study in contradictions. She lives to a great extent off of the money from her parents. She has a job which she was given solely because she is the daughter of her parents, planning weddings at the library museum which was once her great grandfather’s residence. Even though it is the height of wedding season, she is able to take 8 weeks off in the summer, so she can summer in Ashaunt. However, she takes pride in living in an apartment building across the street from Harlem. She works at a local women’s shelter on Sundays. She tries not to embody her upper class status and privilege, while accepting its’ advantages handily.
I very much enjoyed reading this book. Like Laura, there is much more than meets the eye with this book. It may seem like a quite unassuming book, but is so much more. For me, this was a surprisingly entertaining read with endearing well developed characters and deeper themes beneath it’s lighthearted surface....more
I thought this book was quite brilliant, very literary, and highly intriguing. It takes place over a few days, however, there are flashbacks to earlieI thought this book was quite brilliant, very literary, and highly intriguing. It takes place over a few days, however, there are flashbacks to earlier times such that the reader gets a much longer and larger view into the lives of the characters.
The setting is July 1964 during the era of McCarthyism on Seven Island in northern Maine. Seven is a fictional island home to two very wealthy families whose history is interconnected dating back to the 1700s. In present day, each family owns a beautiful house on the island, one yellow and one white. There is a barn for the animals and outbuildings for the staff, all in bright red. The Hillsingers are in one house and the Quicks are in the other. Interestingly, although their histories are connected and the men of these houses married two sisters, their lives have been very separate until these 3 days spent on the island where past and present collide. There is a huge cast of characters which includes Billy Quick, Jim Hillsinger, their immediate families, their guests, and the staff. Within each chapter past and present are described and the narration jumps from one situation to another. At first I found this confusing and difficult to track, but fairly quickly on, I had figured out who was who and reading this book was like watching a movie unfold. It really had a cinematic quality of switching from one scene to another as in a movie. I can’t compare this quality of the book to another like it, it seemed quite unique. The effect was tantalizing and compelling, making this a very quick read. The storyline builds and compounds as the novel progresses reaching the crescendo point by the end.
I won’t say much more as I don’t want to give too much away. I would definitely recommend this book. It would make a great beach read as well as a great book club choice. It contains many historical elements without feeling like it is beating you over the head with them. They simply exist in the book only because they are important to explaining the characters and their situation. There are no wasted words in this novel. It is written succinctly, beautifully and intentionally. However, the reader, needs to pay close attention, or will miss something. In short, well written, well researched and well worth the read!
Thank you to net galley and the publisher for and ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
What a beautiful mesmerizing lyrical novel! It is set in a fictional small town in Mississippi where race relations are incredibly stilted. It involveWhat a beautiful mesmerizing lyrical novel! It is set in a fictional small town in Mississippi where race relations are incredibly stilted. It involves 3 generations of a family and is told from 3 different perspectives. Jojo is an incredibly warm and affecting narrator, who at 13 looks up to his grandparents, Pop and Mam, but regards his own parents as useless and potentially harmful. He is the one who is most attentive and kind to Kayla, his 3 year old sister. Leonie, the second narrator, is Jojo and Kayla’s mother. Between her drug addiction and her emotionally and physically volatile relationship with Michael (the white father of her children), she has no room left in her heart for kindness or love towards her children. The third narrator is Richie, the young boy sentenced to Parchman Farm at the age of 13 for stealing food to feed his family. He served at the same time as Pop. Pop only went to Parchman alongside his brother who had struck a white person in the face. Pop tells many stories about his time at Parchman and Richie, but the story of Ritchie’s death is one that he hasn’t told Jojo and a story that Ritchie’s ghost needs to hear.
This story takes place over several days, involving a road trip to Parchman State Penitentiary to pick up Michael who is being released. Leonie brings along Misty, Jojo and Kayla for the ride. It is a tension packed several days which serve to highlight the race relations in the south, the affect of drugs on families, and the extreme difficulty of growing up as a black male in this area. There are ghosts that appear in this novel: Richie as well as Given. Given was Leonie’s brother who died at the hands of Michael’s cousin. It was a reckless, senseless murder that was covered up by the town and local law enforcement.
This book is an incredible read. The writing is beautiful, seeming almost like poetry. The juxtaposition between the thoughts of the characters and the actual words that come out is done so well. This set up of the story taking place only over a few days creates enormous tension. The characters became so well developed that you felt you had known them a lifetime. This is not the type of book to have a sequel, but if it did, I would pick it up in a heartbeat to find out what becomes of Jojo and Kayla. I highly recommend this moving, beautiful piece of literature!
Joan Ashby, a talented writer, who at a young age vows not to let a husband or children get in the way of her art, ends up married, then pregnant. JoaJoan Ashby, a talented writer, who at a young age vows not to let a husband or children get in the way of her art, ends up married, then pregnant. Joan falls in love with her first baby, not so much with second. Her first son has the gift of writing, but stops when he discovers at age 11 his mother is a brilliant writer and he compares himself to her and feels like a failure. He feels she has crushed his dreams. His father is a brilliant neuro-ocular surgeon traveling the world restoring people’s vision. His younger brother drops out of school at age 14 to design his own software program used throughout the world in hotels and is worth billions. The family dynamics and sibling rivalry conspire against him to make him feel small.
Joan ever intuitive when it comes to her children is able to sense when things are well and when things are awry. She understands her children far better than her husband. She understands their strengths and weaknesses. She gets swept up in motherhood and in helping her children build on their strengths and supporting them through difficult times.
Joan hides her writing. She keeps it a secret, not wanting to have to share what she is writing about with her husband. She feels like a prisoner in motherhood, only able to eek out stolen hours to write her newest novel that gets hidden in a box for two years before she is ready to have it published, because life (her family and their needs) get in the way. In the meantime, her book is published in its entirety, except for a gender change by her son, under a pseudonym and in two parts.
There are three parts to this novel. The first and third are told by a third person narrator, but the focus is mostly on Joan. The second section is recordings made by Joan’s son, Daniel, that he will eventually send to Joan as explanation for his actions. Interspersed within these pages are short stories written by Joan as well as the beginnings of another novel Joan is working on during part three. In addition, there are writing samples from Joan’s writing students.
Joan is so hurt by Daniel’s actions, publishing her novel without her knowing about it, that she flees to India, a country she has always wanted to visit and the place where Eric had retreated after sobering up and selling his company. In India, Joan is able to rediscover herself, realize her present day wants and needs, as well as forge a closer relationship with her younger son.
The writing is amazing. Each short story seems publishable on it’s own. The story of Paloma that Joan is writing in the third part was particularly intriguing to me. However, I felt like all of these stories within the actual novel detracted from what constituted this novel. It seemed like I was constantly readjusting to new stories within the original and back out again. For me, it was too much bulk. The writing is great though, and I never wanted to skim. I just wish the author had constructed this novel differently. I felt way too happy to be finished reading this book.
Thank you to net galley and the publisher for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
5 HUGE STARS! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! FULL OF KINDNESS, COMPASSION AND HUMANITY!
I have been looking forward to this book ever since I heard it was coming5 HUGE STARS! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! FULL OF KINDNESS, COMPASSION AND HUMANITY!
I have been looking forward to this book ever since I heard it was coming out. It is a companion book to 'My Name is Lucy Barton' which was published last year. 'My Name is Lucy Barton' largely involves conversation between Lucy Barton and her mother in the hospital where Lucy remains hospitalized with complications of appendicitis. It is what is unsaid that is so powerful in that book. The reader becomes aware of extreme poverty and abuse in Lucy’s childhood. Lucy and her siblings were mostly shunned by the other children of their town. However, Lucy has made it out of Amgash, Illinois. She is married though that marriage is failing. She is a writer. She is looking forward, but during this time with her mother, she is also looking back. 'My Name is Lucy Barton' is so intriguing, but it leaves the reader with so many questions. So, I could not have been any happier upon hearing that this book was being published.
‘Anything is Possible,’ published about one year after ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ is told in short stories focusing on different people’s lives in adulthood who had lived in the town Lucy had grown up in. It reminds me so much of ‘Olive Kitteridge’ in the manner in which it is written. Each short story could be published in it’s own right, however, the flow of these stories and their connections to each other make for an incredible read.
It is heartrendingly beautiful, so full of life and heartache. It is so full of humanity.. of the human experience. It describes feelings, emotions, nuances of relationships so well. You experience the pushes and pulls of family, town and the world on the individuals in these stories. Amgash is a small poor town in rural Illinois. There are not many opportunities for upward mobility if one ends up living in town. Those who escape lead vastly different lives, but their pasts continue to haunt them.
Each story is intense in it’s own right. Each tells of a realization of self or family that is immensely important and a turning point in that person or family’s life. Some of these stories had me sobbing, they were that emotional and real. They are all deeply affecting stories, each and every one. They were so compelling that I would not want to stop reading at night. Despite wanting to keep moving ahead, I could have read the same sentence over and over and extracted more meaning from it each time. Each sentence was so loaded and powerful.
But, really what is most special about the book is the message or maybe the many messages. This book tells us that loving imperfectly is ok. Loving imperfectly can be lovely. It tells us that no one is alone, there are always others with shared similar experiences. It demonstrates how a simple small act of compassion can have such a huge impact and effect on the lives of others. It teaches us that feeling pain is actually a gift, for were we not to feel pain, that would be the real tragedy. This novel is about reconnecting with the past and making amends before death. It is about recognizing heroes and heroines, masked in normal everyday clothing. And of course, Elizabeth Strout does all this so eloquently and lovingly. This is a must read.. definitely my favorite book this year!
Breathtaking, stunning debut novel! It is amazing! It is tragic, heartfelt, tender and brazen all at the same time. I absolutely loved this! I loved tBreathtaking, stunning debut novel! It is amazing! It is tragic, heartfelt, tender and brazen all at the same time. I absolutely loved this! I loved the journey it took me on. I loved that I had no idea where this book was headed, but went along for a wild ride that had me laughing and crying. There were so many areas of gray and missing pieces of information that I was itching to learn more about along the journey. These holes were so often filled in just when you thought you might not get the answers. However, the missing pieces weren’t ever what was expected, never cliched. This book is filled with tragedy, horrors, sadness, but also with redemption, hope and love.
The novel begins in art class with Mel and Sharon, two young women not quite fitting the usual mold at the upstate college they attend. They are poorer, have experienced more hurt and pain, and seem to have no one. That is, until they find each other. They bond over old cartoons including Dirty Duck, Ren and Stimpy, Clutch Cargo, Fritz the Cat, and Heavy Traffic. They begin working together at school and after graduation spending long days and nights working on their first movie together based on Mel’s mother, who was a drug-addicted prostitute. They are both artists who have triangulated their futures together through their art. Ten years later they are experiencing the success of their first film. Mel is bold, confident, the life of the party. Sharon is reserved, holding back, the more practical of the two. Together they have become a great team. They are best friends and work partners. However, their friendship is tested by addiction, jealousy, and medical illness.
It is through their friendship with each other that they begin to rebuild themselves. “She was the first person to see me as I had always wanted to be seen. It was enough to indebt me to her forever.” Their relationship is close, nurturing, subject to role reversals and also anger.
It is through their art that they come to terms with their pasts, redeeming themselves through a process of catharsis. Kayla Rae Whitaker beautifully describes how much they pour themselves into their work, how it is transformative, healing, and full of love. It changes the way they feel about themselves, their childhoods, and it Sharon’s case it changes her relationship with her mother.
I loved the writing, the build-up of tensions, the breaking down of tensions. I loved the power of the encounters between Sharon and her family. It is amazing how much was conveyed with so little said, how tone and inaction spoke so loudly between them. The characters are so vividly and fully developed, the relationships incredibly dynamic, and the storyline itself is unique, bold and exhilarating.
This book is incredible. It has so much depth, energy, grit. I highly recommend this to everyone! This will make an excellent book club choice.
Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The opening scene is set up like artwork. You understand the background of the characters, the pace of their movements, the absurdity of their choicesThe opening scene is set up like artwork. You understand the background of the characters, the pace of their movements, the absurdity of their choices. You feel the heat of the summer day, understand the lives that the characters lead and the small town that they live in. You feel the music, the alcohol, the excitement, the dramatic turn of events that awaits. You feel some characters sliding out of focus while others are becoming more intensely illuminated even electrified. It’s as if a magic spell has been cast over the christening party with the the arrival of the handsome uninvited DA, his enormous bottle of liquor and love of oranges. The tension and magic builds feverishly until the kiss between Bert Cousins and Fix Keating's beautiful wife, Beverly.
Commonwealth starts out as a gorgeously written story about two families disrupted so casually, so brutally by this kiss at a christening party. The writing is so tight, so vivid, and the storyline is riveting. It follows the lives of the children and the parents in the aftermath of divorce. Each chapter is it’s own short story, jumping in space and time from the last. There are characters to love, to pity, to sympathize with, to worry about, to mourn for. The characters are all so human and the essence of humanity is explored through each of them.
The chapters pertaining to the children growing up together, especially the ones taking place during the summer when all six children are together are astonishing. They are so well written and seem to contain so much truth. The amount of abandonment experienced by these children and hatred for their parents is astounding. The children were on their own to do as they pleased and Albie, the youngest, was the only thing holding them back. So, what did they do? They drugged him.
Interestingly, this book is semi-autobiographical with many parallels to Ann Patchett’s life. She grew up in a blended Catholic family. Her father was a policeman. Then, there is a chapter about how Franny becomes Leo Posen’s muse. This writer basically manipulates Franny's life story into a novel, entitled Commonwealth, which is entirely her life and at the same time, not at all her life.
This novel asks so many existential questions. How important is a moment in time? What would have happened if that one day had gone differently? Would the outcomes have been similar? What is important in the end? How does family shape us?
As much as I adored the character development and the first three quarters of the novel, I must admit that some of the magic of it had departed by the end, for me. The characters were dispersed geographically and emotionally. As much as Ann Patchett gave me what I wanted in the end, which was an understanding of all the mysteries and a knowing of how each character of these two families fared in life, this part was far less interesting to me. Still, Ann Patchett is a brilliant, gifted writer and I was awed and amazed for at least the first three quarters of this book.
"Everyone wants to own the end of the world." Thus, opens this newest novel by Don DeLillo and these are the words of the protagonist's father, Ross L"Everyone wants to own the end of the world." Thus, opens this newest novel by Don DeLillo and these are the words of the protagonist's father, Ross Lockhart, who becomes obsessed with cryogenics when his wife becomes ill. The novel begins with the narrator traveling to the Convergence, located somewhere in Russia, so that his step-mother can be frozen, so that she might return many years later. At Convergence, there is no sense of time or even identity. People there are cut off from the rest of the world. Jeffrey Lockhart's room where he stays is referred to as his "introversion box." It forces one to wonder what creates a human identity. Is it something deep within oneself or is it one's associations with other people and the world. Formless meals are eaten in isolation. Mannequins are a continuing theme and ubiquitous decoration at Convergence. The films showings scenes of horror and death, pointing to an inevitable apocalypse are the only other break from the quiet and solitude at Convergence.
The cryogenic process itself is brutal. The bodies are decapitated, organs removed, and they are kept in pods. The body expected to return would be void of memories, identity, even perhaps, gender. They seemingly become mannequins.
When Jeffrey leaves Convergence and returns to NYC, there is dramatic contrast of noise, people, lights, and action. Jeffrey, in his early 30s, is struggling with his identity. He is jobless, seemingly insecure in his romantic relationship, and he is rejecting living in association with his father. He is constantly wanting the name things. He is constantly counting. These attributes make him seem like he is watching and evaluating the world around him, but not fully living within it.
This is my first Don DeLillo book in over 20 years, since reading Libra which I loved. Don DeLillo is obviously a brilliant mind, but the darkness and foreboding of this novel was a bit much for me to truly love this novel. It is a novel that depresses the reader, especially as you get only feelings of emptiness or numbness from the characters portrayed. However, it is brilliantly written and leaves much to discuss.
Brilliant, insightful, imaginative, philosophical and unique! This novel, written by Russian born Olga Grushin is an incredible read. It is a collectiBrilliant, insightful, imaginative, philosophical and unique! This novel, written by Russian born Olga Grushin is an incredible read. It is a collection of short stories each taking place in a room that the narrator has lived in or spent time in during her lifetime. The stories initially are set in Russia and then move to America when the narrator travels there for college. There are so many life truths illustrated beautifully within this novel: the twists and turns life takes us on; it’s meaning; the perceptions of others as well as ourselves; the changing vision and perspective of life as we age; the rooms we choose to inhabit and their impact on us. This was so despite, or perhaps as a result of, the overwhelming use of fantasy/magical realism within the book.
This novel is so powerful and rich with language, metaphors, imagery, mirrors and reflections. There is so much depth to the novel added by the insertion thoughts that the various other characters are having; by repeating scenes with different scenarios, leaving it open to interpretation what might have actually transpired and what was fantasy; and of course by the magical or fantastical characters. The whole novel has a “dizzying,” dream-like quality to it. Many of the scenes occur, followed by Mrs. Caldwell waking up.
The novel is divided into parts which represent different time periods in Mrs. Caldwell’s life. Within each part are chapters representing the rooms within which each of the short stories occur. Forty rooms was very purposely chosen. As the narrator’s mother tells her: “Forty is God’s number for testing the human spirit. It’s the limit of man’s endurance, beyond which you are supposed to learn something true. Oh, you know what I mean- Noah’s forty days and nights of rain, Moses’ forty years in the desert, Jesus’ forty days of fasting and temptation. Forty of anything is long enough to be a trial, but it’s man-size too. In the Bible, forty years makes a span of one generation. Forty weeks makes a baby.”
In the beginning of the novel, the young Mrs. Caldwell hopes to achieve immortality. She wants only to write poetry and devote herself fully to that art. She is told by her Apollo that “the meaning of a single individual human life,.. consists of figuring out the one thing you are great at and then pushing mankind’s mastery of that one thing as far as you are able, be it an inch or a mile.” She really does work hard at her poetry and it seems all-consuming until she meets Paul and settles into married life, not even telling him her aspirations or love of writing poetry. She becomes a mother in a foreign country, with no friends and does not even learn to drive for quite some time. She seems to have lost herself and is trapped in her family life, and in so doing, her marriage starts to fail as well.
I loved that this novel encompassed an entire life. The reader is able to observe the changes occurring from childhood through adulthood to the very end. It leaves you wondering how her life might have been under different circumstances or had she made different choices. As a mother to young children who has made career concessions of my own, I felt swept up in this novel eager to hear the author’s final message or verdict on what might the right path be. I think this book is amazing! It is wonderfully written, incredibly insightful and sends a powerful message! I must say though, this book would appeal much more to women than men and would make a great book club read.
“Ways to Disappear is a humorous mystery novel whose protagonist is an American woman in Brazil, searching for the woman whose novels she translates i“Ways to Disappear is a humorous mystery novel whose protagonist is an American woman in Brazil, searching for the woman whose novels she translates into English. The author utilizes hilarity, magical realism, stories within stories, imagery, and subtleties of word meaning to create her lovable, lyrical, beautiful novel.
Emma, the protagonist, feels very close to her author, Beatriz Yagoda, through her works as well as her yearly visits with her. Once she hears that Beatriz has disappeared, seeming into a tree with her suitcase and cigar, she immediately packs her bag and heads to Brazil, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend. Brazil, and the exciting search for Beatriz, seem a separate and freer world for Emma, one where she is happier and more herself.
The events that ensue are hilarious. The characters are interesting and perfectly described. I thought the subtext about the difference between American and Brazilian ways of life very accurate and entertaining.
I couldn’t help wondering while reading this novel if the author was a translator herself, which I realized at the end of reading, that she was. Now I wonder how much of the novel has a root of truth versus fantasy of her own.
This was an excellent read, such an enjoyable ride! I highly recommend it to everyone.
“Fates and Furies” unfolds and reveals itself like a piece of art. It is so multi-layered, deeply complex and philosophical that it left me spellbound“Fates and Furies” unfolds and reveals itself like a piece of art. It is so multi-layered, deeply complex and philosophical that it left me spellbound, awed, & utterly impressed with this author. It is a sexy, brilliant, exquisitely written novel that pivots around the intensely bright love and marriage between two people, who seem so different, but love each other so fiercely. The husband, Lotto, is exuberant and narcissistic, but alternates between extreme highs and lows in his moods: between mania, with extreme passion and love for others and creativity; and depression with suicidal thoughts. The wife, Mathilde, is so loving and devoted to her husband, but also has a cold, calculating, manipulative side that she conceals. There are striking differences between the two: he is always bathed in light and she in darkness.
Appearances can be deceptive in his book. Mathilde feels that she is evil to her core, which stems from her childhood memory of being implicated at the age of 4 in the death of her younger brother. Lotto, however, saw kindness at the very core of Mathilde. There are so many twists and turns in this novel, making it an exciting read, one that keeps you thinking, guessing, and questioning what you know about the characters and people in general. It is told in two parts: the first, “the fates”, is from Lotto’s perspective and the second, “the furies” is Mathilde’s perspective. The two halves read very differently complimenting the protagonist whose story it is. Everyone is bathed in warmth and light from Lotto’s perspective and you begin the see the evil hidden side of the characters revealed when reading Mathilde’s story. You also realize how she is the bedrock of his success, his glory, his glamorous life.
Lauren Groff’s command of the English language (as well as French) is incredible. The inlaid humor, wordplay, many layers of imagery, stories within stories, parallel characters, and juxtapositions of character traits are fascinating. All the pieces come together perfectly like a puzzle, but it is never trite. It was a pure delight to read. I recommend this book to anyone who loves high quality literature.
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