Tag Archives: Narrative Voice

My Father’s Moon by Elizabeth Jolley

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Synopsis:
An unwed mother tries working in an impoverished boarding school and finds herself yearning for the nurse she fell in love with back when both were working in a military hospital in England during WWII.

Review:
My Father’s Moon is the first of three books in The Vera Wright Trilogy, an autobiographical series that has long been out-of-print. Highly praised in its time, Elizabeth Jolley‘s work wasn’t widely known outside of her native Australia until now.

Based on My Father’s Moon, I daresay Ms. Jolley’s reputation at home deserves to be expanded abroad. Her writing combines an elliptically modernist structure with classically rigorous character work, and I suppose she bears comparison to Virginia Woolf in that regard.

Vera is an oddly slippery character, in that it’s hard to understand her motivations and choices. I’m not saying this as a criticism; rather, it’s a result of the way that Jolley has chosen to tell the story, using flashbacks that are sometimes indistinguishable from the main action. She links the different times together using Vera’s invocation of the name Ramsden, the last name of the woman she loved. It’s a powerful technique, evoking longing and regret in equal measure.

I was quite impressed by Jolley and glad for the opportunity to be exposed to her work.

Many thanks to Persea for the review copy.

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

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Synopsis:
In the near future, a high-functioning autistic man is presented with the opportunity to be “fixed,” causing him to wonder if he was ever really broken.

Review:
I first read Speed of Dark a few years ago, on the recommendation of a friend. I really enjoyed revisiting it, especially now that I’m a mom and have friends who have kids on the autism spectrum.

I really loved how Elizabeth Moon made Leo a real, relatable character, to the point where I really wanted him to stay just as he was. I grew to love him, including his autism, because she made him a person to me. She skillfully integrated the futuristic elements with a really compelling emotional journey. Definitely recommended!

Lisey’s Story by Stephen King

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Synopsis:
Two years after the death of her famous writer husband, Lisey Landon must return to the other world where he both drew his inspiration and unearthed his demons in order to defeat a madman and put her husband’s legacy to rest for good.

Review:
I listened to the audiobook of Lisey’s Story, narrated by the incomparable Mare Winningham, and this was actually my second encounter with the book, which I have read once before. It’s one of King’s most ambitiously intimate stories, delving deep into what he calls the “dark heart of every marriage.”

As Lisey Landon travels back and forth to Scott’s alternate world, home to “the well where we all go down to drink,” she faces demons both internal and external, tangible and terrifyingly supernatural. In doing so, she probes every corner of her life with famous writer Scott Landon, to name the darkness that nearly consumed them both.

I liked Lisey tremendously, though I felt like the conclusion to the storyline involving her stalker ended on an odd note. She’s a wonderfully realized character, and a real woman. I’m not sure I’ll be reading this one again, though. I think I’d actually get bored on a third read, and I don’t want my memories of Lisey despoiled.

The Comedians by Graham Greene

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Synopsis:
A hotelier, a nominal candidate for the US presidency, and a conman’s lives converge in Haiti during the height of the reign of Papa Doc Duvalier and his Tontons Macoute.

Review:
While I was captivated by Graham Greene’s remarkable prose prowess in The Comedians, I wasn’t as enthralled by the story as I wanted to be. My interest never dipped below the purely intellectual into the realm of emotion. There was something much too male about the story’s tone and construction for my tastes, if that makes sense. I admired the layers on layers of the narrative strands, and the complexities of the characterizations, but my admiration never transformed into love.

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox

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Synopsis:
Robbed of his fortune by a rival from his school days, Edward Glyver seeks vengeance and restoration under an assumed name.

Review:
The Meaning of Night is a cunningly plotted piece of faux-Victoriana, conjuring up Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins with a soupcon of sex that doesn’t feel anachronistic at all.

Edward Glyver’s nesting-doll tale gives every character a chance to tell his or her own life story, and Cox makes each one fascinating in its own right. Despite the near-constant digressions, Cox never lets us forget that Edward is on a deadly mission, and keeps up the suspense throughout. The story opens with Edward’s murder of an innocent man but it’s not long before I came into full sympathy with his plight, despite my disdain for his wicked act.

Cox captures the Victorian tone perfectly, and I took a lot of pleasure in all the traces I found of books I love. It could be that The Meaning of Night is a little too insider-y to be enjoyed without a background in its influences, but the story is airtight and quite satisfying.

The Sister by Poppy Adams

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Synopsis:
When elderly Ginny’s sister returns home for the first time since she was a girl, old memories surface that threaten Ginny’s carefully ordered existence.

Review:
I’m incredibly thankful for the Queens Library for getting The Sister to me so quickly–I can’t remember the last time I read a book so recently published. The review in the New York Times made me think that it’d satisfy my aching desire for more books like Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale. Gothic intrigue. Family secrets. Opaque narration. Superfast love.

Of course, obtaining a book and actually reading it are two different things these days. We’ve dubbed 8-month-old Superfast Baby “The Path of Destruction,” which makes me wonder how I’m actually writing this blog post. Oh, right–because she’s eating the book, which she pulled off the dining room table onto the floor.

Book rescued. The Path of Destruction slept for both halves of our round-trip subway ride from Queens to Brooklyn and I got to read the whole darn thing in one day. Such a simple pleasure, taken for granted in my childless leisure. I’d forgotten what it treat it is to read a book cover to cover in a day, and The Sister was the perfect book to bring it all back.

The narrative is not quite as twisty as those crafted by my beloved Barbara Vine, but there was more than enough psychological complexity to make up for the lack of plot twists. For the record, I think that plot twists are way overrated and way overused these days–I’m so tired of trying to telegraph the surprise ending. Gothic does not necessarily mean misdirection. Sometimes the creepiest tales are also the most straightforward.

Madapple by Christina Meldrum

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Synopsis:
Accused of murder, a troubled young woman tries to piece together the odd facets of her life, starting with her supposed immaculate conception.

Review:
The chapters in Madapple alternate between a teasingly opaque courtroom case, and defendant Aslaug’s reminiscences about life with her disturbed mother and eventual reunion with her long lost aunt and cousins. Nothing about Aslaug’s life has been ordinary. Her mother claimed that Aslaug had no father because she had never had a lover. She raised Aslaug in the woods, among the plants and herbs that she studied for their powers, healing and otherwise.

Upon the death of her mother, Aslaug set out on her own and discovered the family she never knew: her aunt, the pastor of a Pentecostal church, and her children, Aslaug’s cousins. Susanne is a pagan with mystical leanings who deconstructs the Christianity of her mother’s calling. Rune, her brother, is instantly familiar to Aslaug, and disturbingly compelling as well. Add an off-kilter pregnant teen and a murder investigation to the mix, and Madapple has a gripping intensity and intellectual heft that sets it apart.

I’m often unable to get through books that are overtly critical of Christianity, not because they threaten my faith but because I just don’t enjoy them. Madapple was a surprising exception, because the criticism played an actual role in character and plot development. I enjoyed Susanne’s excursions into Gnostic theology because they amplified the suspense of the murder trial. Outstanding book.

The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith

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Synopsis:
While working on a novel in Tunisia, a writer encounters his own heart of darkness.

Review:
I had written a truly brilliant review of Patricia Highsmith’s The Tremor of Forgery, but it got eaten. Fie! The salient points were:

  1. Patricia Highsmith plays cat and mouse with the reader just like her most famous creation Tom Ripley played cat and mouse with anyone he encountered
  2. She is a master of nuance characterization
  3. The final third of the novel is a tour-de-force of subtle character dynamics
  4. This is one of my favorites of hers

I should also add that at times, Highsmith is scathingly funny, though this will come as no surprise to those of you who are familiar with her work. My absolute favorite remains Edith’s Diary, but I’ll be recommending The Tremor of Forgery a lot.

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

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Synopsis:
Deanna’s lived under a dark cloud ever since her dad caught her having sex when she was just 13, and her dreams of getting out just might expire under the weight of his disapproval.

Review:
I’m a latecomer getting to Sara Zarr’s National Book Award Finalist novel Story of a Girl, though it’s been on my radar for quite some time. I’m so glad I finally carved out some time to read it. I’ve often criticized young adult literature for piling on the woe, so it’s refreshing to read a book by a writer who recognizes that the simplest stories are often the best.

Zarr doesn’t make a big deal out of Deanna’s transgressions. Rather, she focuses the conflict of the story around Deanna’s family, which includes her older brother, his girlfriend, and their baby daughter. Deanna dreams of saving up enough money so that they can all move out, away from their clueless mom and disapproving dad, but she’s coming to realize that at some point she’ll have to stand on her own.

I only have superlatives for this book. It’s an outstanding entry into the crowded YA genre, and well worth all of the accolades it has received.

Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb

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Synopsis:
Soldier Son Nevare’s adventures culminate in a battle within his divided self for mastery of his body in defiance of the magic.

Review:
When last we saw Nevare, he was grossly fat and resigned to a life on the outside. A Soldier Son of modest ambition, Nevare’s soul was cleft in two during a battle with the tree goddess Lisana. Now, in Renegade’s Magic, the trilogy’s conclusion, Nevare finds himself trapped, with his Speck alter-ego having taken control of his body in order to wield the magic against Nevare’s own people.

For most of the book, Nevare is a disembodied self, helplessly observing as “Soldier’s Boy” grows fat on magic and rises in power as a Great One. He rues the choices he made to alienate himself from his family and from the woman he loves. Soldier’s Boy loves Lisana, the woman whom Nevare holds responsible for his destruction. And so he finds himself torn between his passion for Lisana and his hatred of Soldier’s Boy, and fears for the day when he will be unable to resist merging with Soldier’s Boy.

The internal nature of the narrative kept me from fully engaging with the story, oddly enough. I never saw Nevare as an agent in the story; rather, he was an observer to someone else’s story. The technique itself was well executed, but despite Hobb’s considerable skills I don’t think she transcended the gimmick’s inherent limitations. Ultimately I felt that the trilogy didn’t end with the level of majesty I’ve come to expect from her work.

Even so, Robin Hobb on a bad day beats the pants off of many other writers at their best. I’m already itching to reread her Six Duchies trilogies, and hope to get my hands on more of the out of print Megan Lindholm works.