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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
It feels so odd to be reading Ondaatje after all the Christopher Moore and young adult fiction I've been reading. Which is not at all meant to be disparaging--they're just completely different beasts.
Ondaatje's writing is so subtle and precise. I have to read more slowly to really appreciate the language and not miss any nuances. Ondaatje is not a good author to read if you're thinking about other things, or if you're tired, or distracted in any way; you really have to pay attention to soak it all in.
Ondaatje's writing is so subtle and precise. I have to read more slowly to really appreciate the language and not miss any nuances. Ondaatje is not a good author to read if you're thinking about other things, or if you're tired, or distracted in any way; you really have to pay attention to soak it all in.
I read Divisadero because I like Michael Ondaatje. I enjoyed some parts of the story more than others, overall it came together to be a satisfying read.
The shape of this book seems somehow dented to me. Ondaatje begins building a story around the scattering of a set of adoptive siblings (with a bit of a twist) and their various paths in life. Some of the detours aren't that interesting, frankly. The last half or so of the book centers on the life of one of the kids (now grown) and her settling in France. She's researching the life of a writer (now dead) and in fact living in his old home. For much of the end of the book, Ondaatje gives us that writer's back story in lyrical and often quite lovely, evocative prose.
There are parallels between the writer's early life and the early life of the researcher and writer through whose eyes we're being told that story (recall, one of our siblings). That the researched writer had two daughters involved in a love triangle with one of their suitors bears certain resemblances to our siblings' history as well. I'm sure there are more echoes between the several stories.
On the whole, the lives of Claire and Coop (two of the siblings) were pretty dull (not to mention, in Coop's case, a little surprising), and the lopsided structure of the novel proved a turn-off for me. It struck me at one point that it seemed almost a little cycle of short stories. I would have read with pleasure a novel in the style of the latter part of the book, which was deftly and tenderly written.
On the other hand, the title of the book suggests a sort of division (as does the sundering of a couple of families in the book), so perhaps what seems like sort of clumsily lopsided book is divided into its parts by design, though if so it's a design that didn't much appeal to me.
There are parallels between the writer's early life and the early life of the researcher and writer through whose eyes we're being told that story (recall, one of our siblings). That the researched writer had two daughters involved in a love triangle with one of their suitors bears certain resemblances to our siblings' history as well. I'm sure there are more echoes between the several stories.
On the whole, the lives of Claire and Coop (two of the siblings) were pretty dull (not to mention, in Coop's case, a little surprising), and the lopsided structure of the novel proved a turn-off for me. It struck me at one point that it seemed almost a little cycle of short stories. I would have read with pleasure a novel in the style of the latter part of the book, which was deftly and tenderly written.
On the other hand, the title of the book suggests a sort of division (as does the sundering of a couple of families in the book), so perhaps what seems like sort of clumsily lopsided book is divided into its parts by design, though if so it's a design that didn't much appeal to me.
The prose was lovely and I was initially into this book but could NOT get past two major factual errors. One, maybe I could live with but TWO?! Where were the editors?
First, "Tahoe" is not a singular place. It is a constellation of towns in BOTH California and Nevada. You are not just in Tahoe, but Tahoe City, or Incline Village. Further, if you are gambling at a casino by Lake Tahoe YOU ARE IN NEVADA. YOU ARE NOT IN CALIFORNIA. You can't then also say, multiple times, that you leave the casinos and "drive toward Nevada." CUZ YOU ARE ALREADY THERE. IN NEVADA.
Second, what the HELL would someone from the San Francisco Public Defender's Office be doing that far east of Sacramento? Let's just assume that somehow he meant California side of Lake Tahoe, and not Nevada (where, again, most of the Tahoe scenes actually take place) - that is still WAY out of the jurisdiction of the SFPD. Also, investigating a school board case? Who exactly would a public defender be representing in a school board case....?
And then I totally do NOT understand how Lucien's story just took over the end of the book and Claire, Coop, and Anna were abandoned. The last page and a half by Anna seemed a hasty attempt to tie it all together, and I wasn't buying it. Of course by that time I was already aggravated and not willing to suspend any further disbelief for this book. Got two stars instead of one because the writing was beautiful in places.
First, "Tahoe" is not a singular place. It is a constellation of towns in BOTH California and Nevada. You are not just in Tahoe, but Tahoe City, or Incline Village. Further, if you are gambling at a casino by Lake Tahoe YOU ARE IN NEVADA. YOU ARE NOT IN CALIFORNIA. You can't then also say, multiple times, that you leave the casinos and "drive toward Nevada." CUZ YOU ARE ALREADY THERE. IN NEVADA.
Second, what the HELL would someone from the San Francisco Public Defender's Office be doing that far east of Sacramento? Let's just assume that somehow he meant California side of Lake Tahoe, and not Nevada (where, again, most of the Tahoe scenes actually take place) - that is still WAY out of the jurisdiction of the SFPD. Also, investigating a school board case? Who exactly would a public defender be representing in a school board case....?
And then I totally do NOT understand how Lucien's story just took over the end of the book and Claire, Coop, and Anna were abandoned. The last page and a half by Anna seemed a hasty attempt to tie it all together, and I wasn't buying it. Of course by that time I was already aggravated and not willing to suspend any further disbelief for this book. Got two stars instead of one because the writing was beautiful in places.
This is a beautifully written, at times intoxicating, narrative about fragmented lives. I would like to call it a novel, but I'm not sure I can. It feels more like a grouping of interconnected but disjointed anecdotes and snapshots of the lives of handful of people. There isn't really a plot to follow, there are many conflicts but they all either resolve naturally or linger and aren't resolved at all. And it too often feels like we're being told a story, instead of actually seeing the story unfold. It's not a bad read at all, so long as you don't expect things like closure or satisfaction at the end of it. And sometimes you don't, so it's a pleasure to read something like this.
Among other things, it definitely re-ignited the torch I hold for Northern California.
More complete take at All She Writ
Among other things, it definitely re-ignited the torch I hold for Northern California.
More complete take at All She Writ
I like when an author switches from one perspective/narrator to another, and then successfully weaves them together to make a whole story. The key to this is the successful weaving part, though, and this is where "Divisadero" fails the most for me. Also, I prefer a plot, story arc, and a pretty high verb to adjective ratio, none of which did this book have. It was more a collection of vignettes, yet they didn't all come together to make something more than the sum of their parts like a good collection should. (An excellent example of vignettes coming together to make more than the sum of their parts is "The House on Mango Street" - super good read.)
This book was the July selection for my book club, and after talking it over and hearing their interpretations I actually have a much more positive view of this book than when I had first finished reading it. They discussed themes of loneliness and divisions ("divisaderos"), poetry disguised as prose, and the human need for closure. All these ideas are very tied to this book, yet did not become obvious to me until others pointed them out. Hearing the book clubbers talk about these themes was enjoyable, but reading this book was not.
This book was the July selection for my book club, and after talking it over and hearing their interpretations I actually have a much more positive view of this book than when I had first finished reading it. They discussed themes of loneliness and divisions ("divisaderos"), poetry disguised as prose, and the human need for closure. All these ideas are very tied to this book, yet did not become obvious to me until others pointed them out. Hearing the book clubbers talk about these themes was enjoyable, but reading this book was not.
Beautifully written, dark, love lost. “She saw her life then for what it was. There would always be this pointless and impotent dreaming on farms. And there would always be a rich man on horseback who galloped across the world, riding into a forest just to inhale its wet birch leaves after a storm.”
This is a book that I will return to in the sincere hope that I have missed something. My impression now is of a beautiful but half-formed novel of loosely related fragments of stories. When it's good, it's spectacular: particularly evocative details and powerful tableaux that recall the brilliance of The English Patient. But the web of connections is too loose, and feels undeliberate. Sure, there are some well-phrased quips about storytelling and time and the influence of one life upon another that serve as a sort of literary excuse for this lack of structure, but it's not enough. Saying "That's the point" doesn't make it any more complete. The whole thing is too patchy and inconsistent. But I will reread this one, and I hope when I do that I find that I'm wrong.
This is a powerful and quite brutal book - lots of stories of loss but also survival and drive in here. I was carried along despite the changes in narration and found myself unable to put this one down.