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Point of No Return by John P. Marquand

bent's review against another edition

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1.0

I liked the last chapter of this book. I didn't mind the first part of the book, although I did think at times that the writing was a little too simplistic, with an almost "Gee whiz, this is keen" kind of vibe. But I hated the middle section, when we hear about Charles' growing up in Clyde.

I hated Malcolm Bryant. As I read, I realized that he existed only to make the structure very explicit. And I wasn't sure why Charles seemed dismayed by the way Bryant had described the town in The Yankee Persepolis when he talked that way to Charles. There was absolutely no reason for this character to exist. I found most of the characters, beyond Charles, not very well-conceived. They tended to consist of a few characteristics sketched in and that was in. Not much time was put into developing them into anything more than archetypes.

And the second section just dragged on and on.
SpoilerWe know from the getgo that Charles and Jessica didn't get married. It's obvious as soon as Charles's father gets the inheritance that he's going to blow it. Why does Marquand feel the need to draw it out? It's excruciating. Neither Jessica nor John Gray are interesting enough characters to spend this amount of time on. Here again - Malcolm Bryant. He's has read just enough of Freud to realize that Lovell is in love with his daughter. Just in case the reader couldn't figure that out on their own, Marquand needs a character to spell it out for you. Bryant plays this role throughout the book - look at the stratification, look at the roles they all play. God forbid Marquand trust the reader to figure things out.


We learn early on that Sam went off to fight in the war and probably died, but Marquand lets all that happen off-page. We know that Charles volunteered to fight in the second World War but didn't see combat. He talks a lot about not knowing why he volunteered, and he never figures it out or gives us enough information to be able to figure it out ourselves. There's a lot of talk about it, but no concrete information. This is a very long book for the little that happens.
SpoilerCouldn't Marquand have spent a little more time on that stuff rather then a blow-by-blow of Jessica and Charles's ill-fated romance?


I'll stop there. The best part of the book is the last chapter, and really, the last part of the last chapter when Charles goes off to talk with Tony Burton at his house. I would have quit reading this book but I was almost halfway through when I started to tire of it and I thought I'd soldier on. More fool me.

janetlun's review

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The meaning of life, you can't go home again, etc. Like the portrait of life in Boston area before & after WWII.
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