Local Knowledge by Liza Gyllenhaal had it all. A cover that sang out to me with its inviting blue bench on a weathered shingled porch; a back cover blurb offering up a novel about “three friends who are haunted by the tragic mistakes of their past—and who are heading into a future that may have no place for them;” and an opening paragraph that invited you into the story. By page 67, I had met the three friends, each character flatter than the other, and tried to place in my mind a setting that belied its opening description as a “beautiful part of the world.”Knowing that I shouldn’t judge the characters on first impressions, I might have stuck with Local Knowledge; however, it was the setting that was upsetting. Many of us are tracking where our reading travels take us this year, and I never have been a reader who quibbles with every deviation from the geography of a place in a book. If I’m enjoying the journey, the liberties an author might take with what streets intersect or where a particular restaurant is never bother me. With Local Knowledge, however, I just couldn’t get my bearings. Local Knowledge emphasizes, well, local knowledge (a Paxton Mountain Road versus a Paxton Hill Road) but left me as a reader with no grounding in setting. Characters hail from Manhattan and are looking for a weekend house in the country. Western Connecticut? Western Massachusetts? North and east of New York City? I had finally decided on the last given the many references to “upstate” and the reference to the movie theater in Albany. Then I was knocked off these bearings with reference to one of the main characters (in his teenage years in the middle 80s) eschewing the obligatory “backward-facing Red Sox cap.” Well, there went CT and NY and there I was—reader in search of a setting.
I left my bookmark at page 67. Maybe when I’ve whittled down the TBR hills a bit I’ll grab a compass and revisit Maddie Alden and friends to see if I can regain my bearings and agree with all of the five-star ratings this book has received.
7 comments:
The cover has caught my eye several times at the bookstore, tempting me to stop what I'm doing and read the first paragraph or two. It looks like my kind of book. But I trust your reading judgment, as it is so much like my own, and will pass on this, at least for the time being. Keep me posted, Marcia!
I definitely think there's a good story inside that eye catching cover, Les. I had just gotten myself into such a snit over the setting that I wasn't giving it a chance. The book is sitting in plain view of my work space, waiting patiently....
I'm sorry, but I meant to add that the area I wrote about is thick with rabid Red Sox fans. Liza
Liza~ Oddly enough, Maddie was rattling around in my mind this morning as I took the opportunity of sitting in Boston bound traffic to think about what I've been reading. She's obviously getting a little impatient and not willing to wait on my reading table too much longer. She's got a story to tell, and Red Sox cap or not, Maddie wants me to listen!
Oh, good. I hope you'll give her another chance. I think Maddie's story might be a little slow to get into, but I do think you'll be rewarded in the end. I hope so. Please let me know. I enjoy reading your blog and appreciate your insights into books and writing. I'm also a big owl fan. Liza
A very interesting point, Marcia. I went to the author's site, and I wonder if it is the Berkshires of Massachusetts.
http://www.lizagyllenhaal.com/about.html
Oh, just read the comments. Liza must be the author! It certainly is a subject those of us who live in rural areas know well. I'd like to read it.
Oh, and I meant to say I *had* to go looking to see if the author is related to the famous actors, Gyllenhaal, and she is their aunt!
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