Work Like Any Other - Virginia Reeves

Scribner, March 1, 2016.

Three Stars

In rural Alabama in the 1920s, Roscoe and his wife and son are struggling to make ends meet on their family farm. Roscoe never wanted to be a farmer – he is an electrician, and he realizes the potential of harnessing the vast power of electricity. Meanwhile, his wife has inherited the farm, and he is forced to work the land, a task for which he has little capability.

After his failure to competently run the farm, Roscoe leaves day-to-day matters to his manager, and finds a bigger and better way to contribute. He finds a way to build power lines on the farm, siphoning energy from the state. Finally, things are going well for Roscoe, and he has gained some respect from his wife and his son. That is, until the police show up at his door, arresting him for the death of a young power company worker, who was electrocuted and killed on Roscoe’s power lines. Roscoe receives a twenty-year sentence, and his family abandons him, leaving him to serve his time alone.

All of the above plot points are described in the book’s synopsis, and there really isn’t a whole lot more to the story, so don’t expect any surprises in this novel. The plot seemed secondary in the author’s writing style, with the events of Roscoe’s life only serving as a framework for issues of redemption and familial love (or lack thereof). The novel is about relationships – husband and wife, parent and child, and even the uneasy camaraderie between the inmates at Roscoe’s prison. It is also about Roscoe’s loss of dignity and self-respect – and his need to accept the past in order to move forward.

The writing is sparse, marked by emotional detachment. Reeves is a strong, talented writer, a manipulator of beautiful language, yet I didn’t find that the actual story held my attention. The novel alternates between Roscoe’s first-person narration of life in prison and third-person flashbacks, describing how he ended up there. Regardless of his punishment, Roscoe still sees electricity as his personal religion, finding spiritual solace in its powerful potential.

Although he is repeatedly up for parole, Roscoe is never released because he cannot repent for his actions. The descriptions of scenes within the historical prison setting were interesting, and I was curious to learn more about the jobs the prisoners were given within their confinement. The novel generally questions the nature of punishment and of the penal system overall: Roscoe had no intention of killing, and it makes no sense to lock him up for his crime, yet that is how the system works.

Work Like Any Other is an introspective novel. It is filled with ideas, and the plot is almost incidental to the concepts Reeves is exploring. The story is a quiet one, spoken softly, and it is lovely to read – it was just a bit too slow for me.

I received this novel from Scribner and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Blue Hour - Douglas Kennedy

Atria Books, February 16, 2016.

Three Stars

Robin is a cautious, thoughtful accountant in her late thirties, living a quiet life. When she meets an older man – the wild, carefree artist Paul – all of her careful life plans fall apart. She falls in love, gets married, and learns to take risks – such as a spontaneous trip to Morocco for the summer, planned by her new husband. The trip seems incredibly romantic at first, but nothing Paul tells Robin is actually as it seems.

Paul and Robin both have complicated romantic histories. Robin was married once before, and the relationship failed for various reasons, but especially because of Robin’s desire for children. Paul, twenty years her senior, has his own mysterious past, including time spent in Morocco, studying art. Robin thinks she knows everything about her husband, who seems at first to be an open book, but when they arrive at the North African coast, their relationship changes.

At first, Robin is reluctant to abandon her structured lifestyle, but she quickly adapts to the freedoms of an exotic new locale. The details of the Moroccan setting are richly described, with the juxtaposition between medieval and modern worlds creating a lush sense of intrigue. The new couple relax into the idyllic setting, with plans to try for a child. However, although everything seems amicable and loving between the two, small red flags start to pop up. Robin continues to see the best in Paul until she receives irrefutable evidence of his betrayal – proof that he has had a vasectomy, in spite of their shared plans to have a baby.

After a vicious argument, Paul disappears, and Robin becomes the prime suspect. To clear her name, Robin takes matters into her own hands, embarking on a risky investigation into Paul’s current situation, as well as his shady past. The novel moves suddenly from an oddly sweet love story to a thrilling adventure across the landscape of Morocco – from the corruption of the city to the barren desert.

It’s clear that Kennedy has spent time in Morocco, and has an affinity for its people and places. The country is not just incidental to the setting, but it becomes a part of the story, as Robin searches endlessly, following the twists and turns of Paul’s journey. The Moroccan people are fully realized as well, showcasing many different facets of society. The setting is vivid and filled with the passion of its long history, from Casablanca to the desert Bedouins.

Robin is a strong female character who never gives up – but her perseverance is almost too much. She doesn’t let go of finding Paul, despite the shocking things she learns about his past, and her seeming lack of self-respect started to lose my sympathy after a while. She is also involved in one particularly brutal act of sexual violence, which I didn’t think was necessary to further the story. In spite of all the thrilling twists, I never guessed what would happen next, making this a complex mystery. After one too many melodramatic incidents, I began to lose interest in Robin’s pursuit – but I still finished the novel, finding it exciting and enjoyable.

I received this novel from Atria Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Shylock is My Name - Howard Jacobson

Hogarth, February 9, 2016.

Three Stars

Jacobson’s novel is the second in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, following Jeanette Winterson’s 2015 release, The Gap of Time. In this novel, Jacobson gives us a retelling of Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, in which he considers contemporary questions about Jewish identity, expressed through the infamous character of Shylock.

The original Merchant explored issues of family, anti-Semitism, and most importantly – revenge. In this retelling, Shylock is still insistent on getting his “pound of flesh,” but at the same time, he is contrasted with a present-day art dealer named Strulovich, who sees his daughter’s love for a “Nazi” footballer as a betrayal of the family’s faith. Strulovich’s outrage mirrors the original Shylock’s, who felt betrayed by his own daughter’s rejection of her Jewish upbringing. Jacobson himself is also Jewish, and he considers Merchant to be Shakespeare’s most troubling play, in regards to faith.

Jacobson is clearly talented and he certainly does justice to Shakespeare’s intentions – however, I couldn’t identify with the characters and had trouble becoming immersed in the novel. Much of the action takes place as a monologue – Strulovich’s reflection on Jewishness with the ghost of Shylock past. Jacobson does give Shylock more of a voice than he had in the original play, which allows him to further express his motivations, and thus he becomes a well-rounded character.

Shylock is My Name is much more faithful to the original characterization than Winterson’s Gap of Time, and I would have liked to see more of Shylock/Jacobson taking off down his own path, but I suppose that’s the purpose of the Strulovich character – to do and say what the original Shylock did not. I personally much preferred Winterson’s adaptation of Shakespeare, but it’s probably better to view the two novels in isolation, as it’s an unfair comparison. Yes they are part of a series, but they stand completely alone, with very different intentions by each author.

This is ultimately a novel of ideas, with little in the way of plot or action. It’s not a page-turner, but the reader is left with plenty to think about. I think it’s best to have a refresher of the original play before undertaking this novel, as it will add a lot to the experience. This wasn’t my favourite so far in the series, but I’m looking forward to the next one!

I received this novel from Hogarth and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Heart - Maylis de Kerangal

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, February 9, 2016.

Four Stars

This novel was longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, under the title Mend the Living. It takes place in the twenty-four hours following a fatal car accident, from the moment three young men set out for an early morning surf session, to their car crash and the subsequent heart transplant that takes place in hospital.

The Heart opens on the three boys as they set out at dawn for the seaside. The descriptive writing is lovely and calm, but with an ominous shadow hanging over everything – we know in advance that tragedy will soon strike. On the drive home, the surfers’ vehicle drifts off the road into a tree, and one of the boys, Simon, is thrown from the van. He is declared brain dead shortly after. 

Although Simon is technically dead, his heart continues to beat. His time in the hospital is told from the perspective of everyone involved, including the doctors, nurses, and especially Simon’s parents – it is an exploration of intense grief, as they are forced to make the logical decision to donate their son’s organs. It is written in an innovative style in which Simon’s heart is really the main character of the novel, as it is taken from his body and given to a woman who is close to death. The heart gives life to someone who would not have survived without Simon’s death.

De Kerangal’s language is like floating through a dream, but it is so real at the same time – in each passage, all of the senses are engaged. The story moves at a slow pace, allowing the reader to savour every moment, even the ones that are hard to digest. There are also some great philosophy-of-science moments, such as the doctor’s discussion of our change of thinking about death:

“The moment of death is no longer to be considered as the moment the heart stops, but as the moment when cerebral function ceases. In other words: I no longer think, therefore I no longer am.” (Loc. 341)

It is a meditation on life, death, and what really makes us who we are. When Simon’s brain activity ends, does his life end too? Or does the heart carry on? The Heart is a compelling read, although it contains many tangents that are perhaps unnecessary. I think that if some of the superfluous sections were removed, it would make a great (long) short story, or novella. Regardless, it is a very interesting read, with many ideas that we all need to be considering as medical science advances at a shocking pace.

I received this novel from Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll See You In Paris - Michelle Gable

St. Martin’s Press, February 9, 2016.

Two Stars

After she loses her fiancé in the Vietnam War, Laurel Haley moves to England, taking a job as companion to an eccentric older woman with a fascinating past. On a short trip to Paris, she meets an intriguing man and begins to believe in love again – but the relationship does not last, and its tragic ending is shrouded in mystery. In the present day, Laurel’s daughter Annie is also engaged to a soldier, who is soon to depart for the Middle East. Before her wedding, Annie wishes to learn more about her absent father, and the personal history that her mother has always kept hidden.

We are told that Annie is a young English Literature student, yet she can’t seem to form a coherent sentence. Her immaturity is frustrating, and she acts like she’s the heroine of a historical romance novel – she thinks it is completely romantic that her fiancé is going off to war, and doesn’t consider the realities or risks of her situation at all. The novel overall is very patriotic, with an excess of references to 9/11 in only the first few pages. It seems like the author is trying very hard to draw parallels between Vietnam and Iraq – there are many, but here it feels forced. Annie seems to be impressed by tragic circumstances, but doesn’t have a deeper sense of emotional responses.

Luckily, Annie’s English Lit degree leads her to pick up an old book from her mother’s library – it is about a woman known as the Duchess of Marlborough, and Annie begins to think that this woman may be a link to her mother’s past. When Laurel proposes a trip to the United Kingdom to settle an inheritance there, Annie decides to tag along and investigate. Both Annie’s motivations and her language are very simplistic, making me feel like this is perhaps meant for younger readers, although nothing in the synopsis implies that it is a young adult novel. I also felt like the scenes set in the past were anachronistic, with slangy language inappropriate for the historical setting.

Annie uses the book she has found as a jumping off point for her “research,” in which she just hangs around the local pub and asks strangers what they remember about the Duchess. She meets a man named Angus who has a possible link to her mother, Laurel – although she is unable to make the obvious connection between the two. Instead of just talking to her mom about her past, Annie lurks around and causes trouble in a Nancy Drew sort of way. I did get drawn into the historical sections, written as a dialogue between the Duchess and her interviewer, especially as she discussed her acquaintanceship with contemporary literary figures – but Annie’s sections quickly became tedious.

The interview format grew old as well, and I found myself wishing for more real narrative action. The banter between characters was longwinded instead of being witty, and even the infamously odd Duchess became monotonous as she told her story. As a romance novel, this is a light and simple read – it just wasn’t what I was expecting. Also, be warned that only a very small part of the book is set in Paris. Overall, I found the novel very predictable, and the ending abrupt. It is a quick, easy read, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you may enjoy this one.

I received this novel from St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest