Customer Reviews

The Future of Love: A Novel

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

 

 

Love's the theme, but Anxiety the subtext in this smart and beautifully written novel. Abbott has a way of getting you right inside her characters from the moment you meet them, and cleverly leads you from one to the other, layering the connections among them. The setting is Manhattan, 2001, specifically and concretely so, but urbanites everywhere will recognize the characters' dilemmas and domestic disturbances, the choices and possibilities that engulf them even before the disasters of 9-ll. A stunning portrait of the ways modern (and uniquely privileged humans) cling to the illusion of control in a chaotic universe.

Each chapter of Abbott's book jumps us from one character's point of view to another's. In some plot-driven novels this can drive me crazy. In this character-rich novel I loved it. No matter who was at the center of the next chapter, I was glad to be with them. I read with fascination, I went wherever the author led me. Abbott plunges us into the chaos of love, of everything that passes for love, of family strife, long-dead marriages, unexpected passion, death and destruction and second chances.

At one point I thought, "The book is like a round of golf." No matter that the characters, with all their foibles, have hooked a drive on the last hole, overshot the green and putted crazily to a five-over-par. With each chapter all hope is refreshed, all chances renewed as they tee up for their next shot. Abbott's range of characters is tremendous: men and women, old and young, white and black, the very microcosm of a somewhat-monied New York. All of them have stumbled. Some are pitiful at times, some clueless, some angry or desperate. They have a fragile grip on confidence and desire, and I would follow them anywhere.

In a chapter from Sam's point of view, we see where his marriage has landed: "Ah, yes. You marry. Then it's children, schools, mortgages, taxes, hard work, and you feel you've got a successful marriage on days when you're speaking to each other. No time or energy to ask why you haven't had sex with your wife for a year, and then five years and then ten. You are a pair...and you hardly know what love is. You hardly know who she is. But you cannot leave her, because that would be dishonorable..."

The dilemmas in this novel often seem irresolvable. And to Abbott's credit, they are not always smoothly resolved. As we hear later about Sam and his lover, Antonia, "You get what you want and don't know what to do with it."

This is the most readable, the most charming, the most incisive, the deadliest novel I have read in years.

When I enjoy a book I call it a "book to live in" - it becomes at least as (usually more) interesting than Real Life. For me, this was one such book.
The narrative was engaging, the characters interesting, there were side issues that entertained and enlightened - and surprises. In short, it has all the elements of a successful novel. I look forward to future novels from this writer.

Many talented writers have tried to incorporate 9/11 into their novels, and failed: the terrorism attacks loom too large, and make other events and characters seem insignificant. Luckily, Shirley Abbott is not one of them. The Future of Love is a luminous book: gorgeously written, with profoundly human characters striving to do their best in a world that challenges and shakes them. Anyone who appreciates good writing and insightful characterization will love this novel.

I finished the book but was left wondering why. Abbot's characters are somewhat unrealistic, especially the children and their dialogue. Political tidbits are added in the strangest places and the book offers little resolution to the problems it starts. Still, some the writing is beautifully descriptive.

"The afternoon passed in the pleasant way of such family parties: the too warm room, the excitement of decorating the tree and turning on the lights at last, the scent of the fir, the children falling into disagreements, the smell of beef roasting, the dishes carried to the table, the admirable crunch when Antonia broke the top of the gratin, Arty opening and serving wines, the cake and cookies waiting, the coffee afterward, with brandy." (p. 221) Shirley Abbott loves lists. This book is filled with them. Apparently, Abbott tries to define the thoughts of her characters by have endless lists of details that don't further the story. It happens so frequently that it weighs the story down rather than telling it.

As far as the story, I found most of the characters unlikable. You have Sophie who appears scatterbrained and unreliable who sleeps with her student's father. You have the father Mark who finds it boring to go to work. You have his wife Maggie who dominates him rather than loves him. You have Edith who is an unyielding society hog. You have her husband Sam who is unfaithful to her. You have Antonia carrying on with a married man, which is supposed to be romantic liberation. Then there are the two sets of gay characters. Sam & Edith's granddaughter Alison wants to have a commitment ceremony with Candace. Arty has to deal with Greg's cancer. In the meantime, the events of September 11, 2001 occur in New York. The quote from "Booklist" blazing at the top of the dust jacket is "A smooth polished comedy of manners." Buyer beware that a "comedy of manners" in this context does not equate to humor, which is totally lacking.

While Abbott's construction weaves the characters together, the novel seems like a literary soap opera. There are no universal themes, other than the strong political agenda Abbott communicates that the United States became as bad as the terrorists in its response to the attacks on the World Trade Center. If one wishes a political commentary, there are many books analyzing current politics. However, my prediction is that this will only serve to date the novel. "The Future of Love" is a book with which I did not connect nor enjoy. Taxi!

Good writing, but it's disconcerting to see an author so blatantly use fictional characters as a platform for spouting her liberal views: interacial relationships, gay/lesbian relationships, same-sex marriage, and President Bush-bashing.

None of the characters was particularly likeable; couldn't really pull for any of them.

I was very disappointed in this book. Nobody talks the way the characters in this book talk. I could barely stand any of them.