Scribner, October 3, 2017.
Four Stars
Anna Kerrigan is twelve years old, living in Brooklyn
with her family during the Great Depression. Her father’s job description is unclear
to her, but his union connections bring him into contact with people from all
walks of life, including the world of organized crime. When Anna accompanies
him to one of these meetings, she is introduced to Dexter Styles, a powerful man
who controls her father in ways she doesn’t understand. Visiting Dexter’s
beachfront mansion makes a strong impression on Anna that will last into
adulthood.
Several years later, Anna’s father has disappeared –
presumably he has walked out on the family that he was unable to support financially.
Working at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, Anna is now responsible for her former
showgirl mother and her disabled sister who suffers from a debilitating and
progressive disease. The country is at war, which is why Anna has the
opportunity to work at a traditionally male job – she works on small-scale
machinery, but dreams of become the first female diver, repairing ships
underwater.
Anna has been drawn to the water ever since that day
at Dexter’s beach house, so when she gets her chance to dive, she finally feels
whole. And when she runs into Dexter at a night club shortly after, it seems
like fate. He doesn’t recognize Anna, and she doesn’t give her last name, but
they do forge an immediate connection. Anna convinces Dexter to help with her
sister, who is still alive but not truly living – together they take her to the
beach, which seems to make her better. But when tragedy strikes, Anna and
Dexter turn to each other in a romantic relationship that is as intimate as it
is dangerous. Secrets emerge about Dexter’s work, including a possible
connection to Anna’s father’s disappearance.
Manhattan Beach has all the energy and passion of Egan’s earlier novels, but it is
also saturated with historical detail about life in New York City during the
Depression and World War II years, including a view through the cracks in the
world of organized crime. The situational details are mostly interesting, but
sometimes became long-winded and dry. I much preferred the intimate portrait of
Anna as a young girl, growing into an independent and powerful woman, taking on
new roles within her family and out in the wider world.
Anna learns to stand up for herself and make life-changing
decisions – she discovers what to hold onto and when to let go. Although many
of the characters in the novel are one-dimensional, Anna is fully formed and
makes the entire novel worth reading. These are transformative years for New
York City, for America, and for the world as a whole – and we witness it unfold
through the transformation of one girl, Anna, as she expands the definition of
what a woman is capable of becoming.
I received this book from Scribner and NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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