Duncker gets the high melodrama and pedagogy of a Victorian novel right but does not achieve the contemporary distance that...
Scandalous novelist George Eliot throws 1870s Berlin society into a tizzy in Duncker’s (The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge, 2010, etc.) Victorian roman à clef.
Feckless Max Duncker (not a coincidental surname) is assigned by his older brother and publishing partner to get the pseudonymous Middlemarch author (referred to by the authorial Duncker only as “Mrs. Lewes” or “the Sybil”) to sign their contract. Simultaneously, the elder Duncker is arranging a marriage between rakish Max and the young countess Sophie von Hahn, who is rich, spirited, and a die-hard Eliot fangirl. During negotiations, the Sybil accidentally seduces Max through her relentless pedantry about the Roman writer Lucian. Between visits to her parlor, he slouches through the pleasure city of Homburg, Berlin salons, and the German forests in set pieces that put the author’s deep knowledge of 19th-century society to good use. Sophie resents the restrictions of her class and gender, but when her beloved, bejowled author meddles in her engagement, she becomes enraged by the Sibyl’s influence on Max. This love triangle relies on the reader being convinced of two things: Max and Sophie’s love for each other and men's magnetic attraction to the Sibyl. Unfortunately, Duncker tends to declare emotional truths without shoring them up, such as the very pinnacle of Max and the Sibyl’s intimacy: “Something intangible in her company lifted him up from the swamps of his own selfishness. He vowed he would never visit a prostitute or gamble at the tables again.” Additionally, if the reader does not share Duncker’s fascination with the moralizing writer, the narrator’s frequent interruptions of the period piece with commentary and scholarly analysis become tedious.
Duncker gets the high melodrama and pedagogy of a Victorian novel right but does not achieve the contemporary distance that has made other neo-Victorian tales so delectable.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63286-064-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.
Reid’s latest (After I Do, 2014, etc.) explores two parallel universes in which a young woman hopes to find her soul mate and change her life for the better.
After ending an affair with a married man, Hannah Martin is reunited with her high school sweetheart, Ethan, at a bar in Los Angeles. Should she go home with her friends and catch up with him later, or should they stay out and have another drink? It doesn’t seem like either decision would have earth-shattering consequences, but Reid has a knack for finding skeletons in unexpected closets. Two vastly different scenarios play out in alternating chapters: in one, Hannah and Ethan reconnect as if no time has passed; in the other, Hannah lands in the hospital alone after a freak accident that marks the first of many surprising plot twists. Hannah’s best friend, Gabby, believes in soul mates, and though Hannah has trouble making decisions—even when picking a snack from a vending machine—she and Gabby discover how their belief systems can alter their world as much as their choices. “Believing in fate is like living on cruise control,” Hannah says. What follows is a thoughtful analysis of free will versus fate in which Hannah finds that disasters can bring unexpected blessings, blessings can bring unexpected disasters, and that most people are willing to bring Hannah her favorite cinnamon rolls. “Because even when it looks like she’s made a terrible mistake,” Hannah’s mother observes, “things will always work out for Hannah.” The larger question becomes whether Hannah’s choices will ultimately affect her happiness—and it’s one that’s answered on a hopeful note as Hannah tries to do the right thing in every situation she faces.
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7688-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Washington Square/Pocket
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
A perfect blend of smart, heart-wrenching, and fun.
Two years after the tragic death of her fiance, an artist begins to heal thanks to a rock star and his dog.
Sloan Monroe is on her way to the grave of her late fiance, who was killed by a drunk driver, when she nearly hits a dog who dashed into the road. When she stops to check on him, he jumps into her car through the sunroof, and when she doesn't hear from his owner after calling the number on his collar, she decides to keep him. Jason Larsen, the dog's owner, is backpacking off the grid in Australia, and when he finally gets Sloan's voicemails nearly two weeks later, he calls her and is astonished to discover that she's had Tucker, his dog, for so long; his quasi-girlfriend was supposed to be watching Tucker but it turns out she had basically abandoned him. Since he’s still in Australia for a few weeks, Jason arranges for Sloan to keep Tucker, and through it all they text and talk and plant the seeds for a friendship, if not more. Sloan is slow and wary, even before she discovers that Jason is a musician on the cusp of star status. Still, she’s charmed by his patience and talent, and when he returns to LA, she quickly falls in love with him, his dog, and his family. Just as they’re admitting to deep feelings, he’s embarking on a long musical tour and wants her with him. It’s a grind, which she isn’t expecting, and the relationship is at odds with his label’s publicity plans, which are complicated. Plus, it keeps Sloan from pursuing her art, which she wants to explore again. Following her exceptional debut (The Friend Zone, 2019), author Jimenez has written Sloan’s story with elegant, compassionate success, showcasing a romance that navigates deep grief and healing while exploring the unexpected stressors placed on a celebrity relationship. Fans of The Friend Zone will be happy to see Kristen and Josh as Sloan’s main support system and will be touched by Jimenez’s note in the acknowledgements about her inspiration for the book.
A perfect blend of smart, heart-wrenching, and fun.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5387-1564-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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