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A review by harrietnbrown
The Love of My Youth by Mary Gordon
3.0
I usually love Gordon's work, but this one is tough to love. I keep hoping something will click and I'll fall for it, but I'm halfway through and seriously considering not finishing it.
***
Now, having finished it, I can say I'm glad I read it, that the last third or so had much more narrative urgency than the first two-thirds. I wonder if this should have been a novella rather than a full-length book, if everything it needed is actually contained in the last 60 pages or so. The characters of Miranda and Adam, who have been rather unlikable for much of the book, become suddenly three-dimensional, complex, and much more interesting. I think some pruning and reshaping would have made this book much better.
But Gordon is at her best a wonderful writer, and in the last 60 pages or so, she demonstrates once more why she's a renowned fiction writer.
***
Now, having finished it, I can say I'm glad I read it, that the last third or so had much more narrative urgency than the first two-thirds. I wonder if this should have been a novella rather than a full-length book, if everything it needed is actually contained in the last 60 pages or so. The characters of Miranda and Adam, who have been rather unlikable for much of the book, become suddenly three-dimensional, complex, and much more interesting. I think some pruning and reshaping would have made this book much better.
But Gordon is at her best a wonderful writer, and in the last 60 pages or so, she demonstrates once more why she's a renowned fiction writer.