It's time for another pop quiz!
What do The Latecomer and an invisible pencil have in common?
...Give up?
In both cases...I just can't see the point.
The Oppenheimer family are a rich, NYC-based Jewish family with a similarly 'rich' history. Father Salo, an art dealer, can't escape from the memories of an accident he caused as a teen, and the ramifications of this incident linger on...but also led him to his wife, Johanna. The two begin a courtship, but when they attempt to have children, Johanna's infertility struggles lead the couple to the path of IVF and embryos, which eventually give them triplets: Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally. Although multiples are always said to have that unspoken kinship, these three don't get along and don't feel that innate closeness. As time marches on and they head to university, their lives become entangled in ways nobody could have expected, and secrets begin piling up from the past and present, ready to spill over. When Johanna informs the family that a FOURTH embryo, Phoebe, is entering the mix, what will this Latecomer do to the Oppenheimer family dynamic? Is she the link that could change everything...or does fate have an even deeper twist in store?
Jean Hanff Korelitz's last novel, The Plot focused on well, just that. If this one was similarly named, I'd have to call it The (Unlikable) Character Study. The breadth of this book was intimidating from the off, but Korelitz's writing is so smooth and effortless, so Literary with a capital L, that it makes you stop and say "Wow, she can write." And I got that same feeling from this book as her last, so I hoped with some time and patience, I would get past the set-up and the initial grating personality traits and become fully invested in all of the Oppenheimers...and then would be DAZZLED by the plot.
But unfortunately...this book does not possess any of the 'wow' moments I felt while reading the Plot. On the contrary, much of the happenings are simply the pedestrian aspects of each Oppenheimer's life, and they aren't much to talk about at times. Harrison in particular is insufferable (granted, he is one character that is DESIGNED to be awful) but each time I got to one of his chapters, I groaned and tried to grit my teeth until it was over. Phoebe is not even introduced into the narrative until the book is nearly over, so unlike the others, I felt that her character was solely based around "Wow, I wasn't one of the original three. What if I had been?", which is interesting for her to explore...for about 5 pages, and then it got old.
There is also what I consider a completely out of left field and somewhat arbitrary plot twist. Sure, it caught me off guard, but I don't think it needed to be in the book at all and simply seemed to be added for shock value and to make one part of the plot work. This is also the sort of book where each plot thread is somehow stuck or tangled with another...UNTIL the end where magically, everything comes together conveniently. For a writer as brilliant with plotting as Korelitz, I was disappointed with some of the choices she made, because she took realistic writing and plot into the realm of unlikely for me and sort of nullified the positive aspects of the reading experience. I'm not a huge fan of an ending that feels contrived, and this one most certainly did.
It's so hard for me to give this book less than 4 stars, based on writing quality alone, because despite these issues Korelitz is so STRONG as a literary author. Being a bit long-winded and plotting that reads like this would normally deter me much more, but I still came out of this book with a great respect for this author. I just would love to know the WHY behind this book, since that was the largest and most glaring missing piece for me. I'm sure she had a reason for telling this particular story in this particular way...but maybe that too, was simply written with invisible ink.
3.5 stars
#TheLatecomerBook #CeladonReads #partner
What do The Latecomer and an invisible pencil have in common?
...Give up?
In both cases...I just can't see the point.
The Oppenheimer family are a rich, NYC-based Jewish family with a similarly 'rich' history. Father Salo, an art dealer, can't escape from the memories of an accident he caused as a teen, and the ramifications of this incident linger on...but also led him to his wife, Johanna. The two begin a courtship, but when they attempt to have children, Johanna's infertility struggles lead the couple to the path of IVF and embryos, which eventually give them triplets: Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally. Although multiples are always said to have that unspoken kinship, these three don't get along and don't feel that innate closeness. As time marches on and they head to university, their lives become entangled in ways nobody could have expected, and secrets begin piling up from the past and present, ready to spill over. When Johanna informs the family that a FOURTH embryo, Phoebe, is entering the mix, what will this Latecomer do to the Oppenheimer family dynamic? Is she the link that could change everything...or does fate have an even deeper twist in store?
Jean Hanff Korelitz's last novel, The Plot focused on well, just that. If this one was similarly named, I'd have to call it The (Unlikable) Character Study. The breadth of this book was intimidating from the off, but Korelitz's writing is so smooth and effortless, so Literary with a capital L, that it makes you stop and say "Wow, she can write." And I got that same feeling from this book as her last, so I hoped with some time and patience, I would get past the set-up and the initial grating personality traits and become fully invested in all of the Oppenheimers...and then would be DAZZLED by the plot.
But unfortunately...this book does not possess any of the 'wow' moments I felt while reading the Plot. On the contrary, much of the happenings are simply the pedestrian aspects of each Oppenheimer's life, and they aren't much to talk about at times. Harrison in particular is insufferable (granted, he is one character that is DESIGNED to be awful) but each time I got to one of his chapters, I groaned and tried to grit my teeth until it was over. Phoebe is not even introduced into the narrative until the book is nearly over, so unlike the others, I felt that her character was solely based around "Wow, I wasn't one of the original three. What if I had been?", which is interesting for her to explore...for about 5 pages, and then it got old.
There is also what I consider a completely out of left field and somewhat arbitrary plot twist. Sure, it caught me off guard, but I don't think it needed to be in the book at all and simply seemed to be added for shock value and to make one part of the plot work. This is also the sort of book where each plot thread is somehow stuck or tangled with another...UNTIL the end where magically, everything comes together conveniently. For a writer as brilliant with plotting as Korelitz, I was disappointed with some of the choices she made, because she took realistic writing and plot into the realm of unlikely for me and sort of nullified the positive aspects of the reading experience. I'm not a huge fan of an ending that feels contrived, and this one most certainly did.
It's so hard for me to give this book less than 4 stars, based on writing quality alone, because despite these issues Korelitz is so STRONG as a literary author. Being a bit long-winded and plotting that reads like this would normally deter me much more, but I still came out of this book with a great respect for this author. I just would love to know the WHY behind this book, since that was the largest and most glaring missing piece for me. I'm sure she had a reason for telling this particular story in this particular way...but maybe that too, was simply written with invisible ink.
3.5 stars
#TheLatecomerBook #CeladonReads #partner