Customer Reviews

Gossip of the Starlings

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

 

 

After reading glowing reviews from other readers regarding "Of Cats and Men," I picked up a copy and was pleasantly surprised by de Gramont's talent and prose. I'm still in awe of the author's writing skill after reading "Gossip of the Starlings," but the tale failed to strike any feeling in me other than irritation. Not that the author loses her beautiful, lyrical voice in this endeavor; she doesn't. But my sentiments echo those of a previous reviewer in that it wasn't at all entertaining to read about wealthy, spoiled, self-indulgent girls with nothing better to do than snort cocaine and, in the case of one character, actively and consciously behave in self-destructive ways while seeming righteously aggrieved by the fallacies of those around her and being coldly cynical as a result. High praise indeed for Nina de Gramont's prose, but this tale left me dissatisfied.

The best book I've read in years - de Gramont's writing is stunning, gorgeous, and she captures the struggles of being a teenager - ANY teenager - brilliantly. I may not have gone to prep school, but I know these girls, I know these feelings, the alienation, the acceptance, the dazzling friend who you love and hate at the same time. There are sentences in this book that I had to read three times in a row - and I still didn't stop reading until the whole beautiful and tragic story was done. If you want to read a book that will keep you talking, that will take you back in time and then make you pick up the phone to say YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! then get this book. Brilliant.

A friend gave me this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it and identified with the characters (although it's been a while since I was a kid.) It captures that fleeting, shared sense between teenage girlfriends that you are immortal. And I didn't find the characters' wealth distracting or alienating. It functions mostly just to allow these girls to take greater risks, which ups the stakes, which kept me interested.

I never had a pony, either; but I don't hold it against a fictional character that she rides horses. Bloody _Catcher in the Rye_ begins at prep school.

School stories have fascinated me since I first encountered Tom Brown's School Days as a child and I have always since regarded the opportunity to go away to boarding school as one of the great experiences of my life, although hardly anywhere could have been less like Dr. Arnold's Rugby than my own prep school in Connecticut. I think the key to one's fascination with one's school days rests in the word formation. Unlike an American high school, which may with luck offer an education, a boarding school forms character. As an older character in in Nina de Gramont's Gossip of Starlings remarks of his school: "Best time of my life. Uniforms, school ties, chapel every morning before classes. Lights out by ten. They didn't let us make single unscheduled move. Which is its won king of freedom. Limits force you to be creative--teach you how to be yourself while playing by the rules." Of course most of the rules a school teaches its pupils to play by--what the English call "to play up and play the game"--often turn out to be quite contrary to those of the adult world, a major theme in both George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and Simon Raven's Alms for Oblivion series.
This novel is set in a girls school in Vermont. Charlotte Morrow, the narrator, recounts her friendship with the beautiful and destructive Skye Butterfield, daughter of a charismatic United States senator. Charlotte is a budding equestrienne who appears headed for Madison Square Garden, as well as at least Middlebury or Cornell. Skye quotes gobs of Shakespeare, as well as appearing to be an environmentalist activist who exposes the political hypocrisy of her father, who is also having an affair with a member of his campaign staff. But what the girls mostly do is to snort coke as well as drinking their and their friends way through a good deal of Senator Butterfield's bar.
The year is 1986 and with the defeat of Mondale most of the characters pin their hopes on Senator Butterfield to prevent Ronald Regan's starting a nuclear war. I thought de Gramont caught the atmosphere of that era very well. And the particular intensity of a school friendship comes through vividly, and I was quite as swept away by the glamour of Skye as was the English master, the unfortunately wet Mr. November. Skye also manages to ruin Charlotte's riding ambitions, literally breaking her arm and stealing her horse.
This novel would be a good moral tale warning of the dangers of confusing superficial attraciveness for real character (see Jane Austen's Mansfield Park). But the trouble with Gossip of Starlings is that none of the characters has any moral authority whatever. Catherine is almost devoted to excelling at her sport, but not quite enough to resist temptation. Susannah, Catherine's BFF from her former school, is Catherine's principal supplier of drugs. Catherine's French mother is a boring snob and arriviste and her father remote and out of touch. There is nothing in this book that suggests a moral center.

I really enjoyed this book. Nina De Gramont captures the desperate, intense emotions that overwhelm all of us (male, female, rich, and poor) as we struggle through adolescence. A great book for anyone who enjoys a compelling story, beautifully told. Read it now, before the movie comes out!

Like another reviewer said - I really wanted to like this book - but didn't. The writing is just fine - but the story is not. It is totally confusing what story the author is trying to tell or what emotion she is trying to convey. It reminded me of a stone skipping across water. All the story lines and characters are just touched on briefly before moving on to something or someone else. I gave up on this book half way through which is something I absolutely hate to do, but I was totally frustrated and annoyed. I couldn't understand whether it was a story about friendships, drug use, horse shows or family because nothing was developed before it touched down on something else. I wish the author explained the three main characters in depth - I didn't understand any of them or why they were in the position they were in or why they were doing what they were doing to themselves or each other. Two main words for this story - confusing, frustrating.Gossip of the Starlings

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did. It has a lot of promising elements - prep schools, wealthy teenage troublemakers, horses and horse shows, drug abuse, and intense friendships. Unfortunately, for me, the book's flaws took away from its story.

The book opens at Esther Percy, a prep school for girls that the main character, Catherine, is now attending after being pulled out of her original school, Waverly, after being found in bed with her boyfriend. Catherine develops an intense friendship with Skye Butterfield, the daughter of a prominent senator and a character that is always looking for a new adventure, whether it be sneaking out, trying drugs, planning weekend trips without the permission of the school, an affair with a teacher, or joining protests against her father's plans to break a campaign promise. We see Catherine join and help Skye on some of these adventures - Skye is described as having a pull that Catherine can't resist - and we meet Catherine's friends and boyfriends from her previous school. Catherine is also a dedicated horsewoman who has tried for years to qualify for the National Horse Show, and we see her attempting to attain that goal. Sometimes, the book switches to a point of view other than Catherine's - for example, the trip to Venezula for drugs is done through the eyes of Susannah, Catherine's best friend. I won't spoil the ending, but the book culminates in a dramatic drug bust and a death, with the last pages showing Catherine reflecting on these events after she is married and has given birth.

Good points: some beautifully written passages, especially with the horse show scenes and the descriptions of the Cape and Venezula. The author clearly put a lot of thought and research into these passages. Bad points = weak character development, overdramatic in spots, and some unbelievable aspects of characters. For example, Skye is said to want no other friends but Catherine and her roommate - she is even said to have not spoken to any other students on campus, but you never get a true idea of why Skye is like that, especially when she is one of the most admired girls in school. Surely, she would have had people trying to speak to her all day. Additionally, the characters sometimes act too old for their age - it reads more like they are 30 instead of 16 in spots. For example, Catherine and her boyfriend are said to be so "worldly" that they understood instantly that their relationship would not continue past high school. Lines like "We understood that nobody would save the world. It would have to find a way to survive on its own" suggest a maturity far beyond the teenage years, with no other development to back up the idea that these teenagers were truly more mature. Finally, the detailed descriptions of the drug use gets to be repetitive - I started skipping passages because my reaction was just "Oh, they doing drugs and talking about how wonderful they are AGAIN."

I would read something else by the author, because she is clearly talented. I just don't think this is her best work.

This is the best book I've read in the past year - maybe past five years. The story begins with two wealthy teens in prep school, and evolves into a dark, psychological tale that will stay with you long after you finish the book. Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" is my favorite novel of all time; this book is very similar in both writing style and theme. Highly recommended.

The back cover says it all. Prep school, drugs, friendship, tragedy. Already knowing that, there was nothing left for me to be engaged by.

Gossip of the Starlings is the story of two girls (Catherine and Skye) and their friendship while attending an all girls boarding school. Catherine is a new student leaving her old school for her "bad girl" ways and Skye is the daughter of a senator with a constant spotlight on her.

I thought I was in for a shocking tragic read, it was more sad and not totally unexpected based on the premise. I didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters or really caring what happened to them. I would have enjoyed more of the prep school atmosphere, with more teachers and students and their interactions. I felt the story was pretty simple and almost quiet in a way. It would have been nice to see Catherine and Skye framed by a few more characters.

Overall it was a ok read, I did enjoy the writing, it was beautiful, just would have liked more character development and characters.

"Gossip..." is the third book I've read this summer that takes place in a setting not familiar to me, nor previously of interest. deGramont's book was recommended to me by a "horse person" who insisted I read it. I have to say: the prose is so flawless, so graceful, that you hardly feel yourself moving through the pages. The last third of the book seemed to accelerate for me, the pages seemed riper, more poetic as the tale moved forward -- not sure if this was from falling in love with the language, or that the story and characters sneaked into my psyche and ruffled my feathers (!!) -- I just know that I found myself racing to reach the reward of a perfect ending. This book was a very pleasant surprise. I've since ordered and started reading deGramont's collection of short fiction "Of Cats and Men" -- haunting, sneaky, dark little tales that prove this writer can jump genres like a purebred. Loving them!