A strong, stylish novel about one family’s battle to preserve its identity in the face of changing times.
A stylish family saga in which modernity comes to a small, old Southern town.
In his ambitious debut novel, Paul tells the story of the savvy, artistic Proctar family in Cane Valley, Florida. They find their sedate way of life disturbed when corporate interests and ambitious technology company Global Cybernetics stumble upon their idyllic town and offer buyouts to local landowners. Although some see the influx of wealth as an opportunity, the family patriarch, Max Proctar, a sculptor, is reticent, wary of the changes that the town’s growth will likely bring. His social standing and his land holdings in town command respect, but they also make him a target as outside forces begin to infringe on his bohemian way of life. In addition, Max must also face the return of his adult children, who struggle to reconcile their love for him with his curmudgeonly ways. The most compelling character among this cohort is Zara Proctar, an aspiring painter searching for her own path. The Proctars, a collection of witty, erudite aesthetes, resemble J.D. Salinger’s famous Glass family, but they also bring a Faulkner-ian Southern attitude and 21st-century concerns. Paul writes in a verbose, intelligent style that recalls David Foster Wallace. The narration is lively, but the dialogue sometimes bumps up against the limits of the believable; casual conversation includes comments such as “Isn’t this the century when workers thrive on independence and middle managers with antiquated cattle prods fade into irrelevance?” Still, although such remarks may strain credulity, they also lend the Proctars an indelible charm. This novel will be sure to please fans of family epics and may also appeal to those with an interest in how technological and corporate cultures are encroaching on personal lives in the 21st century.
A strong, stylish novel about one family’s battle to preserve its identity in the face of changing times.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-979329-58-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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