I like to read books without paying any attention to the reviews of others, although with paper editions the laudatory praise on the jackets are hard to ignore. I got this one as a library ebook, and have not read any reviews of it, reading it only because it is to be discussed in our book club in two weeks.
In Elkins Park in eastern Pennsylvania, a grand old house changes hands four times in the time that the male narrator grows from being a toddler to his mid fifties, in the latter half of the twentieth century.The members of the blended families and the servants all relate their memories of the good times and the conflicts that developed over the years around the house.
There is a combination of mystery, drama, romance and coming of age all related in straightforward prose. Some of the developments seem quite unrealistic such as a mother abandoning her children to just disappear by travelling to India. Some characters are almost caricatures, such as the cold, distant real estate developer, the extremely self-centred, cruel step-mother, and several characters whose social skills seem to be limited to inflicting guilt trips. There are also more introspective self-analyses and doubts, contrived personality conflicts, and flashbacks to childhoods idealized by faulty memories than can be reasonably expected in one small set of characters. Everyone seems to be insecure, willing and even anxious to take offence at the slightest perceived negative comment. The time shifts back and forth in different chapters can be confusing.
The writing is fluent and sometimes almost poetic. Insights into mental processes at different stages of a life and responses to circumstances are realistic. A good quote: “There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you’d been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you’re suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself.”
I found this book to neither convey anything profound nor to be particularly realistic and enjoyable. I will await the insights of the book club members.
The Passionate Reader 