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miraclecharlie's review against another edition
3.0
Original review available on HereWeAreGoing, here: https://herewearegoing.wordpress.com/2015/11/27/reading-sloane-crosleys-the-clasp-and-a-few-other-reads-in-brief/
Okay, one more time stealing from Mrs. Parker, copping to my “congenital lowness of brow” and confessing: I have never read anything by Guy de Maupassant.
I had also never read anything of Sloane Crosley’s work, although a copy of I Was Told There’d Be Cake populates my massive TBR collection. Ms. Crosley’s [visit her website HERE] The Clasp was brought to my attention by Twitter-pal mentions and recommendations, after hearing of which, I read reviews, all of which talked of Guy de Maupassant’s short story, The Necklace, as if everyone who was anyone and had ever thought to read a book had studied this classic example of short-story writing in college.
Listen dear ones, I only learned the proper pronunciation of Proust in my twenties. Tortured by thugs and personal demons and as unskilled at suicide as I was at coping, I was lucky to be alive that I might leave high school and home at sixteen. I got a GED, played now and then at college, but my declared major from age twelve or so to this exalted pedestal from which I rule at age fifty-four has always been fighting conventional and cultural should do & must be & ought to. Still, nothing would do but that I read The Necklace so I could — like all the smart, with-it, MFA-ed, literary marvels I follow — get the most out of The Clasp.
So, even had I gotten nothing else out of The Clasp, its reading prompted me to make another stop on my eclectic, autodidactic journey. de Maupassant tale of Matilda Loisel’s acquisitiveness and its cost, the ruination and waste of her life due to posing and specious desiring, was told in less than ten pages. The Clasp was rather longer, three-hundred and fifty pages longer, and, perhaps that difference in length explains my ultimate impatience with its main trio, Kezia, Nathaniel, and Victor.
Ten pages of Matilda’s grasping, or, rather, the results of her spoiled, petulant pose one night, were little enough time to spend with a vacuous, unpleasant woman of little insight ad less character. By about a third of the way through The Clasp, the shallow, self-involved yearnings, manipulations, calculations, and machinations of its characters made me antsy, angry, and curious why I was wasting my time reading about these people.
In its favor, it is insightful about these folk. Ms. Crosley writes with wit, style, offering penetrating and often funny observations. It is a fast read. As I said to a friend who began reading along with me, but left the book halfway through in disgust with the shallow folk about whom it was written, “I have trouble reading and caring about people who I suspect, in real life, would likely never see me, or, if they did, would dismiss me as not important enough a person with whom to bother.”
Which is my judgement and my problem. Ms. Crosley is a fine writer, and loads of people have warmly praised the book. They are probably above me on the food (and/or literary) chain as well. I didn’t have a life of privilege, so, reading about those who have had and make such messes of their lives, care so little about anything outside their circle of privileged-self, exhausts and angers me.
Funnily enough, I read this while house-sitting in a home where the people have great privilege but manage to interact with the world, with others who’ve less (like, say, ME) and are kind, down-to-earth folks who engage with others because of the content of their souls, not their bank accounts. As luck would have it, they are also readers, and have a complete Easton Press collection of classic works including The Tales of Guy de Maupassant. Funny world.
Okay, one more time stealing from Mrs. Parker, copping to my “congenital lowness of brow” and confessing: I have never read anything by Guy de Maupassant.
I had also never read anything of Sloane Crosley’s work, although a copy of I Was Told There’d Be Cake populates my massive TBR collection. Ms. Crosley’s [visit her website HERE] The Clasp was brought to my attention by Twitter-pal mentions and recommendations, after hearing of which, I read reviews, all of which talked of Guy de Maupassant’s short story, The Necklace, as if everyone who was anyone and had ever thought to read a book had studied this classic example of short-story writing in college.
Listen dear ones, I only learned the proper pronunciation of Proust in my twenties. Tortured by thugs and personal demons and as unskilled at suicide as I was at coping, I was lucky to be alive that I might leave high school and home at sixteen. I got a GED, played now and then at college, but my declared major from age twelve or so to this exalted pedestal from which I rule at age fifty-four has always been fighting conventional and cultural should do & must be & ought to. Still, nothing would do but that I read The Necklace so I could — like all the smart, with-it, MFA-ed, literary marvels I follow — get the most out of The Clasp.
So, even had I gotten nothing else out of The Clasp, its reading prompted me to make another stop on my eclectic, autodidactic journey. de Maupassant tale of Matilda Loisel’s acquisitiveness and its cost, the ruination and waste of her life due to posing and specious desiring, was told in less than ten pages. The Clasp was rather longer, three-hundred and fifty pages longer, and, perhaps that difference in length explains my ultimate impatience with its main trio, Kezia, Nathaniel, and Victor.
Ten pages of Matilda’s grasping, or, rather, the results of her spoiled, petulant pose one night, were little enough time to spend with a vacuous, unpleasant woman of little insight ad less character. By about a third of the way through The Clasp, the shallow, self-involved yearnings, manipulations, calculations, and machinations of its characters made me antsy, angry, and curious why I was wasting my time reading about these people.
In its favor, it is insightful about these folk. Ms. Crosley writes with wit, style, offering penetrating and often funny observations. It is a fast read. As I said to a friend who began reading along with me, but left the book halfway through in disgust with the shallow folk about whom it was written, “I have trouble reading and caring about people who I suspect, in real life, would likely never see me, or, if they did, would dismiss me as not important enough a person with whom to bother.”
Which is my judgement and my problem. Ms. Crosley is a fine writer, and loads of people have warmly praised the book. They are probably above me on the food (and/or literary) chain as well. I didn’t have a life of privilege, so, reading about those who have had and make such messes of their lives, care so little about anything outside their circle of privileged-self, exhausts and angers me.
Funnily enough, I read this while house-sitting in a home where the people have great privilege but manage to interact with the world, with others who’ve less (like, say, ME) and are kind, down-to-earth folks who engage with others because of the content of their souls, not their bank accounts. As luck would have it, they are also readers, and have a complete Easton Press collection of classic works including The Tales of Guy de Maupassant. Funny world.
itsnicole's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
ameliatrace's review against another edition
3.0
Sloane Crosley is such a clever writer and as long as we're absolutely not including the plot, I really think this novel reflected her skill -- great phrasing and devastating bon mots throughout.
amyredgreen's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very frustrating read. I feel like I tried so hard to like it more but it just wouldn't cooperate. The writing is very good, good settings, mostly interesting characters, awesome dialogue...I wish this had been 90% dialogue and I wish Sam was the main character. Totally seems like something I would like but where it falters is in the story. Kind of goes in a bunch of different directions then mostly settles on the least compelling character (Victor) and an uninteresting and unbelievable plot about his quest to find a necklace. On some level there is something clever about the parallels to the Guy du Maupassant story, sort of a meta retelling of it, but it is so incredibly heavy handed to the point of just being annoying. This could have been really good but was just ok, I'm definitely interested in what's next for her though.
byz's review against another edition
2.0
The plot is somewhat confused and the characters unsatisfying. It doesn’t quite achieve what it’s trying to be.
anitamarie's review against another edition
5.0
I laughed more in this book than I have in a long time with a book. I got it from my library through their “blind date book” month . The wrapper said “reconnect with some college buddies over a hunt for lost treasure“ .I was expecting something Indiana Jones. This was completely different. I’d never heard of this book.
I’m usually a murder mystery kind of a girl, so this was quite unexpected. Three 30 year olds( old college friends) reconnect at a wedding. They all are making their lives out to be better than what what they really feel. The story carried on from there. No spoilers. It made me grateful not to be 30 years old anymore. Ha ha. It was funny, quirky. Nice balance of humour, sarcasm, friendship. If I read this book when I was 30 I’d probably find them all irritating but now that I am older, I can understand them . I’m giving this five stars because it was a fun change from my usual serious fare. Crosley’s details were the cherry on top. (I’m also currently reading Oliver Twist so this was really a nice change ).
I’m usually a murder mystery kind of a girl, so this was quite unexpected. Three 30 year olds( old college friends) reconnect at a wedding. They all are making their lives out to be better than what what they really feel. The story carried on from there. No spoilers. It made me grateful not to be 30 years old anymore. Ha ha. It was funny, quirky. Nice balance of humour, sarcasm, friendship. If I read this book when I was 30 I’d probably find them all irritating but now that I am older, I can understand them . I’m giving this five stars because it was a fun change from my usual serious fare. Crosley’s details were the cherry on top. (I’m also currently reading Oliver Twist so this was really a nice change ).
marysquillace's review against another edition
2.0
I love Sloane Crosley's way with words. There were so many lines of dialogue, descriptions and characterizations I wanted to highlight and remember. Unfortunately, the story as a whole fell flat for me. Even though we spent a lot of time with each character, I never really felt invested any of them. It took a long time to get to the book's central mission, and once it rapidly wrapped, the ending felt too pat and unearned.
nicki_j's review against another edition
3.0
Underwhelming. I did not feel invested in the minor mystery or the characters, which were more like caricatures until the last few chapters. 2.75 stars.
laurencew's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
blafferty's review against another edition
5.0
Extremely enjoyable, clever, and satisfying - like everything of hers I’ve read.