The Laments [Import] [Paperback]

George Hagen (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Random House; 1st Edition/1st Printing edition (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034089587X
• ISBN-13: 978-0340895870
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 336 pages of pleasure, June 16, 2004

By 

Candace "thepageturner" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Laments: A Novel (Hardcover)

Start hoping now that George Hagen is hard at work on this next novel, because when you finish "The Laments" you won't be able to wait.

"Laments travel," explains Howard Lament, a Southern Rhodesian engineer with a deep fascination for valves. His wife, the bold, arty Julia, their son Will (who is not really their son but an infant given to them after a peculiar mixup in the maternity ward), and later a pair of rambunctious twin boys join him in these travels which take them first to Bahrain, then back to Africa, then to England, and finally to New Jersey. In one place after another Will falls for the odd-girl-out and the twins pick up the local accent and wreak the havoc particular to that place.

The Laments' adventures are charming and endrossing, even when their story begins to darken upon their arrival in the US. John-Irving-ish events occur which cast a pall over the family and make the reader wonder about the purpose of sending the story in this direction. Is it to show that suburban America can be the weirdest place of all? Don't we know that already? When Howard recommends that the Laments move again, you'll be all for it if it means getting them out their increasingly uncomfortable situation.

George Hagen is a first novelist of great talent with a high-spirited, engaging style and the ability to create appealing characters. "The Laments" is the sort of book readers will look forward to getting back to. He still has some learning to do (the twins, George, the twins!) but this will not lessen the enjoyment of this novel. This would be an interesting book club selection with lots of opportunity for lively discussion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High body count, July 18, 2004

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Laments: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a novel that defies description. It falls somewhere between bizarre slapstick and sarcastic social commentary. The deal is that a couple from South Africa marry and have 3 children - well the first one really isn't theirs, because their real child was kidnapped at birth, then killed the same day in a car crash, so the doctor who inadvertently precipitated the kidnapping suggests that the bereaved couple just take home the baby of the couple killed in the car crash, no problem, no one will be any wiser, papers? who needs papers, everything will be fine, yada-yada.
Right.
Then they begin moving from one continent to another, always searching for the greener grass on the other side of some ocean, always slightly dissatisfied, always at odds with their surroundings. A large part of the story is told from the point of view of their eldest son, the one who was switched at birth. Not only does he feel at adds with whatever school/neighborhood/city/country/continent in which he finds himself, he also feels out of synch with his own family - as though he just doesn't belong.
Little does he know...
A little bizarre, a little unusual, a little indefinable, The Laments is a witty and sarcastic piece of writing that lampoons one society after another, from puffed up Rhodesia to suburban America. Really, really good.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch family saga!, October 4, 2005

By 

John P. James "Texican1973" (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Laments: A Novel (Paperback)

'The Laments' is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I read voraciously. George Hagen mixes humor and sadness into a compelling, heartrenching novel. His prose is clean, and the pages fly. I normally don't recommend novels because people's taste in books is so relative, but I can't imagine anyone not liking this novel. Highy recommended.