Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First of all, the book jacket and the Amazon blurb describing the book are incredibly superficial. They don't say at all what this book is about.
Enough rant. Anyway, structurally, this book is as complex as they come, with flash-backs and flash-forwards within each other, and changes in time and place coming without notice. However, the big-picture story is always the same, just being told from another perspective and at a different time. I was left with the feeling I was in the company of a master story-teller, who decided to drop his main narrative for a while in order to explain an earlier thing or two before proceeding. It works, and I was captivated. Part of my interest came from the fact that by accident, I am familiar with many of the settings of the book--New York, Washington, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Maine (yes, the story does move around...), and I like the way the author caught the essence of all of them.
The plot consists of a number of interwoven and interdependent stories. Each story per se is not terribly special. Boy meets girl, marries her, endures personal and professional difficulties, and gets on with his life. Girl immigrates to the U.S., meets boy and marries him, but still longs for the old country, eventually finds her bliss. Fathers have children, then adventures, and finally resolution. That's all ok, but taken individually not terribly uplifting or unique. The interactions among the different plot lines are fascinating, though, and combine together to create a wonderfully intricate story.
What makes the book special, besides the structural fireworks that are fun to observe, is the way it brings out the conflicts that most of us feel at one time or another. The old and familiar vs. the new and exciting. Thinking and reflecting vs. acting without thinking or reflecting. Freedom of thought and speech vs. freedom of action. Above all, the book is about the price we pay for our freedoms, whatever they are. Every main character has freedoms and acts on them, but each pays a heavy price for the freedoms he or she enjoys. To say much more might spoil the book for some, so I'll just conclude with the thought that this is a well-written and excellent book.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Exiles in the Garden
0 comments:
Post a Comment