Review - Based Upon Availability by Alix Strauss

Based Upon Availability by Alix Strauss
published 6/10
352 pages

Synopsis from publisher:

From the very first page of this stunning novel, readers are drawn into the lives of eight seemingly ordinary women who pass through Manhattan's swanky Four Seasons Hotel. While offering sanctuary to some, solace to others, the hotel captures their darkest moments as they grapple with family, sex, power, love, and death.

Trish obsesses over her best friend's wedding and dramatic weight loss. Robin wants revenge after a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her older sister. Anne is single, lonely, and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Drug-addicted rock star Louise needs to dry out. Southerner turned wannabe Manhattanite Franny is envious of her neighbors' lives. Sheila wants to punish her boyfriend for returning to his wife. Ellen so desperately wants children that she insists she's pregnant to her disbelieving husband. And Morgan, the hotel manager--haunted by the memory of her dead sister--is the thread that weaves these women's lives together.

My thoughts:

I'm having an unusually hard time writing this review, because my thoughts about this book are rather mixed. Parts of the novel worked well for me, and parts just bugged me enough to keep me from being able to fully immerse myself in the flow of the narrative.

I loved the idea of the novel - I'm a big fan of authors who can take several lives or events that seem to be completely random and weave those strands together into a cohesive whole. In many ways, Strauss was very successful with that aspect of her novel. She created 8 women who were nothing like each other - women who, under normal circumstances, would most likely never even meet - and found ways to entwine them with each other that felt surprising and yet natural. My favorite parts of the novel involved the interactions these women had with each other.

Having said that, I never really felt an emotional connection to any of the women in the story. They were all interesting, and fairly well-drawn, but none of them really drew me into their life in such a way that I HAD to know how their story was going to end. Morgan in particular was difficult to sympathize with - almost from the beginning, I felt like distancing myself from her.

I think Strauss is a good writer - and if you browse through other reviews of this book, you will find lots of readers who enjoyed this novel very much. I was just never compelled to keep reading, which is what I'm really looking for when I sit down with a story. Especially now, with my reading time starting to disappear, I want to find a book that makes me forget about everything around me, and get lost in the story. This book was fine, but never quite swept me away.

Finished- 6/20/

Source - review copy compliments of TLC Book Tours - thanks!

MPAA Rating - definitely R, for sexual situations, violence, and language

My rating - 6/10

Don't just take my word for it! If this book peaks your interest, check out the other stops on this tour (Hint - most of them like it more than me...):

Tuesday, June 8th: nomadreader

Wednesday, June 9th: Raging Bibliomania

Thursday, June 10th: Book Addiction

Monday, June 14th: Dolce Bellezza

Tuesday, June 22nd: Heart 2 Heart

Wednesday, June 23rd: Reading on a Rainy Day

Thursday, June 24th: As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Tuesday, June 29th: Booksie’s Blog

Wednesday, June 30th: Starting Fresh

Date TBD: Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?

Review - The Great Lover by Jill Dawson

The Great Lover by Jill Dawson
published 6/10
310 pages

Synopsis from publisher:

In 1909, sixteen-year-old Nell Golightly is a housemaid at a popular tea garden near Cambridge University, and Rupert Brooke, a new tenant, is already causing a stir with his boyish good looks and habit of swimming naked in nearby Byron's Pool. Despite her good sense, Nell seems to be falling under the radical young poet's spell, even though Brooke apparently adores no one but himself. Could he ever love a housemaid? Is he, in fact, capable of love at all?

Jill Dawson's The Great Lover imaginatively and playfully gives new voice to Rupert Brooke through the poet's own words and through the remembrances of the spirited Nell. An extraordinary novel, it powerfully conveys the allure of charisma as it captures the mysterious and often perverse workings of the human heart.

My thoughts:

A few years ago, I became fascinated with The Bloomsbury Group, the cadre of writers and artists living in and around London in the early 1900s. I knew Rupert Brooke was an acquaintance of many of the key players in the group - specifically Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey - so I was eager to read this fictionalized account of his life.

I found Dawson's portrayal of two colliding worlds - Rupert's one of education and privilege, and Nell's one of hard work and struggle - to be quite compelling. By allowing both Nell and Rupert to share their story in their own voice, the contrast between their mindset and situation is stark. The reader never has to guess why this particular love affair is doomed to fail - the failure is inevitable, almost from the very beginning. And yet Dawson's skill as a writer kept me turning the pages, even as I knew already how it would end.

But I found this novel to be much more than a love story - really, it was an insightful and carefully constructed character sketch of two equally fascinating people. Rupert's free spirit and lofty ideals, and Nell's quiet intelligence and gentle care for those she loved made me care about what happened to each of them, quite separately from their relationship to each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed the reading of this novel. I don't think it will appeal to everyone - there is, at times, not a whole lot of plot, and I can imagine some readers will feel bogged down in the character's descriptions of rather mundane, everyday situations. But it worked for me, and I continue to be fascinated by this particular period of history, and it's vibrant but ultimately doomed heroes and heroines.

Finished: 6/6/10
Source: review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours - thank you!


MPAA Rating - most like R, because while the sexuality isn't explicit, it's prevalent
My rating: 7/10


If this book sounds interesting, check out the other stops on it's tour:

Wednesday, June 2nd: Books Like Breathing

Thursday, June 3rd: Eclectic/Eccentric

Monday, June 7th: Peetswea

Tuesday, June 8th: As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Wednesday, June 9th: Bookstack

Thursday, June 10th: Nonsuch Book

Monday, June 14th: 1330v

Tuesday, June 15th: Literate Housewife

Tuesday, June 22nd: My Two Blessings

Wednesday, June 23rd: Thoughts From an Evil Overlord

Thursday, June 24th: The Tome Traveler

Review - The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier

The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier
published 4/10
285 pages

Synopsis from publisher:

Coming-of-age can happen at any age. Joy Harkness had built a university career and a safe life in New York, protected and insulated from the intrusions and involvements of other people. When offered a position at Amherst College, she impulsively leaves the city, and along with generations of material belongings, she packs her equally heavy emotional baggage. A tumbledown Victorian house proves an unlikely choice for a woman whose family heirlooms have been boxed away for years. Nevertheless, this white elephant becomes the home that changes Joy forever. As the restoration begins to take shape, so does her outlook on life, and the choices she makes over paint chips, wallpaper samples, and floorboards are reflected in her connection to the co-workers who become friends and friendships that deepen. A brilliant, quirky, town fixture of a handyman guides the renovation of the house and sparks Joy's interest to encourage his personal and professional growth. Amid the half-wanted attention of the campus's single, middle-aged men, known as the Coyotes,and the legitimate dramas of her close-knit community, Joy learns that the key to the affection of family and friends is being worthy of it, and most important, that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.

My thoughts:

I'd read a few reviews of this novel before I started reading it, and so was expecting to enjoy it. What I didn't expect was to enjoy it for many of the OPPOSITE reasons as the other reviews I'd read.

Almost universally, I saw readers enjoy the prose - I couldn't agree more. The writing is smart and funny, and Meier's descriptions of Joy's house as she begins to transform it are so vivid I could literally see the wallpaper and paint. I was transfixed as Meier described the revolutionary curriculum Joy contributed to at Amherst, and wished I could have been a part of something like that when I was in college.

While almost everyone enjoyed the writing, several reviewers didn't especially like Joy herself - they found her abrasive, or snotty, or distant. I really liked her - I found her intellect and sense of humor refreshing, and could relate to many of her personality quirks. (I'm not sure what that says about me!) I also noticed a LOT of love for Teddy the handyman - and in many ways, he was my least favorite character. I found his unreasoning attachment to his mother irritating, and many of the "childlike" traits that were supposed to be endearing seemed to me juvenile and ridiculous. Perhaps what this book taught me is that I'm really just a big snob. *grin*

I was particularly interested in Meier's opinions on feminism, particularly modern feminism, and the way it seems to mean such different things to different people. I appreciated her strong, rich, interesting female characters, and could imagine myself being drawn to them for many of the same reasons Joy was.

I found this to be an excellent debut novel, funny and intelligent, thoughtful and full of heart. This is an example of women's fiction at its best.

Finished: 5/25/10
Source: review copy from publicist
MPAA rating: PG-13 for sexual situations, some drug and alcohol use, and some violence
My rating: 8/10