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A review by servemethesky
De Potter's Grand Tour by Joanna Scott
5.0
De Potter's Grand Tour was not what I was expecting- it was better. I was expecting a book about a man who is lost at sea. I was expecting a nice historical backdrop and a good story. I got all those things, and more.
As we learn about Armand De Potter through his eyes and his wife's, we discover that he's not the man he has cast himself to be. There are many layers to De Potter, and he is the ultimate in self-creation. He crafted his own identity when he first moved to America, and continued to cultivate a persona when he married Amy Beckwith and started his European tour business. This reminded me of Nabokov's work, the ways in which characters (and unreliable narrators) create versions of themselves as they wish to be seen. The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is a good example of this.
I was somewhat confused by the transitions in time in the novel as we flash back from the present (Armand and Aimee) to Armand first moving to America, to Armand at sea, then forward to his wife Aimee and his son Victor after he is lost at sea. This ultimately worked well for the narrative, though, as it cultivated the dreamy, mysterious sense that permeated the novel.
I found the ending surprisingly moving. The subversion of the reader's expectation with regards to Armand's fate, as well as the turn towards Scott herself, and her mother, and all the possibilities and sadness and love represented in the form of the stranger at the door, were enough to make me a little misty-eyed in the final scene.
Scott has expertly crafted a beautiful and poignant novel, an epic and moving love story that subverts expectations throughout. Love this blend of history and literature, fact and fiction. Bravo.
As we learn about Armand De Potter through his eyes and his wife's, we discover that he's not the man he has cast himself to be. There are many layers to De Potter, and he is the ultimate in self-creation. He crafted his own identity when he first moved to America, and continued to cultivate a persona when he married Amy Beckwith and started his European tour business. This reminded me of Nabokov's work, the ways in which characters (and unreliable narrators) create versions of themselves as they wish to be seen. The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is a good example of this.
I was somewhat confused by the transitions in time in the novel as we flash back from the present (Armand and Aimee) to Armand first moving to America, to Armand at sea, then forward to his wife Aimee and his son Victor after he is lost at sea. This ultimately worked well for the narrative, though, as it cultivated the dreamy, mysterious sense that permeated the novel.
I found the ending surprisingly moving. The subversion of the reader's expectation with regards to Armand's fate, as well as the turn towards Scott herself, and her mother, and all the possibilities and sadness and love represented in the form of the stranger at the door, were enough to make me a little misty-eyed in the final scene.
Scott has expertly crafted a beautiful and poignant novel, an epic and moving love story that subverts expectations throughout. Love this blend of history and literature, fact and fiction. Bravo.