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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Came in expecting and hoping to love it but it fell kind of flat for me. We started out strong - missing child appears twenty years later without having aged at all (turns out for her it's only been six months) - but it never seemed to live up to that strength for me. The fairies never seemed as menacing to me as they've been in other books that I've read with this sort of story. I did like the look at how this all affected the family.
This is a fun one, a very pleasant surprise. I've only read one Joyce book previously - it wasn't perfect, but I found it unique, subtle, creative, almost artful - and I get the sense he's not heavily read in the U.S., although that appears to be changing. Anyway, yes, it's a fairy tale, but it's very nicely layered and the payoffs come in waves towards the end. (Mentally, I had this categorized as good-to-very-good through most of the book, but it kept growing on me, and I was immensely gratified by at least three of the final plot twists.) And, putting aside the fairy tale, this is an entertaining examination of family, aging, relationships, music, and even psychology. Joyce covers a fair amount of ground in this one and, at least to this reader, the various perspectives felt accurate and the voices rang true throughout. Finally, in retrospect, the opening gambit was not only subtle, but deceptively effective. Overall, a fun, thought-provoking, and pleasant read.
Listened on Audiobook.
This book follows the story of Tara, a teenager who went missing in the 1980s and then remerges twenty years later with a fantastical story of what has happened to her.
Tara's story - that she has only been away six months, that she was taken by the fae (although they vehemently reject the label of fairy) - sends her family into a tailspin. The book becomes a mediation on truth and memory. Is Tara lying or does she believe what she is saying is true? Does her story contain guideposts to the state of her psyche (the theory put forward by the psychologist her brother pays for her to see)? Or, most radical theory of all, could Tara's tale be real?
The concept behind this book is really interesting: I liked Joyce's version of the Fae, who are essentially human-sized sexual libertines, much closer to their trickster ancestors than our current sugar-sweet conception of fairies. But somehow, despite the strength of the concept, I found the sections that dealt with Tara's visit somehow unsatisfying. This thread is just one of many, and I found Joyce lacked the space to really let this alternative world come to life, and breathe.
I did also enjoy how so much of this book was about the impact that Tara's disappearance had on those around her, particularly the family drama of her now 40-something brother Stephen. (I particularly enjoyed the subplot about Stephen's son, Jack). In fact this felt like where Joyce's true interest lay, in unfolding minute telling details about the compromises and comforts of living in a family.
When I was thinking about what rating to give this book I had to remind myself that 2 stars means "it's ok" - and that's really how I felt about this book. I couldn't love it - but it was ok. Coincidentally I mostly listen to audiobooks when I'm knitting, and sometimes an "ok" book that doesn't demand too much of me is in fact perfect for this, as I need to be engaged in thinking about what I'm doing. So - I'm happy to have listened to this book, but not a lifechanger for me.
This book follows the story of Tara, a teenager who went missing in the 1980s and then remerges twenty years later with a fantastical story of what has happened to her.
The concept behind this book is really interesting: I liked Joyce's version of the Fae, who are essentially human-sized sexual libertines, much closer to their trickster ancestors than our current sugar-sweet conception of fairies. But somehow, despite the strength of the concept, I found the sections that dealt with Tara's visit somehow unsatisfying. This thread is just one of many, and I found Joyce lacked the space to really let this alternative world come to life, and breathe.
I did also enjoy how so much of this book was about the impact that Tara's disappearance had on those around her, particularly the family drama of her now 40-something brother Stephen. (I particularly enjoyed the subplot about Stephen's son, Jack). In fact this felt like where Joyce's true interest lay, in unfolding minute telling details about the compromises and comforts of living in a family.
When I was thinking about what rating to give this book I had to remind myself that 2 stars means "it's ok" - and that's really how I felt about this book. I couldn't love it - but it was ok. Coincidentally I mostly listen to audiobooks when I'm knitting, and sometimes an "ok" book that doesn't demand too much of me is in fact perfect for this, as I need to be engaged in thinking about what I'm doing. So - I'm happy to have listened to this book, but not a lifechanger for me.
This was a surprisingly delightful story. It centers around Tara, who disappeared when she was just 16. Twenty years later she turns up at her parents' door. In some ways she still looks like a teenager, and in some ways she is much more mature. She tells a fantastic and unbelievable story about crossing into another world, where to her, only 6 months have passed.
In that time, her parents have become elderly. Her brother, Peter, now has a wife and 4 children and has become a typical adult. Her ex-boyfriend, Richie, seems stuck in time. Richie was suspected in Tara's disappearance, and never seems to have moved on from that experience. He is still a musician (Peter has long since given up on that hobby), and makes a meager living playing in local bars and writing songs for people who have become legitimate stars.
Peter sends Tara to a psychiatrist, Mr. Underwood, who offers an alternate and entirely rational explanation for Tara's story, believing she suffered a trauma (perhaps associated with her abduction) and the story she creates to explain her absence has all sorts of underlying meaning.
Perhaps my favorite part of this was the side tale of Jack, Peter's 13 year old son, and the neighbor's cat.
The story leaves the reader guessing. Was she really living in a fairy world for six months? Or did something horrible happen to her and she's choosing to forget it and substituting an alternate explanation for events?
Certain clues are left for us - Tara's apparent age and certain things that happen to Richie. Tara's age may have a scientific explanation. Richie's problems may be unrelated. But they are clues.
In that time, her parents have become elderly. Her brother, Peter, now has a wife and 4 children and has become a typical adult. Her ex-boyfriend, Richie, seems stuck in time. Richie was suspected in Tara's disappearance, and never seems to have moved on from that experience. He is still a musician (Peter has long since given up on that hobby), and makes a meager living playing in local bars and writing songs for people who have become legitimate stars.
Peter sends Tara to a psychiatrist, Mr. Underwood, who offers an alternate and entirely rational explanation for Tara's story, believing she suffered a trauma (perhaps associated with her abduction) and the story she creates to explain her absence has all sorts of underlying meaning.
Perhaps my favorite part of this was the side tale of Jack, Peter's 13 year old son, and the neighbor's cat.
The story leaves the reader guessing. Was she really living in a fairy world for six months? Or did something horrible happen to her and she's choosing to forget it and substituting an alternate explanation for events?
Certain clues are left for us - Tara's apparent age and certain things that happen to Richie. Tara's age may have a scientific explanation. Richie's problems may be unrelated. But they are clues.
Probably 4.5 - best fairy tale since the last Charles DeLint - which has been too long, need to get back to that master.
A dear friend saw me with this, was glad, proclaimed it her "favorite book of all time" which filled me with some trepidation (we don't often overlap in our taste with books). Fears were unwarrented, this was a wonderful read, a great re-telling of the fae tales we know.
A dear friend saw me with this, was glad, proclaimed it her "favorite book of all time" which filled me with some trepidation (we don't often overlap in our taste with books). Fears were unwarrented, this was a wonderful read, a great re-telling of the fae tales we know.
This book was captivating and intriguing. There was a lot more dead cat in the story than I was prepared for......but the whole story was written well enough around and through that subplot that I was able to swallow my emotional distress and appreciate the purpose of the poor kitty's sacrifice.
Really, though, it's a wonderful modern fairy tale, with enough scientific skepticism mixed in to leave you still questioning everything by the end.
Really, though, it's a wonderful modern fairy tale, with enough scientific skepticism mixed in to leave you still questioning everything by the end.
A very different take on fairy story myths than yesterday's book, this was an enjoyable read overall with particularly well-written pov changes. I did, however, feel that the crudeness and profanity let the book down - though not to the extent that the book was unbearably offensive, and nowhere near the level of Chuck Palahnuik's recent work, just that portions felt incongruous with the rest of the writing.
Still, I would recommend this, particularly for fans of fairy tales, myths and legends.
Still, I would recommend this, particularly for fans of fairy tales, myths and legends.
DNF - I liked the premise and thought the multiple points of view were interesting, but the crassness of the main characters "story" just killed any interest in finishing. I do not understand why male writers think women talk like that ... really, we don't. Most real women don't talk like Sarah Silverman ... .