Evening (Vintage Contemporaries) by Susan Minot
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Book Reviews of Evening (Vintage Contemporaries)
Book Review: What It Means To Be Human
Summary: 4 Stars
Evening is not a book for everyone. As a woman lies on her deathbed, she focuses back on her life, which includes three husbands, multiple children, and one shining night of an unrequited love. In her stream of consciousness, the focus shifts frequently between the various portions of her life; the reader must pay careful attention.
It is, however, a book that functions on various level. To me, it was no accident that her last name shifts until she is referred to as "Ann Lord". She has gone through her trials and has ended up with a knowledge of what it means to be human and what it means to transcend her human state.
Whether -- and why -- Harris Arden is a true catalyst is up for each reader to decide. Certainly he is flawed. But the story is less about love thwarted than it is about Ann herself; the one evening when everything is within reach and life is a thrilling journey about to be embarked upon...and the aftermath, when reality begins to dull that exhiliration.
It is, indeed, about a life lived, with all the high points and low points. Minot has taken on an incredibly difficult task and has risen to the occasion admirably.
Book Review: Enchanting Read
Summary: 4 Stars
_Evening_ was the first SM book that I have read and I will definitely read more of her work. What I found so enchanting about this book is the development of the different characters through Ann's memories.
I also particularly enjoyed the provocative style of writing. I felt that Ann's deliriousness was conveyed via her "stream of unconsciousness" iterations. I was drawn into her memories and her mixing of people and events...it seemed realistic based on her detiorarting state.
If you read this book closely, it shouldn't be confusing. It certainly isn't a beach type of read (not that those aren't necessary and useful). I am also really looking forward to seeing the movie based on the book.
Book Review: Whatever We May Think of at the End of Life
Summary: 4 Stars
This was truly a striking story. I didn't like it much at first, but as I continued reading I saw there was something beautiful being realized. I had a good feeling after I finished reading it - I enjoyed the story and admire Susan Minot's confidence to write a novel in this way - her loose, rambling style captured the subconscious mind.
It's true that this is a sprawling story which was sometimes hard to follow but I think that often, that's the way memories get tangled up at the end of life after an illness. It gives the reader an inside view of dying, which is very thought-provoking. I'm intrigued to see the movie and to see how their treatment affects the plot and storyline.
Book Review: Love Lost....
Summary: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this book about a girl who falls in love and remembers this one weekend many years later on her deathbed. Harris Arden was a real manipulator and jerk and even as Ann lay dying, she still does not realize what kind of a man he really was. Only by reading the whole story to the end do you then realized she loved him in vain. I would have given this book 5 stars except for the fact of Minot's writing style when Ann is drifting in and out of a drug-induced haze. Those parts could be a little distracting, but another reader may want to skim over and keep with the main story of Ann's lost love. I read this book in three days and could not put it down!Book Review: Time and Memory Unfolding and Altered
Summary: 4 Stars
Ann Lord relives a passionate weekend from long ago, that had to be forgotten to live the life she was meant to live. Hard to understand, yet universally recognizable, this story weaves a web of magic and sadness....wondering how things would have fit together in a better more hopeful way. Minot writing could be clearer, but once the reader is able to flow with her style, it becomes mesmerizing and almost like living a three dimentional dream. I recommend it for romantics and not for realists.