Customer Reviews

A Collection of Beauties at the Height of Their Popularity: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an amazing book. It is beautiful, enchanting, and a little bit cynical. The plot weaves in and out among itself: the book is composed of a series of what at first appear to be independent short stories, but soon begin to link and spread, forming a connecting and disconnecting network. The stories skip in and out of time and place, following a pattern in theme rather than in chronology; the discontinuity can be confusing if you want to remember everything, but it contributes wonderfully to the dissipative, collectivist mood of the book. Each story opens with a copy of a Japanese print and a description that is meant to parallel the events of the story, and the book as a whole is meant to reflect a famous Japanese diary. These connections are occasionally obvious and often obscure; searching for them is part of the excitement of reading such an interwoven work. The prose is always smooth and often beautiful, and the characters and plot are developed with a distinct sense of artistry. The book as a whole is amazingly balanced, readable, and occasionally stunning. It deserves to be read slowly and in a quiet room.

This book was brillant. If you only read one book this year, make it this one! It was enchanting, engrossing and I couldn't put it down. The japanese prints were a nice and fitting touch to intricately woven stories and the characters, while not always accessible (I think that was the point) were interesting and warm. I loved the back drop of San Francisco and the descriptions of the inside of the tea room.
Otto is an amazing writer. I have read all of her books (more than once!) and would recommend all of them highly. She is creative, articulate, intelligent and has a way with words. You won't regret it!

Otto's book reads as many short stories about love, finding love, or missing love that are interconnected. The characters all know each other or someone who knows that person. The people are young, living on their own or with roommates, working, and partying. However, they don't see themselves as going anywhere, career-wise, even though they are intelligent.

The author includes Japanese art at the beginning of each chapter, which lead you into the story. She even includes photos of art seen by characters at a museum, which is very unusual. These really added to the story. I have never seen that before, but it was engaging. Highly recommend, if you are looking for something smart and different.

I found this book very charming. The front page of each chapter contains a lovely pictorial reference to the Japanese floating world of Edo, a reinforcement of the feeling the book evokes, of an ephemeral age and time - a signature of a particluar generation - this one in the 1980's in a city that itself is a delight - San Francisco. Its characters are an ensemble of detached, almost superficial, visually cued men and women (boys and girls?) of late twenties redeemed by their sense of kindness and by open caring and affection. It reminded me very much of a book of equal sweetness set a decade ealier in the 1970's - Vibram Seth's The Golden Gate, a lyrical poem set in the Bay Area that captured the mixed up romances and changes of a different, more hopeful, pre-AIDS generation. Both books have a lightness and loving nature with the City itself more a stage than stadt.

The chapters intertwine characters and timelines like a Shakespearean Oberon, Titania and the path-crossing lovers. The only shortfall is that we never get to know any one character very well. All educated, some are users, some self-consciously detached, a few with a described past, none with exact ambitions. What they all share is a "floating" before landing into the not yet arrived-at weight of jobs, marriage, committment, irrevocable choices or downhill slides, as they pass into their 30's. Maybe many of us landed earlier, especially now that marriage is a sooner thing than it was in the 70's and 80's. But even without a connection to either a belated coming of age, being young in the 80's or a feeling for S.F. (I lived in S.F. in the 70-80's), this is still a reading pleasure, at least a light read for the beach, a cut above the predictable romances. It's bound to refresh.

Whitney Otto writes (in her usual wonderful prose) a tale of the late twentieth century's "lost generation." Using a storeline loosely inspired by a series of Japanese prints of beautiful courtesans, Otto writes of a group of intelligent young women struggling for purpose and love in 1980's San Francisco. Her observations on friendship vs. love, ambition vs. worth, art vs. celebrity, and youth vs. age are all dead-on and often gently humorous. My only complaint is the over-all tone of melancholy, but perhaps that is how many clear-sighted people perceive modern life.

All of her little books have Oriental book jackets, all similar, and she uses the same format of short vignettes to tell varied and many stories. A COLLECTION OF BEAUTIES, goes back in time to the late-twenties and early-thirties to the fetish of beauty and youth. No age is perfect.

These characters will realize sooner or later that beauty fades as they age, and there is nothing they can do about it. These related tales are reminiscent of her earlier books, and she seems to be searching for her Japanese roots in this one in particular.

Sometimes, beauty is on the inside of a person, no matter what age; some older women are still beautiful until their eyes get sunk in. The changing hair is fascinating, and who cares whethre you dye it some outrageous color or not. Natural is better but, let me tell you, there is no "aging gracefully." These women have much to learn before they can truly be beauties.

I bought this right after reading The Passion Dream Book by her - which I loved. I liked this one a lot too. This one is a little less coherently linear and a bit harder to fit together but still it's wonderful! The writing is exceptional, the images evoked are ethereal and realistic, the characters are people you come to care about (and get disappointed when they don't return!) Quote from page 172 - "As her mind wanders she censors none of the random thoughts that blend, melt, give way, and transform into other random thoughts. This inconsequential circling around a central pressing thought. It is pleasant to sit this way, allowing her mind to clip along, relaxed, feeling its muscle as it sorts through the ridiculous and the profound." Otto is an excellent writer and I look forward to reading more by her - she's fast becoming a favorite author.

It is impossible not to be transported back to the early 1980's in San Francisco while reading this book. The cast is huge, and we get to see only a small sliver of their life...which is a bit annoying. We also don't have any or very little background on most of the characters as well. However, the book still is a good read, for it intertwines art and poetry into the daily events of the not-yet-ready to become full-fledged adults' lives.

This book left me with a bad feeling. It is well written and I found myself reflecting on insights it offered about people in general. However, I didnt like the characters. San Francisco is the setting and its intertwined in the plot (not really a plot but rather a snap shot of many peoples lives). All the characters are smart, good looking and living in the moment without any regard for other people. They are happiest in each others company partying and druging. They want what they cant have and dont achieve anything. Is Otto saying this is how we all are or just this particular click of friends, I am not sure but I didnt find myself identifying or liking any of them. In spite of my lack of interest for the characters, I did finish it and I admire the author's writting style and talent.

Otto tries to make a parallel with the Japanese pillowbooks (a Japanese courtisan's version of a journal with random thoughts scrawled in bed) with this particular book.

Though the metaphor works to an extent, it is difficult to follow as a novel, with a huge cast of characters and leaves the reader wanting something more -- specifically more of plot development instead of momentary snaphsots.

All the snapshots involve love affairs or some particular hookup for that particular chapter. Now, I'm sure a lot more happened in the 80's than the latest drama of your friend by three degrees. So, the reader, unless he or she's looking for a romance book is left slightly nauseated.

But, I have to say the book is very pretty. Nice typography, layout and even a nice colophon at the end. (for what it's worth, right?)