Customer Reviews

The City is a Rising Tide: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a fan of Rebecca Lee's stories in the Atlantic for years and was lucky enough to get my hands on an early review copy of her novel which is if anything even more lyrical and devastating than her earlier work. Imagine hearing the most interesting and personal gossip about the most mysterious and colorful and glamourous people, whispered in your ear by your genius friend who casually cites poetry and is interested above all in how and why we live and love. Besides being hilarious and sharply observed and a page-turner, this book almost off-handedly returns again and again to these questions: Why does life break our hearts? Is it okay to feel this way? What does it mean to love?

Nobody else writes like Rebecca Lee -- lyrical and satirical by turns, she delivers a compellingly human story in exquisitely precise and poetic prose.

Rebecca Lee writes wonderfully. Her phrases and use of language are impeccable and gorgeous. But I have to say that despite enjoying the book quite a lot, I was left unsatisfied by the ending. I was left with so many unanswered questions, I wished she would have added an extra chapter to wrap the story better.

Lovely, witty The City is a Rising Tide is full of lyrical prose and insight: "it seems ridiculous that you can just reach out and touch a person whenever you feel like it"; "sleep in its mercy pulling the plug on their personalities." Each short chapter has moments of richly rendered, unconventional wisdom. And each character in the book's absorbing, unusual plot is singular and idiosyncratic, not one of them representative of any idea or genre, only themselves.

What a terrific read. Lee's lyrical prose is put to great use in this novel. The characters feel like old friends.

Rebecca Lee's book is hysterically funny. Not only that but I like her last name. :) The comedy is dark with a rapier sharp edge. One example is a drug company that donates slow moving products to charities for tax write-offs that results in diet aids being donated to starving Africans. The situations are comically bizarre such as the couple who wants her boss Peter to design a house for them based on their real-life movement patterns. This results in inviting the main character, Justine Laxness, and her boss to a field where they figure out where they'll sleep, prepare food, sit as if on a pretend sofa, and then design the house from those movements. It's silly. It's strange. It works. Justine is Peter's administrative assistant at the Aquinas Foundation in New York City and gathers large amounts of money. Their biggest project is to build the Noodle House on the Yangtze River. The Noodle House will be part hospital, part spa, and part spiritual retreat for those celebrities who can afford a private room there. Unfortunately, the Chinese government decides to expand a dam; so while Aquinas still owns the property, it'll be under water. Yes, it's silly and strange, but then fiction can sometimes be at least as strange as the truth, particularly in Rebecca Lee's world. Justine kind of falls in love with a lot of men without actually ever making it definite (physical) such as her love for a film maker James Nutter who writes a screenplay about a boy who turns into a girl whenever his emotions go into high gear. Nutter is also directing the film and spends days getting a picture of wheat or the boy's head. This results in Justine making an unofficial $300,000 loan with Aquinas' money to keep the movie going. The book has somewhat of an unresolved ending as Lee leads us to expect Justine will be indicted on money laundering charges, but leaves us before the action is fully resolved. However, maybe that wouldn't be funny; so it's better to end the book before the shoe drops. Rebecca Lee's novel is breezy to read and laugh-out-loud funny. Enjoy!

This book is an absolute pleasure to read: graceful, intelligent, laugh-out-loud funny. It's the kind of book that makes you look forward to a long commute home from work, and one that leaves you a little sad when you are finished-- knowing that you won't have the pleasure of reading it for the first time. Like many of the best stories, it is incomparable and singular. Drop the book you are reading now, and get this book as soon as possible!

This story is disquieting, off-beat, humorous, thought-provoking, but most of all, it is written in a compelling lyrical voice that slowly draws you in. I'll look for more from Rebecca Lee.

As a poet (Sunlight from Another Day) I strive for the kinds of comparisons that Lee uses. They're deep and distinctive - and lyrical. I'll just say "ditto" to all the 5-star reviews here. Lee is a Master. A transformational writer.

(I thought the ending made for a fine sense of the continuing Journey Home that we're all on - no matter what else may happen in our lives. See Harold Klemp's books for the best on this?)

I actually liked the end of this book very much. The last, maybe, three pages were nice. But I thought the rest of the book was really flat. I kept thinking the main character would develop a personality, or at least fake one. But gawd, was she boring. She was living in New York, she was experiencing unrequited love, two powerful ingredients for wonderful insight. I would actually feel her on the verge of a poignant or at least amusing observation, and...it just never came. It kind of felt like drinking alcohol-free wine. You wait for the buzz, expect it, and then nothing. I'm curious to see how other people felt about this book.

I actually liked the end of this book very much. The last, maybe, three pages were nice. But I thought the rest of the book was really flat. I kept thinking the main character would develop a personality, or at least fake one. But gawd, was she boring. She was living in New York, she was experiencing unrequited love, two powerful ingredients for wonderful insight. I would actually feel her on the verge of a poignant or at least amusing observation, and...it just never came. It kind of felt like drinking alcohol-free wine. You wait for the buzz, expect it, and then nothing. I'm curious to see how other people felt about this book.