I am O'Nan fan through and through. After reading "Last Night at the Lobster," I knew I would read anything he wrote. Warning: this is a big fat book in which almost nothing happens. A lot of readers will put it down when it becomes clear that the plot is little more than what happens when a family convenes at a summer cabin for one final week before it is sold. For some readers, the details will be cumbersome, the pace sluggish, the characters frustrating. But for me, I just didn't want to end. The details were intricate, illuminating, meticulous. The pace was like the leisurely pace of summer itself. And the characters were absolutely vivid and authentic. Flawed and terrific. I was happy to hang out with them for this week...and I plan to read Emily, Alone so that I can follow Emily into her twilight years.I think that this novel is, quite simply, a rumination on finality. There is an inevitability felt throughout the 580 some odd pages. The cabin has been sold, there is nothing that can be done to change that. This is the end of this piece of the characters' history. It parallels Emily's widowhood as well. And that, coupled with the beautiful writing and complex characters and a setting that was so close to home for me, enough to make for a seriously pleasurable read.This book really contributed to an ongoing question I've been pondering, and that is: what is the point of fiction? What is the storyteller's obligation? I used to be able to answer that question quite assuredly. But now I'm not so sure. As a writer, I am constantly grappling with what my responsibilities are to the reader. What sort of contractual obligations must I fulfill? Does the lack of an arc (in plot or character) break that contract? Is a book allowed to simply ponder ideas without coming to some sort of climax? I don't know. What I do know is this: I loved this book.
How does the dynamics of a family change when a member is lost through death? What emotions are felt when life continues with the ghost of a missing loved one lingering in your midst? That's what this book is about. The lake cottage had been part of their lives as long as they all could remember-parents were now Grandparents, Children now adults and parents with children and spouses--lifes road has taken it's twists and turns for everyone. But this is the summer that they all come together for the last time at this cottage full of life long memories--and they face being there without their husband, brother, Father and Grandfather--and facing the sad realization that the cottage was sold and they would never be there again as a family-- and never again be a "whole" family. I titled my review as a "Real" story because that's what I felt when reading this book. It may not have been the most exciting book I ever read, but nonetheless in my case it was a page turner. As a reader I want to know "what next", would Margaret slip off the wagon and have a drink from the stress of her life long difficult relationship with Emily-her Mother, and her impending divorce? Will Kenneth figure out that he probably is never going to make a fortune on his photographs? Will Arlene always feel in the shadows? It was a good read about a pretty ordinary family and all of the "stuff" that goes on. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately purchased "Emily Alone", and I am enjoying that just as much!
Do You like book Wish You Were Here (2003)?
It is August, and the cicadas are my Muzak for reading on warm and lazy evenings. I don’t need a beach novel (never go there), but I do welcome something easy and a little nostalgic for this time of year. A perfect time to read about a lakeside family vacation, replete with hamburgers, water fun, unwelcome rain, and family tensions. This three-generation event is especially poignant, because the Maxwell vacation cottage on New York’s Lake Chautauqua is about to be sold. Grandfather has died, and grandmother Emily has decided she needs the cash for her years alone. Daughter-in-law Lisa does not want to share her husband with his birth family and is generally not pleased to be present. Daughter Margaret’s unstable life is about to lose one of its anchors when the house goes. And the grandchildren are in varying stages of compliance and rebellion. One boy has sticky fingers. A teenage girl is confused about her burgeoning lesbianism. Grandmother Emily tries too hard to keep everyone organized. Son Ken longs to be a great photographer but limps along in other kinds of jobs.The strength in the book is that it moves languidly, like the August days, into the thoughts of each of the nine people. We see each person slipping uneasily between polar feelings – sometimes isolated from the enforced family togetherness, but sometimes connected to family and tradition. I think it takes a lot of courage to write a book in which so little happens. O’Nan is willing to leave us with a heightened awareness of people’s unfulfilled longings, their muddled memories, and their need for one another.
—Sue
I really loved Emily, Alone, and hoped I would also love this one. One thing that bothered about this book is that none of the characters grow or change at all. The tension remains the same throughout and it's never resolved and never even really comes to a head. I would be okay with that, but all of the characters felt flat because they never really address the real issues. There are also a lot of characters' perspectives covered in the novel, and that could be what caused the disjointedness. I didn't hate that novel, but I didn't love it as much has I thought I would.
—Savannah
This is just the sort of detailed precise book that focuses on characterization which I love. One becomes immersed in the family happenings and tribulations of the Maxwells as they vacation for a week at their Chautaqua cottage that is to be sold following the death of Henry, Emily's husband. Henry's sister Arlene regrets the sale but won't protest. Emily's children Kenneth, a prospective photographer who has quit his well-paying job to concentrate on his art and his supportive but possessive wife Lise have two children, the brilliant Ellen and the disturbed Sam. Emily's daughter Meg is being divorced from her husband Jeff. A recovering alcoholic, without many prospects, she faces losing her home. Meg's children are Sarah, beautiful and boy-crazy, and Justin who fears most everything and idolizes his absent dad. The story plays out in this limited time period and is masterful in its comphrehnsion of the human psyche.
—Joan Colby
