THE MODERN AMERICAN WOMAN

Name: THE MODERN AMERICAN WOMAN
Author: James Wellington
ISBN: 978-1492147152

by James Wellington ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2014

A thoughtful, philosophical skimming of American culture, but one that misses an opportunity to turn its observations into...

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A contemplative novel in which a foreign student seeks an education in both women and American culture.

Two young roommates, Charles and Henry, are watching a TV program graphically depicting the execution of one of Henry VIII’s wives. It spurs a late-night philosophical conversation about men’s dominance over women, leading Henry to declare that “the American woman is quite exceptional and unique.” Charles, a foreigner originally from Africa and studying in Austin, Texas, fixates on the idea. Their subsequent dialogue about this certain allure of American women continues ad nauseam as they lazily consume tacos, pizza and TV. “Freedom makes her appreciate the fact that beauty is significantly essential to her inner calmness, confidence, and the environment,” Henry muses. Eventually, as they bring up these ideas with other friends and professors, fascinating observations arise about American culture compared to the rest of the world. Yet much of it feels far removed from the reality of an American woman’s life. Their dialogues remain completely respectful—there are no crass vulgarities that might be expected from college-age males, only vague allusions to “midnight trysts.” But the conversations are also formal and academic to the point of feeling stiff, as if the initial brainstorming for a feminist-studies paper has been superimposed over these young men. The story picks up the most momentum when actual American women are present, but this comes a bit too little, too late. As Henry’s friend Lisa points out: “I think for Charles to appreciate the mindset of an American woman, he needs to date one. Talking about her just won’t cut it. All talk and no action.” Along those lines, a stronger female counterpoint to Charles’ probing, right from the beginning, would have given the narrative some much-needed dramatic tension and balance. Unfortunately, for all the interesting ideas that Charles and Henry come up with relating to freedom and gender, their “modern American woman” is still trapped in the perspectives of men.

A thoughtful, philosophical skimming of American culture, but one that misses an opportunity to turn its observations into an engaging narrative.

Pub Date: June 9, 2014

ISBN: 978-1492147152

Page Count: 252

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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SUMMER ISLAND

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001

The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...

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Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.

Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.

The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.

Pub Date: March 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-609-60737-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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LAST ORDERS

by Graham Swift ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 5, 1996

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Britisher Swift's sixth novel (Ever After, 1992 etc.) and fourth to appear here is a slow-to-start but then captivating tale of English working-class families in the four decades following WW II. When Jack Dodds dies suddenly of cancer after years of running a butcher shop in London, he leaves a strange request—namely, that his ashes be scattered off Margate pier into the sea. And who could better be suited to fulfill this wish than his three oldest drinking buddies—insurance man Ray, vegetable seller Lenny, and undertaker Vic, all of whom, like Jack himself, fought also as soldiers or sailors in the long-ago world war. Swift's narrative start, with its potential for the melodramatic, is developed instead with an economy, heart, and eye that release (through the characters' own voices, one after another) the story's humanity and depth instead of its schmaltz. The jokes may be weak and self- conscious when the three old friends meet at their local pub in the company of the urn holding Jack's ashes; but once the group gets on the road, in an expensive car driven by Jack's adoptive son, Vince, the story starts gradually to move forward, cohere, and deepen. The reader learns in time why it is that no wife comes along, why three marriages out of three broke apart, and why Vince always hated his stepfather Jack and still does—or so he thinks. There will be stories of innocent youth, suffering wives, early loves, lost daughters, secret affairs, and old antagonisms—including a fistfight over the dead on an English hilltop, and a strewing of Jack's ashes into roiling seawaves that will draw up feelings perhaps unexpectedly strong. Without affectation, Swift listens closely to the lives that are his subject and creates a songbook of voices part lyric, part epic, part working-class social realism—with, in all, the ring to it of the honest, human, and true.