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A review by maedo
Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub
3.0
So it would seem that I have made good on the promise I made in my review of Other People We Married to read everything Emma Straub writes. I read The Vacationers and Modern Lovers shortly after each of their respective publication dates, actively anticipating their releases -- as I will do for all of her future novels -- but I skipped out on Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures for several years. Not for lack of interest in old Hollywood, but because it appeared humorless.
I have the same standards for a certain type of slice of life domestic modern lit that I have for real life friends: you've got to be able to laugh a little bit.
As it turns out, that prejudgment was correct. Yet, this is probably my favorite of Straub's books so far. I break from other readers here on the opinion that it is flat and dull. The mosaic of one woman's life from a grain-fed Wisconsinite who idolizes her middle sister to an actor/drifter's wife in Los Angeles to a slender, brunette starlet married to a major producer raising children in luxury (and then of course, the inevitable falls from grace) appealed to me.
Straub's writing is really graceful, so unaffected as to seem effortless. The weight of Elsa/Laura's feelings often snuck up on me, especially as she tries to reconcile the Laura Lamont star persona with the girl she still firmly is in some ways, Elsa Emerson from the Midwest. By the end of the book, I felt a nostalgia, as though I had lived through the full life of an it girl in the 30s-40s. I wanted to see her children grow old and happy too. (Even if her son once did.)
My big complaint with the book is that I don't feel that there's nearly enough of Laura Lamont's career success here. It feels very sketchy.
I gave this book 3 stars, as I've done with all of Straub's books so far, but I still recommend her. I like her books. I like her writing. I probably judge her too harshly, compared to other authors, in terms of ambition and originality. Maybe her work is deceptively smooth and unpretentious. But there is nothing wrong with being a writer of breezy, competent, slice of life fiction.
This was a good choice for last book of the year. Good riddance, 2016, but happy 2017 to everyone.
I have the same standards for a certain type of slice of life domestic modern lit that I have for real life friends: you've got to be able to laugh a little bit.
As it turns out, that prejudgment was correct. Yet, this is probably my favorite of Straub's books so far. I break from other readers here on the opinion that it is flat and dull. The mosaic of one woman's life from a grain-fed Wisconsinite who idolizes her middle sister to an actor/drifter's wife in Los Angeles to a slender, brunette starlet married to a major producer raising children in luxury (and then of course, the inevitable falls from grace) appealed to me.
Straub's writing is really graceful, so unaffected as to seem effortless. The weight of Elsa/Laura's feelings often snuck up on me, especially as she tries to reconcile the Laura Lamont star persona with the girl she still firmly is in some ways, Elsa Emerson from the Midwest. By the end of the book, I felt a nostalgia, as though I had lived through the full life of an it girl in the 30s-40s. I wanted to see her children grow old and happy too. (Even if her son once did
Spoiler
set fire to a living animal in the backyard which is unforgivable. I was expecting his story arc to wind up at serial killer, not majorly depressed and conflicted over his sexualityMy big complaint with the book is that I don't feel that there's nearly enough of Laura Lamont's career success here. It feels very sketchy.
Spoiler
Because of the time spent developing her character, through conflicts with her mother and being romanced by her future husband Irving -- a relationship I adored, since it could have gone the way of "rich guy wants hot young thing on his arm" and ended up being intimate, real, adult love -- Laura's career seems to go from zero to Academy Award, then downhill soon after. If the book is truly about her "life in pictures," I'd like to see more of that part of her life.I gave this book 3 stars, as I've done with all of Straub's books so far, but I still recommend her. I like her books. I like her writing. I probably judge her too harshly, compared to other authors, in terms of ambition and originality. Maybe her work is deceptively smooth and unpretentious. But there is nothing wrong with being a writer of breezy, competent, slice of life fiction.
This was a good choice for last book of the year. Good riddance, 2016, but happy 2017 to everyone.