Before Our Eyes: A Novel [Paperback]

Joan Alden (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A family story charged with so many tragedies could easily lapse into melodrama, except for Alden's ability to give meaning and poignancy to the minutiae of family life. Protagonist Bern Rundle and her father achieve reconciliation, over her mother's wedding dress, in a trunk room packed with boxes filled with the past. Central to the story is brother Jeff's boat accident as a 13-year-old that has left him in a vegetative state. At 27, he lies motionless and fed by tubes in the family dining room, while his room upstairs is preserved the way it was on the day of the accident. Eventually, Bern carries him there to complete his destiny amid his baseball cards, dice and chewing gum. Alden's crisp style and eye for detail enable her to move back and forth in time as Bern deals with her brother's accident, her father's guilt and escape into alcoholism, her mother's budding middle-aged lesbianism and, finally, her own awakened lesbianism. As a photojournalist she documents all this and deliberates the ethics of doing so: "there's a price to be paid for being open, even in a society that's supposed to be free." The only price the book pays is Alden's ( Letting in the Night ) tendency to overanalyze motives and feelings implicit in her narrative.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

For photojournalist Bern, the return home for her father's funeral leads to a confrontation that allows her finally to let go of her family's pain. In a series of flashbacks, Bern revisits her parents' troubled marriage, the tragic accident that left her younger brother in a vegetative state, her mother's love for another woman, and her own growing sexual awareness. The interplay of family memories with Bern's present life makes plausible her decisions to end her brother's life support and to seek out her mother's lover. Gracefully written, this novel presents a thoughtful portrait of a mother and daughter, lesbian relationships, and the complexity of family life. Recommended for most fiction collections.
- Jan Blodgett, St. Mary's Cty. Rec ords Ctr. & Archives, Leonardtown, Md.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Firebrand Books (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563410338
• ISBN-13: 978-1563410338
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,489,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Miscommunication, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Before Our Eyes: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is primarily about family relationship at their low points. One thing is easy to observe. Namely that American independence style of life (the main ingredient, I think) bundled with cold family relationship is very likely to generate the whole range of attitudes in the adult life. Not necessarily healthy ones. It is never a good thing when parents cannot communicate with their children. Children must feel love, devotion and real interest at all times. Later, the frustrations come out. Add alcohol and you are done. A good reading, but there is one objection I have. I do not want to reveal the plot to all those who have not read yet, not to spoil their fun, but the first of the affairs in the book is described flatly, just matter-of-factly. No deep ground, just an observation. This is not something that I find convincing. The second one is artificial and there is nothing I can add to that description. Nevertheless, all technical comments aside, what remains is a good reading, I think. I wish only that the author had devoted more time to construction.