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A review by theanitaalvarez
The Sorrows of an American by Siri Hustvedt
5.0
My granny lent me this book, because I was raiding her shelves and was intrigued about the title. So, before reading it I did a little search on Google and found out that Siri Hustvedt is married to Paul Auster. I guess that some people say that she’s published only because she is Paul Auster’s wife, as it has happened with other writers before.
This is not the case for Hustvedt. I believe she got published on her own merits.
I enjoyed Sorrows of an American a lot! It’s the kind of book that hooks you and makes you keep reading for hours.
The story is narrated by Erik Davidsen, a psiquatrist who has recently lost his father. When looking into his stuff, he and his sister Inga, find a mysterious note written by a certain Lisa, which hints at some terrible in their parents life.
But that’s only the first secret the novel is about. Besides the mysterious life of his father, Erik deals with the messed-up relations between his neighbor, an attractive woman with a little girl, and her psycho ex-boyfriend; Inga’s discovering her husband’s secret life; and his patient’s in general.
The plot is a beautiful and delicate weave of life, secrets, lies and truths, that reveals moments in the life of the different characters. All of them were quite weird, to say the truth. Besides Erik’s patients, we have Erik’s niece, Sonia, who clearly has issues and writes little snippets of poetry, a pair of women who create elaborated and detailed dolls with horrible stories behind them (and treat them almost as national secrets), the psycho ex-boyfriend who takes pictures in the streets and breaks and enters Erik’s house with no reason at all, Max’s (Inga’s deceased husband) actress lover… and many others. The story develops around these character’s craziness and the decisions they take, however insane they might be.
I like being able to take a look at other’s lives. I feel a little as a spy, but there’s something great about this kind of wriritng. It is almost as if the characters are there and we can see and hear them. It takes a great writer to create such an atmosphere, but Hustvedt manages it. Erik’s voice is compelling, ironic and overall interesting. A story told in first person must have a good narrator.
The ending is kind of anti-climatic. Mr. Davidsen’s secret is not as terrible and dark as his kids had envisioned, Inga resolves her problems with Max’s lover (I’ll admit it laughed a bit in that part, it’s just hilarious) and life goes on. We have gotten to share a little of the characters’ lives and we just have to leave them at some point.
Hustvedt’s writing is elegant and entertaining; it kept me going despite the multiple plot lines (I’ll admit I get distracted when I get a book with too many plot lines, especially when they are so closely related). And I had a great time reading, so I guess that it is the best recommendation I can give about this book.
This is not the case for Hustvedt. I believe she got published on her own merits.
I enjoyed Sorrows of an American a lot! It’s the kind of book that hooks you and makes you keep reading for hours.
The story is narrated by Erik Davidsen, a psiquatrist who has recently lost his father. When looking into his stuff, he and his sister Inga, find a mysterious note written by a certain Lisa, which hints at some terrible in their parents life.
But that’s only the first secret the novel is about. Besides the mysterious life of his father, Erik deals with the messed-up relations between his neighbor, an attractive woman with a little girl, and her psycho ex-boyfriend; Inga’s discovering her husband’s secret life; and his patient’s in general.
The plot is a beautiful and delicate weave of life, secrets, lies and truths, that reveals moments in the life of the different characters. All of them were quite weird, to say the truth. Besides Erik’s patients, we have Erik’s niece, Sonia, who clearly has issues and writes little snippets of poetry, a pair of women who create elaborated and detailed dolls with horrible stories behind them (and treat them almost as national secrets), the psycho ex-boyfriend who takes pictures in the streets and breaks and enters Erik’s house with no reason at all, Max’s (Inga’s deceased husband) actress lover… and many others. The story develops around these character’s craziness and the decisions they take, however insane they might be.
I like being able to take a look at other’s lives. I feel a little as a spy, but there’s something great about this kind of wriritng. It is almost as if the characters are there and we can see and hear them. It takes a great writer to create such an atmosphere, but Hustvedt manages it. Erik’s voice is compelling, ironic and overall interesting. A story told in first person must have a good narrator.
The ending is kind of anti-climatic. Mr. Davidsen’s secret is not as terrible and dark as his kids had envisioned, Inga resolves her problems with Max’s lover (I’ll admit it laughed a bit in that part, it’s just hilarious) and life goes on. We have gotten to share a little of the characters’ lives and we just have to leave them at some point.
Hustvedt’s writing is elegant and entertaining; it kept me going despite the multiple plot lines (I’ll admit I get distracted when I get a book with too many plot lines, especially when they are so closely related). And I had a great time reading, so I guess that it is the best recommendation I can give about this book.