Customer Reviews

Acts of God: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a Mary Morris's fan for a long time and I really loved her latest novel, Acts of God. It is a tour de force!

Set in the Midwest of the 50's and in the breath-taking Pacific coast some thirty years later, clear-eyed Mary Morris weaves an intriguing story of the lasting and devastating effect of a childhood event. The novel's narrator, Tess, was Daddy's girl who accompanied her father, an insurance agent, on trips to farmlands devastated by natural disasters. Then one Indian summer, a mysterious little girl and her mother, Margaret and Clarice Blair, came to town, to Winonah, to live above Santini's Liquor on the wrong side of the town, and forever alter the courses of Tess's and her family's lives. It is about a family secret, a parent's betrayal, class and childhood friendship and much, much more. I recommend this book very highly.

I've been a fan of Mary Morris for a long time, but was blown away by this novel. ACTS OF GOD has Morris' signature prose style (dazzling imagery, lyrical language), but is also richly textured and deftly paced. Her characters are real and complex, and I was thoroughly transported to another time, another place (which is my favorite way to read). Tell your friends, stake out the bookstores, shout it loud: THIS IS AN AWESOME BOOK. In a time when the most banal novels receive the most over-blown praise, ACTS OF GOD truly stands out as a powerful, riveting, and consuming story of what it means to confront your past so you can contend with your present. I LOVED THIS BOOK (and I'm a wickedly hard judge)! Mary Morris is a gifted writer and ACTS of GOD is the perfect showcase for her talents. Bravo!

What a pleasure it was to read Mary Morris's new novel. I love the way she works the surface tension for its underlying meaning--the cut from the razor blade that leaves Squirrel, the main character, wearing her childhood on her arm, the hoarding Squirrel who "doesn't give anythign away" about her real self. Too much risk. I love the way risk runs through--the skewed values, that a child's death is worth less than that of a working spouse, how Squirrel's father, the insurance man, reduces everything to cold math and longing. I love the way Morris so clearly etches the world of Chicago--the old Indian trail, the lake, the maples, and the inner world of her characters into a moving, compelling whole.

Acts of God is complex and true. It follows the metamorphosis of Tess as she faces her past, her father's duplicity, the loss of love, and finally the defenses she's built to protect her from feeling. Morris uses words so skillfully, she allows her descriptions to speak on a deeper level ("My secret was growing inside me," "Paradise was decorated for Christmas," Tess and Margaret as girls whirling in the Riverview Rotor ride, Indian summer leaves crunching underfoot, the tender washing of Tess by her daughter Jade, bringing her back to life). And Morris does all this while telling a compelling story. The tale of her father's double life and its multi-layered effects on Tess would make a terrific movie. I hope I see it on screen some day.

After reading the New York Times review of this book I was horrified. I had read Mary Morris before and happily chose to ignore the horrific New York Times book review.I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it to thoughtful readers. Act of God was well crafted and enjoyable.

I lived with these people for about a week. It seemed that I could not get them out of my head. It was a great read with a realistic ending. All the characters and story lines fit together. Looking forward to reading more of her work

If you grew up in a small Midwestern town in the 1950s and early 60s, Acts of God will strike a deep chord with you. But even if you grew up in another time and another place, you will surely be moved by this extraordinary novel. In a progression of chapters alternately evoking her protagonist's life in contemporary California and her formative years in suburban Illinois, Mary Morris compellingly demonstrates how we do and do not escape the past. The novel is lyrical, sexy, and often funny. Her characters are completely believable, even in their most extreme moments. I thoroughly enjoyed engaging with them right up until the novel's unexpected but deeply satisfying conclusion. I was sorry to see it end.

For many of us that grew up as kids in the 50's, this novel will awaken memories of your childhood. For those who were parents in the 50's, Mary Morris brilliantly depicts family life and parental relationships. Not quite as caustic as _The Women's Room_, Mary Morris easily reconstructs the roles of the 50's wife and mother, not to mention, the single mother that rocks the town with her seductiveness.

The main character, Tess, reluctantly travels to her hometown on the shore of Lake Michigan for her 30th high school reunion. This is the preface for the unfolding of her past and how she copes with her present. Shocking secrets are revealed and bittersweet heartbreaks from long ago are revisited.

Tess could not avoid "Margaret", dubbed the new girl long ago by Tess and her gal-pal gang. Introduced to the elementary class as "the new girl", the nick name stayed with Margaret all through her school years. At first, Tess was determined not to allow this new girl to upset the status quo of the girl's group. Eventually, Tess finds herself alternately repelled and intrigued by Tess.

Insecure and different, Margaret is determined to establish a relationship with Tess, thereby merging with the gang. Margaret emulates Tess, deliberately copying her dress, inviting herself into Tess' home and flirting with her boyfriends. Tess was torn with her feelings about Margaret. She felt angry with Margaret when Margaret forced herself on their play group. At times she felt pity and sympathy for this wild, lost soul crying for her daddy that was to come and take her away from her mother so she could live with him. At other times, she felt excited by Margaret's crazy spirit. Margaret challenged Tess to tempt fate and flirt with danger, a heady experience for a young girl committed to being "a good girl".

Tess, a "daddy's girl" was devoted to her father. A traveling claims insurance adjuster, he must take to the road every Sunday night, and return Thursday or Friday. Tess and her two brothers try to cope with his absense, but, Lily, their mother struggles to adjust and eventually begins to decompensate. Her behavior becomes more bizarre in his absence, confrontational in his company. Tess and her brothers keep busy with their age appropriate activities. Tess has a sleep over, everyone reveals secrets in a game they play. Margaret holds back. She has a secret, but it is so huge, so awful, she will not tell a soul. Tess feels left out, she can not think of one secret she knows that she could confide.

The reunion dredges up memories that Tess was content to let lie. But, a gathering storm prevails, and it has been coming for a long time. A tornado of secrets finally vents it's fury, and the casualties become evident. When all is said and done, the acts of all these characters leads to a climatic conclusion. No one is left untouched.

It is very rare for me to get 50 pages from the end of a book before I realize it was a waste of my time to read it. Acts of God had so much promise, but then disintegrated into a badly written romance novel towards the end. It was as if Morris got into the story and then forgot who her main character was. Or as if she'd run out of steam and let someone else write the last 50 pages.

I found this to be a quick enjoyable read. The writing is very clear and straightforward, and the plot certainly held my attention. There were many interesting analogies drawn in this novel. The character of Margaret was both villan and victim, just as Tess was, the reader is both drawn and repelled by her at the same time. A compelling look at small town life, "traditional" family values, and the harboring of secrets.