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A review by toniclark
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
4.0
I knew, before I started, that this would be a bit of a puzzle, that it might be hard to figure out how the three sections were tied together. I definitely picked up some of the hints, reverberations back and forth between the three parts of the book, but missed a lot too. For instance, I didn’t know anything about the author’s history and didn’t get that Ezra Blazer was modeled on a real person. (A real person who was very famous but whom, nevertheless, I have never read. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get it.)
I absolutely loved the first section. I wanted the story to go on and on, though I could see that it probably couldn’t go on much longer. And then, the book would have been so much less than it is. I loved the characters and the dialog most of all. Most people don’t want to work too hard to find hidden meanings in a novel. I don’t mind it, but am sorry to say I just didn’t enjoy the second section of the book (Amar's story). My mind wandered. On reflection, I appreciate the whole book more now than when I was reading it (and finished the book wondering whether I should reread the middle part). Halliday definitely pulled off a rather amazing intellectual feat. In retrospect, I like thinking about the structure, the many forms of asymmetry encompassed, the varied and interwoven themes (the book has a sort of musical structure), and the characters’ reflections on art and life, truth and imagination. I certainly highlighted a lot of passages (and read many of them aloud to my husband).
I wish I had known more going into it. And I think I'm talking myself into rereading.
There's also some great writing, startling images. Here's a favorite:
“Light shimmered in the trees, whose leaves, when the wind ran through them, sighed like the gods after a long and boozy lunch.”
I absolutely loved the first section. I wanted the story to go on and on, though I could see that it probably couldn’t go on much longer. And then, the book would have been so much less than it is. I loved the characters and the dialog most of all. Most people don’t want to work too hard to find hidden meanings in a novel. I don’t mind it, but am sorry to say I just didn’t enjoy the second section of the book (Amar's story). My mind wandered. On reflection, I appreciate the whole book more now than when I was reading it (and finished the book wondering whether I should reread the middle part). Halliday definitely pulled off a rather amazing intellectual feat. In retrospect, I like thinking about the structure, the many forms of asymmetry encompassed, the varied and interwoven themes (the book has a sort of musical structure), and the characters’ reflections on art and life, truth and imagination. I certainly highlighted a lot of passages (and read many of them aloud to my husband).
I wish I had known more going into it. And I think I'm talking myself into rereading.
There's also some great writing, startling images. Here's a favorite:
“Light shimmered in the trees, whose leaves, when the wind ran through them, sighed like the gods after a long and boozy lunch.”