Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Play's the Thing, March 25, 2004
This review is from: The Floodmakers (Hardcover)
Mylène Dressler's third novel (after THE MEDUSA TREE and THE DEADWOOD BEETLE) is a departure book. Unlike her first two, THE FLOODMAKERS is less concerned with the lyricism of introspection than with the dynamics of character and dialogue, and how they reveal the innermost workings of a family. Narrator Harry Buelle, a gay playwright who seems destined to live in the shadow of his famous playwright father, arrives at the family's Texas beach house at the request of his stepmother, Jean. His father Dee is suffering from heart failure, and has decided to halt all medication in a calculated move to clear his mind and face his imminent death. Rebellious sister Sarah and her wide-eyed Slavic husband Paul are also invited. There, hovering around a rescued brown booby with a broken foot and colliding with one another, the Buelle family and their darkest, most defining moments are revealed. After a somewhat confusing start, this novel gets stronger with every page. The narrative, which is meant to have the feel of a play, reads like a cross between Tennessee Williams and Neil Simon, with melodrama and comedy mixed with a deeper sense of loss. Certain moments happen "off-stage" (as when Jean disappears into the bathroom and the reader "hears" an unexplained ruckus within) while others seem carefully orchestrated to show the awkward relationships this family fosters. Even the dialogue comes across as written for the stage. While the author's adherence to the idea of novel as play occasionally can be distancing, Dressler brings the reader closer through the use of Harry's first-person narration and flashbacks. The true nature of this creative, dysfunctional family is exposed through their interactions, and that, more than anything, is the strength of this novel. Dressler fans will certainly want to read her latest, as will readers intrigued by the exploration of family dynamics. Readers of literary fiction who like character-driven novels and a gentle mix of humor and drama will also find much to admire.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"They've outlived every interesting thing they've ever done., March 25, 2004
This review is from: The Floodmakers (Hardcover)
Summoned back to the beach house on the Texas Gulf Coast where his family lived and vacationed many years ago, Harry Buelle, a struggling, experimental playwright, is forced to confront his parents' aging, their declining health, and the barely hidden resentments he and his sister have borne against their demanding father for most of their lives. Dee Buelle, the father, a highly successful playwright with an unbroken string of hits, was both physically and emotionally absent when the children were small, and is now a querulous and impatient man with major health problems, for which he is refusing his medication. Sarah Buelle, Harry's sister, is a cinematographer filming an interview with her father, its purpose and agenda unclear at the start of the reunion. In the tradition of the theater which dominates the lives of father and son, the author reveals most of the information about family dynamics through dialogue. Instead of setting and describing scenes, Dressler brings the characters together and then lets them goad each other and bicker, creating clear, sharp moments of high tension as the children confront their parents and the reality of their family life. Each person's reminiscences develop the family's collective history for the reader and reveal relationships, past and present. The children's love and admiration for Jean, their stepmother, sets their problems with their father into sharp relief, while some ironically humorous scenes allow the author to control the pace and mood. Despite the burdens placed upon it, the dialogue moves along smartly and sets a natural, conversational tone.
Dressler incorporates a sometimes overwhelming amount of symbolism in this short novel as she subordinates description and plot to the themes: The stormy winter setting at the beach parallels the cold, often stormy family dynamics. Though the beach house has been built on stilts, Harry pointedly notes that the house shakes in storms. A booby bird, being cared for in the house, remains oblivious to the two resident hunting dogs. Firmly rooted in the Southern Gothic tradition, the novel is filled with dark surprises, the most devastating of which come at the conclusion and are used in an effort to resolve the action. Since this grand finale contributes little to the understanding of the characters, some readers may feel a bit betrayed by the last-minute introduction of two dramatic new elements which further complicate, rather than simplify the lives of Harry and his sister Sarah. Mary Whipple
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insightful family drama, March 30, 2004
This review is from: The Floodmakers (Hardcover)
Octogenarian wealthy playwright Dee Buelle intimately has known death for seemingly ever. His parents died when he was a young boy and as if fate needed to punish him more his first wife passed away just after giving birth to their second child back in 1966. He met his second wife golf professional Jean who played with the real Babe (Zaharis) at an event. She helped raise his two children Harry and Sarah who call her mama. Harry lives in New York trying to be a chip off the old block while Sarah with the help of her filmmaking husband wants to produce a documentary movie about her father. When Dee stops taking his heart medicine, Jean worries that he wants to die. Jean asks his two adult children to come to Texas for a family reunion, hoping that the two kids can motivate their dad into going back on his medicine. However, the children have agendas of their own leaving Jean to play unsuccessful peacemaker that is until a new revelation surfaces that leaves her jumping into the fracas with fists flying. Although over the top with too many surprise shocking disclosures making it difficult for the reader to contend with, THE FLOODMAKERS remains an insightful family soap opera. Readers will appreciate the relational dynamics that dissolve into dysfunctional disarray as melodramatic moments continually surface. Fans of family crisis dramas will enjoy this saga of a unit seemingly one iota from disintegration. Harriet Klausner
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
