A stimulating, fun play on revisionist history.
A slight change in the trajectory of a bullet causes Kennedy to survive–creating enormous historical ramifications.
This experimental political novel consists of entwined narratives, each compelling, which make readers complicit participants in their interplay. One is the draft of a definitive biography of John F. Kennedy by a female author named Trish, the other the perspective of the draft’s reader, his daughter Caroline, as she reminisces on the text at the behest of its author. Dialogue between these women mirrors the reader’s reactions, anticipating doubts and sparking reflection, which injects the novel with an uncanny self-awareness. The biography within the novel deviates from history, with Kennedy’s recuperation from the assassination attempt and subsequent mission to mend what he perceives as the destructive course of American and global politics. He converts a surge of public sympathy into political capital of unprecedented popularity. This arms him to take on conventional, ossified politics, interest groups, military aggression and energy dependence. He seeks to eradicate root causes in the great challenges facing him: the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement. The president is also depicted interacting with several historical figures: Fidel Castro, Khrushchev, Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., even the Beatles. Golden renders all with impressively credible dialogue and, in the case of political figures, oratory. The fictitious biography focuses on the relationship between Kennedy men Jack and Bobby, and their complex and troubled relationship with their father Joseph. Caroline’s reveries also provide insight into family dynamics, influenced by the strains of public life. This is a thought-provoking portrait of a family at the center of American power, acutely aware of its legacy for future generations. Although methodical, loosely following the template of history, this alternate world holds many surprises. Whether or not readers find Kennedy’s almost-superhuman statesmanship believable will correlate somewhat with their personal politics–oblique references to contemporary politics abound, however subtle. The book’s optimism, only slightly tempered by tragedy and realistic cynicism, will not appeal to all, but Golden’s skill at realistically transporting political rhetoric and historical personalities through the prism of imagination makes the book a compelling account of what the president might have become.
A stimulating, fun play on revisionist history.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-595-47192-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.
Hunter’s debut novel tracks the experiences of her family members during the Holocaust.
Sol and Nechuma Kurc, wealthy, cultured Jews in Radom, Poland, are successful shop owners; they and their grown children live a comfortable lifestyle. But that lifestyle is no protection against the onslaught of the Holocaust, which eventually scatters the members of the Kurc family among several continents. Genek, the oldest son, is exiled with his wife to a Siberian gulag. Halina, youngest of all the children, works to protect her family alongside her resistance-fighter husband. Addy, middle child, a composer and engineer before the war breaks out, leaves Europe on one of the last passenger ships, ending up thousands of miles away. Then, too, there are Mila and Felicia, Jakob and Bella, each with their own share of struggles—pain endured, horrors witnessed. Hunter conducted extensive research after learning that her grandfather (Addy in the book) survived the Holocaust. The research shows: her novel is thorough and precise in its details. It’s less precise in its language, however, which frequently relies on cliché. “You’ll get only one shot at this,” Halina thinks, enacting a plan to save her husband. “Don’t botch it.” Later, Genek, confronting a routine bit of paperwork, must decide whether or not to hide his Jewishness. “That form is a deal breaker,” he tells himself. “It’s life and death.” And: “They are low, it seems, on good fortune. And something tells him they’ll need it.” Worse than these stale phrases, though, are the moments when Hunter’s writing is entirely inadequate for the subject matter at hand. Genek, describing the gulag, calls the nearest town “a total shitscape.” This is a low point for Hunter’s writing; elsewhere in the novel, it’s stronger. Still, the characters remain flat and unknowable, while the novel itself is predictable. At this point, more than half a century’s worth of fiction and film has been inspired by the Holocaust—a weighty and imposing tradition. Hunter, it seems, hasn’t been able to break free from her dependence on it.
Too beholden to sentimentality and cliché, this novel fails to establish a uniquely realized perspective.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-56308-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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