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A review by snowmaiden
L'America by Martha McPhee
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It took me a while to get my bearings with this book, which weaves in and out of time in the same way that Ishiguro's novels do. This is a very simple story on the surface, about an American girl and Italian boy who meet while vacationing in Greece in 1982. They try very hard for years to make their relationship work, without ever completely succeeding. It is, as I said, a simple love story, but it's a good one, and anyone who has had a love that didn't quite work out should be able to relate to all the ups and downs.
However, it's much more than just a story of a tragic love. Along the way we learn all kinds of things about Italian food (as well as the food of many other cultures), about daily life in Italy and New York City in the 80's and 90's, and also about what life on a commune in upstate New York is really like. McPhee's writing is sumptuous, if never straightforward. I think the book this reminded me of the most was Crescent, by Diana Abu-Jaber. Four years later, I still haven't completely recovered from that book, and I imagine I'll end up feeling the same way about this one.
However, it's much more than just a story of a tragic love. Along the way we learn all kinds of things about Italian food (as well as the food of many other cultures), about daily life in Italy and New York City in the 80's and 90's, and also about what life on a commune in upstate New York is really like. McPhee's writing is sumptuous, if never straightforward. I think the book this reminded me of the most was Crescent, by Diana Abu-Jaber. Four years later, I still haven't completely recovered from that book, and I imagine I'll end up feeling the same way about this one.