I’d read some rave reviews about this novel, via the New York Times and NPR, but hadn’t got round to purchasing it. Then, one night, whilst babysitting my friends’ kids and realising I’d left my own novel at home, I began scouring their shelves for something to pass the evening. There it was, right in front of me.
Great, I thought, and eagerly opened it. The title was intriguing and, truth be told, the first few pages left me quickly wanting more.
But, unfortunately, it’s not easy for me to wax lyrical about this book…despite the high praise it’s received, I really struggled with it and even as I pen this review, I feel ambivalence.
Ok, off we go. The protagonist of this novel is Nora Eldridge, a late 30’s primary school teacher who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and who, on her own admission, has a relatively mundane existence. She’s also repressing quite a lot of anger at having ‘failed’ in life (she is unmarried, has no kids, few close friends and her dream of being an artist has fallen by the wayside). As the narrator of this book, she conveys to the reader her lack of ambition, her lack of success, and how - essentially - she feels life is passing her by. (This in itself, is questionable by the way - she’s 37 for god’s sake, not 67! But, that’s another discussion altogether).
Enter a charismatic family - Reza (her timid, 8-year old pupil), Sirena (his mother, a beautiful and talented artist) and Skandar (a Lebanese-French academic and father to Reza). Nora, who is fizzing with repressed anger and rage, and feels herself to be ‘inconsequential’ (i.e. the centre of no-one’s life) enters their lives and quickly develops a strong attachment to all three of them. Actually, it’s less of an attachment than an obsession but, take it from me, it’s not healthy.
So what’s so hard for me to enjoy? Well, on a literary level, I’m sorry but I really cannot see how comparisons have been made between Nora and Emma Bovary/Mrs Rochester. The other major problem I have with this book is that it has no plot - and call me old-fashioned, but I really do like a plot. About half way through, I had begun to ask myself where it was going…becoming tired of the endless monologues (don’t get me wrong, in the right place and time I adore monologues) and wondering if I’d actually missed something.
On a personal level, I’m still struggling with the book because it seems to imply that a woman without a family and children is doomed to live a life of quiet desperation. And, from my own experience, I know that’s not the case! Nora’s character is, of course, portrayed sensitively - there’s a terrible bleakness in her narration. Maybe that’s who Nora really is before she meets the family that changes her. Before meeting them, it seemed she was deliberately cutting herself off, emotionally, from the chaos of life (after all, when you are neat, tidy and never cause anyone much trouble, you really can project an image of dullness).
The good news (if I can call it that) is the ending really is clever and something I didn't expect - but was truly welcome, after I’d slogged my way through so many pages with so little development in the story.
Bottom line - after all the hype I’d read, this novel actually disappointed me. Nora seemed to me a cliche in many respects, and even her monologues became too bland for my liking at a certain point. I hoped that our heroine’s pettiness and sadness would be stripped away by events, transforming her by the book’s conclusion. But it never happened.
Thumbs down for me.