Life Drawing (Robin Black)

You won’t find much going on or even very many characters in Robin Black’s stunning debut novel, but in the hands of this talented writer, you don’t need them.  Summed up in one sentence, Life Drawing is about a childless couple who lives in an isolated area until they suddenly get a neighbor.  There, doesn’t sound very exciting, right?  That’s where you’re wrong.

Owen and his wife, Gus, are a writer and artist respectively who are surprised one day to find that someone has moved close to them in their rural area.  Allison is warm and friendly; before long, Owen and Gus come out of their shells and become neighborly, inviting her to come over for dinner.  When Allison’s daughter, Nora, comes to stay for awhile, they all become ingrained in each other’s lives, and Life Drawing quickly becomes a wonderful character study before its shocking, sudden conclusion.

Kudos to Black for this gorgeously written book, where every word is necessary and each paragraph reads like a stirring melody.   

MY RATING - 4

Red Hook Road (Ayelet Waldman)

In literary history, what are most remembered are the characters and their inner turmoils. Even to those unfamiliar with To Kill a Mockingbird's plot, they know Atticus Finch and Scout. A reader may not remember how Alice met The Mad Hatter, but they know the characters. Red Hook Road excels in character study. If the entire novel stayed true to this, it would be Waldman's tour de force. Alas, it does not.

The novel begins at the Red Hook, Maine, summer wedding of Becca Copaken and John Tetherly....young, vivacious, with their whole lives in front of them. While their families and guests wait for them at their reception, they are given the tragic news that the couple has died in a limousine accident. Two families, of very different social classes, have become unwittingly united in their grief in the succeeding summers in Red Hook. Broken apart at times, but forever together, Red Hook Road is the story of the Copakens...Iris, Daniel, Ruthie, and Mr. Kimmelbrod, and the Tetherlys...Jane, Matt, and Mr. Kimmelbrod's protege', Samantha.

I found myself engrossed in these characters until the last few chapters, when Waldman no longer focuses on them. Somehow a microburst (a tornado-like storm) pops up right over the Copakens' annual Fourth of July gathering (how convenient). The Tetherlys and Copakens must work together to survive this out-of-nowhere storm. And lo and behold, they do, and they are not separated anymore! Waldman's coda then comes out of nowhere.

I couldn't wait to finish this book to rush to my blog and give it a 5! Why, oh why, did Waldman have to go and write a cliched plot device at the end? Focus on characters, Ms Waldman, and you'll have a winner every time!

MY RATING - 4

The Embers (Hyatt Bass)

You know a book has you right where it wants you when you just want to get through your ordinary routine of a day to curl up with it. That is "The Embers" in a nutshell. What is so enthralling about the book, however, is not what happens. The plot takes a backseat to the four main characters. "The Embers" is purely a character study, plain and simple.

I am certainly not giving anything away by stating that by page two, the reader knows that one of the four members of the Ascher family is getting married and one has died. Bass alternately juxtaposes the time periods of 1993 and 2007 to tell the stories of the wedding planning and the death. There is very little surprise in the novel and one is not waiting on the edge of the seat to see what happens. You already know what is around the corner.

The reader grows to care about each member of the family, even through all of their faults (and believe me....there are many). I felt happiness for Emily Ascher as her wedding was approaching, but tremendous sadness for Thomas Ascher as his death was imminent.

It is truly hard to believe that this is the debut novel of Hyatt Bass. The prose is at times beautiful and heartwrenching, the cause of laughter and tears. Spend a few days with the Ascher family, and you may appreciate your own just a little bit more.

MY RATING - 5