Even though I usually read multiple books at one time, I try to limit myself to one per genre. Not so earlier this month when I was reading both Writers and Lovers, by Lily King, and The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, by Andrew Sean Greer.
Both were about young women who were struggling on multiple fronts--dealing with loss, betrayal, ambition, family drama, depression, and self worth. Okay, so that fits virtually every piece of modern fiction, but still I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep the two story lines straight.
Turns out, it wasn't that big a problem because Greta bounces between three parallel universes (a rather inventive form of time travel), and Casey (the protagonist of Writers and Lovers) was just so darn compelling.
I ended up really loving Writers and Lovers despite its rather dull title. While Casey struggled with the usual set of issues, and writing about writing is always a bit of a gamble, King made Casey so interesting and lovable that it didn't matter. It's not that I could relate to her, but I sympathized with her, admired her grit, and loved how her inner goodness was able to shine despite the junk she had to deal with. I especially loved her interaction with the two little boys, sons of one of her beaus, which showed her to be such a lovely person at her core.
I had a few issues with the Greta Wells novel and ended up only giving it 3 GoodReads stars. It wasn't the parallel universe thing--I love time travel and willingly suspend my disbelief on a regular basis--it was more that I didn't really like Greta very much and I never really got a good handle on the rest of the characters--her twin brother, his lover, their aunt, her lover/husband (depending on which world Greta was in)--while they were all described in detail, they never became real for me, hence I ended up not really caring that much about what happened to them.
It's interesting to contrast the two novels and my ho-hum reaction to one versus my wholehearted embrace of the other. I think it ultimately comes down to writing. It's not enough to have a good story, the author has to be able to show the depth of the main character and that means authentic dialogue and authentic action-reaction. I felt like Greer wanted to make a point about what it meant to be gay in America in the 20th century, whereas King just wanted to tell Casey's story.
Both novels were set in the not too distant past. Writers and Lovers is set in the 1990s, and The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells is set (initially and off and on) in the 1980s, during the height of the AIDs epidemic. Does that make these actually historical fiction? It's a bit weird to think about, but I think so. While reading the Greta Wells novel, I did find myself looking up dates related to when AIDs became known and remembering the scariness of those times. I don't discount the point Greer was making, I just wish I liked his novel better.
I’ve not read The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells but I did read Writers and Lovers and also really liked it. I’ve also read Lily King’s novel Euphoria and liked it as well. Have you read any Ann Patchett? I feel like she and King are kind of “read alike”. One of the best things about Writers and Lovers was its depiction of restaurant work I found. It was really spot on – the tension and the tedium of it, in my experience.
ReplyDeletePlease, the ‘90s cannot be historical fiction yet, right? LOL.
I really like Ann Patchett--that's a good comparison. I agree, King and Patchett write similarly.
DeleteI've only read Writers and Lovers but I thought the audio was pretty good - it held my interest. I'm curious about THE Impossible Lives of Greta Wells.
ReplyDeleteHmm interesting. Since I read The Great Believers about the AIDS era ... I'm sort of interested to see how the Greta Wells novel handles it. It's such a tragic time but important to revisit. I liked Writers & Lovers ... and I often like novels with writer protagonists ...especially coming of age tales ... and Lily King did it well and also made it entertaining. Glad you liked it
ReplyDeleteAuthenticity and depth and well-written characters are definitely hallmarks of a really great book. I'll have to check out Writers & Lovers. :)
ReplyDeleteWriters and Lovers sounds like the better choice and I agree the plot, the time period and the main characters can be similar but what separates novels is the writing. How many Mr. Rochester inspired novels have there been but there is only one Jane Eyre.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Kathy. There is only one Jane Eyre!
DeleteLove how you reviewed these two books together! Writers & Lovers grabbed me from the first page... Casey was so real and relatable and I loved everything about that book. It's been years since I read Greta Wells. An okay read at the time, but evidently completely forgettable... can't remember a thing about it.
ReplyDeleteI know! Isn't that crazy that the 1980's are historical fiction now?? Seems like only yesterday ...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great reviews of both books - I enjoyed the compare and contrast. I enjoyed Greer's novel Less, which won the Pulitzer, but I am with you on all 3 counts: I love time travel or multiple universes, I have a hard time with books when I don't like the main character, and the writing certainly counts.
I've been hearing a lot of good things about Writers and Lovers - will have to give it a try!
Sue
P.S. You said you wanted to join Big Book Summer again this year - it kicked off yesterday!
2021 Big Book Summer Challenge
I was surprised I liked Writers and Lovers as much as I did - I expected a book so much about writing to be a bit pretentious, and it wasn't. As you've pointed out, the title doesn't do it any favors either. It took a little bit to get into but I ended up loving it. Sorry to hear you were less enthused about Greer's book - I do want to read more by him.
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