It seems like a long time ago that we met to discuss this book - we had a great time and as usual the conversation went all over. As far as the book was concerned, we mostly liked it and thought it was really well-written and creative in its plotting.
It would have been nice however, to have at least one sympathetic person in the book. Even Venice was characterized as unpleasant - gloomy, cold, foggy and chaotic in its geography and its inhabitants. The Palazzo where the newlyweds stayed was a particular example of the unpleasant atmosphere. (Julie W. says she was in Venice in the winter, and that the descriptions were not wrong.) The writing was gorgeous, very evocative of unstable people in an unstable environment.
Not that the instability wasn't their fault - it definitely was. The narrator was pompous, self-important, self-indulgent and capable of much very bad behavior, to his wife and to others. He was also way in over his head in a scheme he couldn't possibly have anticipated, one that hinged on him (on this honeymoon) falling for another (married) woman. Not the type you want your daughter to marry.
On the other hand, Laura, the daughter who did marry him was largely absent from the narrative, disappearing after their first night in Venice. As it turns out, she had a long-term plan that was largely dependent on her husband's behaving just as he did. Wow.
This was a great read but it did move fairly slowly, depending completely on the tense, psychological tension that built to a surprising but somewhat anti-climactic ending. Still, John Banville is a master, and this is a great place to start. His book, The Sea won the Booker in 2005. I tried to find out how many books he had written and the answer is around 40. He has written under a number of names in a number of genres, so evidently it is hard to count. I hope all the royalties are straight.
And so on we go - August is a tough month to get together as so many were traveling, also true in September. We thought we would try to meet on August 17, maybe at a wine bar for whoever is around. We didn't really decide on a book for that (unless I forgot?) so maybe it can be a "What are you reading lately?" type of evening. I love those.
September will have to be early, the 14th. Any suggestions for what to read? Any volunteers to host? I hope so, let me know!
