I remember driving through the Adirondacks in New York State for hours on back roads years ago, and thinking how easy it would be to get lost in the vI remember driving through the Adirondacks in New York State for hours on back roads years ago, and thinking how easy it would be to get lost in the vast expanse of woods and lakes. So it seemed possible that two children from the wealthy Van Laar banking family could have gone missing in 1961 and 1975.
"Bear" Van Laar disappeared when he was eight years old. While his body was never found, the crime was blamed on someone with flimsy evidence. The Van Laars had a daughter, Barbara, the following year, but the rebellious girl was never treasured like her beloved brother. The Van Laars owned a summer camp on their property, and Barbara's bunk was empty one morning when she was thirteen years old.
Contrasts are shown between the entitled, wealthy Van Laars, and the working class that actually get the work done. There are also characters with mental health and substance abuse problems, notably Barbara's mother who pops pills to forget her problems. One of the main characters is a female crime investigator, one of the first women in law enforcement. Another fascinating character is TJ, a self-reliant camp manager who is happiest when she is working in the woods. The book had a 1960s-1970s vibe to it, especially in the way some men treated the women.
There are two time lines and lots of characters--family members, their rich friends, workers at the summer camp, children at the camp, a notorious serial killer, and investigators. This would be a good book to read when you have a big block of time to make it easier to remember the characters. The ending was totally unexpected, and was a surprising conclusion to a riveting read. This should be an interesting book discussion choice to talk about the dynamics between the characters and the unusual ending....more
Alma Cruz is retiring from her university position, but she still has boxes of rough drafts of stories that she could never finish. She decides to burAlma Cruz is retiring from her university position, but she still has boxes of rough drafts of stories that she could never finish. She decides to bury boxes of unfinished manuscripts in a cemetery she designs in the Dominican Republic. However, some characters refuse to be quieted and they tell their stories to the cemetery's caretaker, Filomena.
There are four main stories that run through the book, and they all have some aging characters. Two stories are about living characters--Alma and her sisters, and Filomena and her relatives. The two main deceased characters are Bionvenida, an ex-wife of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, and Manuel Cruz, a Dominican doctor who immigrated to the United States. Some characters never reveal the whole truth to their families or to the author who is writing their story. A different author might imagine a totally different ending to a character's untold story.
The stories have a good sense of place as the book tells of their lives in the Dominican Republic and New York City. The author uses many Spanish phrases which gives a sense of authenticity to the characters' speech. A reader does not have to speak Spanish since the book is written in a way that you can get a sense of what is being said. Like many Latin American writers, magical realism is an important component of Julia Alvarez's writing.
The untold stories are about family, passion, aging, grief, immigration, and politics. While everything came together in the end, the first half of the book sometimes felt disjointed as it shifted from one story to another, each with many characters. I did admire author Julia Alvarez's creativity and felt that she is probably at a similar point in her life--an older Dominican-American author with many untold stories. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars....more
Chapter 1 starts off the countdown of thirteen days, fourteen hours, and fifty-two minutes before the devastating San Francisco earthquake of April 18Chapter 1 starts off the countdown of thirteen days, fourteen hours, and fifty-two minutes before the devastating San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906. Gemma, an opera singer with a gorgeous soprano voice, arrives in the city hoping that her career would take off. Suling, a seamstress who is known for her intricate embroidery, is planning on leaving Chinatown to avoid an arranged marriage forced on her by her uncle. Alice Eastwood, a real botanist, is an independent woman in the California Academy of Science. Reggie, an artist, seemed to have left San Francisco without notifying anyone. The lives of each of these four people are connected in some way to Henry Thornton, a wealthy man who wants to be known as a patron of the arts. He is an avid collector of Chinese art treasures including "The Phoenix Crown." But there is a dark side underneath Henry's charm.
San Francisco, with its population of both Asian and European heritage, seemed like another character. The book is fast paced as events lead up to the earthquake. Fires raged after the quake, and the firefighters had little water to fight the flames since the water mains had been destroyed by the quake. Individuals had to rebuild their lives with many traveling to foreign cities to find new opportunities. Years pass before the prize in Henry Thorton's collection of Chinese art is seen again at a costume party outside Paris.
Author Janie Chang brought her Chinese heritage to the writing, and Kate Quinn's knowledge from a university major in classical voice enhanced the sections about Gemma's experiences in the opera. This historical novel was beautifully researched while it also had compelling characters and an exciting plot.