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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Complex and thought-provoking, June 29, 2009
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First of all, the book jacket and the Amazon blurb describing the book are incredibly superficial. They don't say at all what this book is about.
Enough rant. Anyway, structurally, this book is as complex as they come, with flash-backs and flash-forwards within each other, and changes in time and place coming without notice. However, the big-picture story is always the same, just being told from another perspective and at a different time. I was left with the feeling I was in the company of a master story-teller, who decided to drop his main narrative for a while in order to explain an earlier thing or two before proceeding. It works, and I was captivated. Part of my interest came from the fact that by accident, I am familiar with many of the settings of the book--New York, Washington, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Maine (yes, the story does move around...), and I like the way the author caught the essence of all of them.
The plot consists of a number of interwoven and interdependent stories. Each story per se is not terribly special. Boy meets girl, marries her, endures personal and professional difficulties, and gets on with his life. Girl immigrates to the U.S., meets boy and marries him, but still longs for the old country, eventually finds her bliss. Fathers have children, then adventures, and finally resolution. That's all ok, but taken individually not terribly uplifting or unique. The interactions among the different plot lines are fascinating, though, and combine together to create a wonderfully intricate story.
What makes the book special, besides the structural fireworks that are fun to observe, is the way it brings out the conflicts that most of us feel at one time or another. The old and familiar vs. the new and exciting. Thinking and reflecting vs. acting without thinking or reflecting. Freedom of thought and speech vs. freedom of action. Above all, the book is about the price we pay for our freedoms, whatever they are. Every main character has freedoms and acts on them, but each pays a heavy price for the freedoms he or she enjoys. To say much more might spoil the book for some, so I'll just conclude with the thought that this is a well-written and excellent book.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All Exiles In The Garden of Life, July 6, 2009
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Everyone is wounded in his or her own way in this very adult, highly pensive new novel by Ward Just. As the book opens, Alec, a Washington photographer, is at the bedside of his father, the long-nosed, multi-term power broker Senator, who is dying. We learn right away that his marriage has ended: Lucia, born Czech but raised in wartime Switzerland, ran off years ago with a dashing Hungarian with a strong sense of purpose. We also learn that Lucia had a limp, the result of a ski accident that left her partially maimed.
And Alec? He is the only one who has not suffered broken bones or scars, it seems, but he DOES suffer from macular degeneration -- an inability to see clearly. There is subtle symbolism in nearly every page of this masterfully-written novel.
The novel soars when it focuses squarely on the marriage of Alec and Lucia in the 1960s; a town with a powerful social structure, a sense of glamor and excitement with JFK at the helm. Lucia is particularly intrigued by the mysterious emigre couple next door; Alec differs, believing they are "damaged goods, a second-rate theatrical troupe giving nightly performances of the heartbreak of central Europe."
But things change quickly. The couple moves away, and another couple move in -- loud lawyers who tear down part of the garden to build a tennis court. JFK gives way to LBJ and then Nixon. Alec and Lucia move to a bigger house and Lucia moves overseas, leaving him for a chance of a more authentic life with her Hungarian. And Alec? He lives on, avoiding conflict, keeping as far as he can from the Washington scene, living his life the best he can on the sidelines. That is, until, decades later, he comes face to face with Lucia's mysterious father, who was imprisoned first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets, risking his life and abandoning his family for his ideology.
This subtle and well-written book demands concentration from the reader. But the questions it asks are timeless: "When do we become exiles in our own life? Is there true honor in turning down the opportunities for adventure to remain true to oneself? Are we foreigners ourselves in our own country?" I particularly enjoyed the inside look at Washington at a time when everything was changing.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Character Study, August 5, 2009
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Ward Just's newest novel, Exiles in the Garden, follows the life of Alec Malone, a photographer in Washington D.C. Sentimental, yet political, this story and writing are worth the read.
+4
- The characters in this story are honest and intelligent. Alec stays true to himself, not changing for his father, mother, wife Lucia or his employers. While his decisions to never compromise result in loneliness and a sense of professional longing, he does his best to move forward, starting when we meet him in his twenties until the end of the novel when he is in his seventies. The women in his life, Lucia, Annalise and daughter Mathilde, are ambitious and determined to make their lives their own. Lucia's father Andre is the perfect foil for Alec, their few, intense conversations making this painfully obvious to the main character. While all of the characters may not be likable, they definitely have depth. This novel is driven more by character than plot.
- I appreciated the shifts in point of view the novel takes. A majority of it is told from the perspective of Alec, but occasionally the narrative thread will follow either Lucia or Annalise, allowing the reader insight into why they make the decisions they make.
- Just makes use of his political and historical background, effortlessly educating the reader on Washington's culture.
- The ending is realistic and appropriate.
- Doesn't rely on flashy wit or pop-culture; good old-fashioned writing.
-1
- The novel was a little difficult to get into; get past the first thirty pages and it picks up.
- Occasionally passages seem to ramble on with excess descriptions. They are well written, I just found them tedious at times.
This isn't a quick, easy read. It's not full of Washington scandal or sex, it's a novel built on two characters and how what they loved drove them apart.
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