Customer Reviews

A Fine Place: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A Fine Place is one of the most beautiful books I have read in a very long time. Montemarano has an amazing talent for getting to the very heart of a place, a time, his characters. He explores (with gorgeous, elegant, precise writing) the hopes and sufferings of people that most of us would pass on the street without a second glance. How Montemarano gets into their minds so effectively I will never know, but he has done so brilliantly. A Fine Place does what only the most effective novels can--shows us a world otherwise beyond our grasp, and shows it to us with such feeling and clarity that we are left quietly reeling.

Nicholas Montemarano's A Fine Place is a remarkable debut, reminiscent of the debut of another great New York writer, Hubert Selby Jr. Last Exit to Brooklyn and A fine Place both illuminate the violence at the heart of a Brooklyn neighborhood, and yet the books' approaches are strikingly different. Selby's book is louder, the violence barely hidden beneath the surface. Montemarano's book is more muted. He depicts the interior lives of mostly decent folk who are caught up in the frustrations and tedium of their neighborhood life. And yet, the explosion of violence which is the central event of the novel, does not come out of nowhere. All the more impressive is the fact that Montemarano weaves a tale, which is captivating, in spite of the quiet nature of the book. His greatest accomplishment is the character Vera, who is a fully realized elderly lady. Montemarano captures old age materfully, and judging by his picure he's not in his seventies, yet. Can't wait for his next one.

I had the privelage of being a student of Nick's in 2000 at Central Missouri State University. I think once in your educational career do you get that professor that changes your life. Nick is that kind of teacher. In my semester of class with him, he changed the way I looked at things. I was a formidable freshman at the time, and he set the tone for how great life can be. He really taught me to stop, look around, and describe what your senses are taking in. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to cross paths with him. This book displays his ability to get inside a characters head, and describe what they are feeling through all senses. It is a book about real people going through real problems. The in-depth analysis of these characters really allows us as the reader to see what they are seeing and feel what they are feeling. There is no gloss here, just real emotion and real feelings. I really believe that Nick ranks right up there with Palahniuk, Easton Ellis, and Hornby as my favorite authors in the last ten years.

Nick's abillity to step into the minds of the main characters' and write such a beautiful and heart-breaking story is just fantastic. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. The chapters go by quickly. You'll find yourself laughing, depressed, elated and scared all at the same time.

A Fine Place is very accessible, very dark, and very well wrought. The book is character driven. Vera and Sal and Sophie are unforgettable. These characters will stay with you--as I walk around Brooklyn I see them in the faces of the older people in my neighborhood. They are also elements in an important story by a writer who should become a familiar name in years to come. Selby is a tenuous connection (there's something to it). This is original work. The logic of character propels the story (which is moving (but again, dark)). A Fine Place is best described as a mosaic told from the different perspectives of five Italian-American characters. It is finally a story about heritage, a negative one--the heritage of hate--that expertly unfolds the ways in which the stains of racial bias, xenophobia, and narrow mindedness ooze into each successive generation. The result is a major novel. Strong comment on the broader issue of racism in this country through the close examination of a few ordinary people in an extraordinary situation. Highly recommended.

A Fine Place is not like ANYTHING I've ever read before. I was given this book as a gift from a friend who loves Hubert Selby, Jr. (I do too) -- but this is a completely new voice in fiction. I was blown away. Tight and authentic and effortless -- no self-conscious, no artiness. Another writer could have so easily made this culture into a pity-party, and somehow this writer's avoided that. It works even without the crime -- this is how good it is. Also -- wanna say -- the guy "Tony" is based on here was never imprisoned for the murder -- I think the real guy was acquitted. But the probing into these elderly peoples' hearts and minds is pure genius. So real, they're still with me. I can smell them. I know them. And yet I've never met them. But they're out there somewhere. Not many books leave this kind of impression. The physicality is shocking and beautiful. I couldn't put it down. Every moment is a surprise. I really can't say this about too many books I've read. Who the (...) IS this writer??!

Nicholas Montemarano's A Fine Place is a character driven story that gives the reader insight into the emotional and psychological suffering of a family that tries to cope with, and understand, a tragedy that changes their lives.
The dialogue is written with simple complexity; it is straightforward but revealing. Throughout the story I felt as though I was there; I could reach out and slap Tony and Sal; I could see the emptiness in Vera.
This is a must read.

This book seemed awfully convoluted to me. It reeks of a writer more intent on impressing people than actually telling a good story. Because of that, the book collapses under its own weight. Comparisons to Selby are surprising to me, too. Is it the NYC thing? That's my only guess.

If you read books to become impressed by the intellect and gifts of the author, you may like this one. It's like reading a grad school textbook in that regard. If you want to get lost in a good story, you aren't going to find it here.

This newcomer can write a mean book. A far cry from the days of skip,skip,skip,two,skip,skip, three, two, skip,skip. The young proffesor has done it again. Keep up the good work bonz----, fornever. Crack me out a bucket.

Kirkus reviewed this book as perhaps the worst book published in 50 years. I don't think it's even that good. I could write a meaningful review, but it would be a waste of everyone's time. A mess of a story that tries to play on multi-cultural issues to gain readers. At the heart of this book, I find the author to be the one racially problematic. Let's hope readers look to other places for good fiction.