Review: Desperate Characters by Paula Fox

Desperate Characters by Paula Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A small, amazing novel about a married couple living in a slowly gentrifying Brooklyn circa 1970, as they deal with a number of small (yet crucial) crises over the span of just a few days.

Like another favorite small novel of mine -- Ian McEwan's "On Chesil Beach" -- this is a tightly constructed, careful study which is impossibly rich and perfectly textured. The Bentwoods' marriage and their unsettling experiences over a few days hits on pretty much everything: race, class, gender, society, money, work, ethics...you name it. Like a small painting of a VAST landscape. I don't really read much poetry, but it has a rate of amazing images, phrases, and observations that I can only imagine is replicated in a quality poem. It's gorgeous, silky writing from beginning to end.

All the '70s period details basically make this a historical novel at this point, yet ALL the themes and preoccupations and tensions and fears still resonate perfectly. They might even resonate more than ever, as they make us look around and realize that the more things change...

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Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The story of a girl with a "difficult" home life (to say the least) and her burgeoning relationship with a indie-music loving boy, set in Omaha in 1986, Eleanor & Park is a good, quick read. Much sadder and darker than I expected, given it's "young adult" pedigree, I felt it was surprisingly sophisticated in language and tone. The only thing "young" about it was the plot that felt somewhat plodding and simplistic, like I was a step ahead of the narrative most of the time as it moved from A to B to C as expected. That said, I was on board with the characters throughout, and compelled to get to the ending. The world and situations felt real and heart-wrenching and the characters authentic. With one notable (and unfortunate) exception there aren't clear-cut "good guys" or "bad guys," etc -- everyone (with that one ugly exception) is nuanced and human and the emotional core of the story rings authentic. This novel didn't change my perception of young love or high school struggles or open new windows to the human heart, but I nevertheless enjoyed reading from start to stop.

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