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A review by claudiaslibrarycard
The Complicities by Stacey D'Erasmo
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Complicities is a novel that exists outside of our typical expectations while still playing in a familiar enough space. Suzanne is a recently divorced woman, going from extreme wealth to barely making ends meet in a small town on Cape Cod. Her husband was convicted of financial crimes, and the story attends to the ripple effects of what she knew, didn't know, or pretended not to know.
D'Erasmo offers us a strange take on the novel form by spending a significant portion of the story focused on a beached whale. This rare, endangered whale captures Suzanne's attention as well. I think for many readers this emphasis on the whale, it's rescue, it's ultimate slow demise, will be too detailed and drawn out. I expected that for myself but found that I couldn't put this book down. I connected so much to the way Suzanne was trying to do something good while suppressing all memories that reminded her of her own complicities.
While we learn about the whale, we also slowly learn about two other women. It takes a while for us to fully understand who they are, but by the end of the story these three women are so intertwined and also separated by grief. This is the kind of book that makes you sit with some discomfit, considering what our responsibility is in situations we impact directly and indirectly.
I recommend this to a certain reader, one who likes a slow pensive novel with not much plot, a main character who is not fully dislikable but also not redeemed, and someone who enjoys an almost strange level of detail about a tangential topic (in this case, the whale). If those aspects appeal to you, I highly recommend this small but memorable story.
D'Erasmo offers us a strange take on the novel form by spending a significant portion of the story focused on a beached whale. This rare, endangered whale captures Suzanne's attention as well. I think for many readers this emphasis on the whale, it's rescue, it's ultimate slow demise, will be too detailed and drawn out. I expected that for myself but found that I couldn't put this book down. I connected so much to the way Suzanne was trying to do something good while suppressing all memories that reminded her of her own complicities.
While we learn about the whale, we also slowly learn about two other women. It takes a while for us to fully understand who they are, but by the end of the story these three women are so intertwined and also separated by grief. This is the kind of book that makes you sit with some discomfit, considering what our responsibility is in situations we impact directly and indirectly.
I recommend this to a certain reader, one who likes a slow pensive novel with not much plot, a main character who is not fully dislikable but also not redeemed, and someone who enjoys an almost strange level of detail about a tangential topic (in this case, the whale). If those aspects appeal to you, I highly recommend this small but memorable story.