Customer Reviews

AMBITION AND LOVE

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I discovered Ward Just with his novel, "Forgetfulness" and began to think that he has a rare talent for capturing the spirits of Americans abroad. Reading "Ambition and Love" about Americans in Paris has confirmed that view. I now think too that he lays open the lives of WASPs and WASPish America, at home and not, with an anthropologist's eye, one who studies and writes about his tribe with a distance, affection and insight that would be the envy of someone like Margaret Mead.

This is a well-written novel, the first I have read by Ward Just. It is rather understated, focusing on a single character and her decisions rather than having many dramatic events. Georgia Whyte works as an artist and ponders whether ambition compromises the act of painting for the love of painting, and whether catering to an audience would make her no more than an "entertainer". While one could wonder whether she makes the best decisions for her future, there is no doubt that she keeps her integrity. This book is the story of how she maintains her dedication to her work, while eventually opening herself to the possibility of dedication to another person.

It seems to me that Ward Just must be one of the most under appreciated authors living today. Since first reading Echo House, I have poured through several of Ward Just's other novels, each just as powerful and wonderful as Echo House. Ambition & Love is fantastic. The characters are alive and real. The story never spins out of control, but maintains a steady, thoroughly engaging pace. I did not want it to end.