Stewart O'Nan

At first, it was honestly hard to get into the plot of the story. It was so detailed on the ordinary in and out details of the story that I would often re-read to make sure that there wasn't something hidden in the mundane plot that I was totally missing. However, in the last 1/5 of the book, it starts to blossom into what the idea of aging is all about, accepting what you can't change, forgiving yourself for shortcomings that you don't mean to have, and enjoying life. I was actually thrilled that even though the ending alludes to Henry's death, that is not how the book ends. It ends with Henry still being enthralled with nature and life. This book is best summarized by the summary on the back of the book: "A member of the greatest generation looks back on the loves and losses of his past and comes to treasure the present anew in this poignant and thoughtful novel from a modern master." It reminds me of Garth Brook's song, "The Dance". "And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have to miss the dance." I imagine most of us do not want to know how long we have to live or even how we will die. Dwelling on the ending takes away from the beauty of the middle and the end. I had full intentions at the beginning of only giving this book three stars because of the slow plot, but the last part of the book made up for it. Through the rambling thoughts of a 75-year-old man, we realize that we all take the same path of being attractive and having a fun life, just to settle down and enjoy family and the real meaning of living. Such a beautiful expression of life through a book! I was so glad I was able to read this.… (mais)

Stewart O'Nan is an author I usually enjoy, but I didn't find this to be one of his better books. There are several narrators and/or pov characters who tell the story of a murdered teenage girl. The primary narrator is Marie, the younger sister of Angel, the teenage girl who with her boyfriend Myles murdered Birdie, another teenage girl. Most of the story is told from the perspective of teenage girls, although Marie and Angel's mother Carol also plays a part. The motive for the murder was ostensibly jealousy: Angel was jealous of Birdie and possessive of Myles, who was fooling around with Birdie on the side. However, we never get much of a glimpse into the mind of Angel. She was a good student, held down a part time job, and while her mother Carol was overworked and sometimes neglectful, she was never abusive and was doing the best she could. So I had a hard time being convinced that Angel had the personality and motivation to turn murderous.

The book was interesting for its depiction of life among working class families of Portuguese descent in Rhodesia Island. There's a lot about the lives and habits of teenagers on the cusp of adulthood in this milieu, which I was less interested in, although this was enough to keep me reading. Nevertheless I don't consider it a particularly successful book due to my failure to be convinced that Angel would actually murder someone.

2 stars… (mais)