A first novel that explores with humor and depth the on-and- off marriage of two confused young Ivy Leaguers. Clever, flighty Maisie—the daughter of a dance instructor who died when Maisie was young and a mother who worked as a secretary in Virginia—has lived for the day when she could flee to Harvard and the glamorous urban life she was sure lay ahead. There, Maisie meets a boy she believes might fulfill her dreams—Jack, the staid son of a french-fry-factory owner and a Harvard man by birth. When Jack's father dies and Jack feels compelled to return home to dreary Champs du Soleil, Maine, to take care of the factory, Maisie marries him—despite serious qualms that she could be signing away her life before it's even begun. Months later, when Jack shows no signs of selling the factory, Maisie panics and escapes again—this time to a girlfriend's apartment in New York. Officially, Maisie is there temporarily for the sake of her career, and she throws herself into the role of half of a glamorously commuting professional couple, working as an editorial assistant while Jack tackles the decidedly unglamorous problems of french-fry manufacture. Months pass with few visits between New York and Maine, and Maisie tumbles inexorably toward a few pointless affairs, while Jack is drawn toward his advertising rep, who's as stable and predictable as himself. Guilt-ridden over their betrayals, estranged and uncertain about their future, Jack and Maisie try a formal separation—only to learn that without one another life lacks spark and focus. Older and wiser, Maisie forgets her dreams of a glamorous life and Jack gives up his factory, and the two meet halfway—in Boston—to make a family together. A sweet, penetrating look at young love—and an unusually well-crafted debut.
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-670-84064-5
Page Count: 356
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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