I loved the first line of the book. And I enjoyed Barrett as a character, settling into his non-greatness and eventual comforting love with Sam. But the other characters annoyed me beyond measure. Beth is either dying or wooden or dead; she doesn't get much depth here. Liz is painted as a somewhat desperate cougar who never really transcends the stereotype. Tyler is just an annoying semi-talented hipster druggie who, it turns out, cheated on Beth the entire time she was dying. Not much to like there. The whole 'light in the sky' plot device doesn't really work, because it's not central to either Barrett's character development or the book's arc. With the exception of some lovely passages (Cunningham is a graceful writer), I probably should have stopped at that funny first line. This was the second book by Cunningham I have read. I found it, like the first one I read (The Hours), to be quite disappointing. Very literary, but so focused on complicated sentence structure that little attention is paid to story. The characters are all very self-absorbed New Yorkers, just like in the other book, and nothing much seems to happen. The plot, such as it is, (and title) come from an old fairy tale, but it wasn't until I read the fairy tale that I began to understand what Cunningham was trying to say with this book. Ultimately, a disappointing read by someone who is clearly a talented writer.
Do You like book A Rainha Da Neve (2014)?
It took me a while to get into this one but grew on me. Still far from his earlier works
—Dennis
Although his prose is luminous, this is not my favorite Cunningham novel.
—ressay
I did not enjoy this novel as I thought I might
—blackstonesx
