Customer Reviews

Local Knowledge

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Local Knowledge. Liza Gyllenhaal is a skilled storyteller who is acutely empathetic to the emotional complexities of family, friendship, and ambition. On the surface, this is an engaging story about the longings, secrets, and lies of small town locals. It's about a part of the American landscape in transition and the effects on the long-standing community. And underneath it's a story that reveals, with sharp precision, the inner conflicts of our convictions, why we allow ourselves to be manipulated, and how our need to succeed can sometimes lead us to cut corners though our friends may suffer the consequences. I highly recommend this book and look forward to Gyllenhaal's next one!

This is indeed the perfect beach read -- in Florida or anywhere else! OK, so Liza is indeed my relative, but I couldn't put Local Knowledge down, and I'm picky with a short attention span. This would be a great book club pick with all the elements to spark a good discussion about loyalty, dealing with your past and coming to terms with best friends.

Maddie Alden compels us to empathize with her choices from the everyday to the more soul searching. We are grateful for the grounding force of her husband Paul, as she works through her feelings and loyalties, trying to discover her values, and striving for honesty with herself and others. Gyllenhaal pulls us deep into Maddies world with succinct and luscious details. She lets us see with Maddie's perceptive eyes, constantly trying to uncover layers of truth about her friends, family, and purpose in life. Scenes are vivid, dialogue rings authentic, and somehow we care about this out-of-the way town that might be nothing like any we ever experienced. Lacking any moralistic or political agenda, Local Knowledge lets us make our own decisions about our rapidly changing landscapes and social cultures. The characters have enough zing to be entertaining, but still feel vaguely like someone we once knew. There is a sadness to the mood of the book but not without an ever present feeling that there is a splendid sunrise about to appear - life may be filled with unexpected turns, but one can find solace in the turn of a child's smile, a ripening vegetable patch, or the memory of a beloved friend. The story of a long and twisted summer relationship that would be a welcome escape on a cold winter weekend.

I was expecting a spectacular book with so many five star ratings and positive reviews. This book took every effort for me to finish. The characters were predictable. Maddie's lack of confidence was annoying, as was Anne's frequent use of the phrase "do you know what I mean?" to end her sentences. The story did not need 350 pages for the telling, but I trudged through all nine parts, thinking it must really have a fascinating surprise ending because of the great reveiws. The surprise ending is that the author (who painstakingly created such detail for the entire book) left many loose ends involving themes that would have been interesting to explore. Perhaps she was tired at the end of the book also. The back and forth nature of the narrator telling the story from two points in time was provoking, but not thought provoking. If your idea of a beach read includes light-hearted moments or humor, this does not qualify. I can only say that this was a tedious book and suggest that you look elsewhere for great read.

If you've ever visited a really popular tourist destination during the high season (I'm thinking fall in New England, for example, or Sedona in the springtime) you see that the locals are inundated. Have you ever wondered how they cope, or how it affects them? On one level, this is a painstaking observation of how some townspeople, whether they realize it or not, try to achieve their dreams through the wealthy out-of-towners. On the other end of the scale, other locals simmer with resentment. In the middle, some try to ignore the transformation of their small town, pretending that the changes are really opportunities.

This is a story of small-town folks trying to resolve themselves in one way or another with this influx of money and power. The author, Liza Gyllenhaal, develops three characters in this context: Maddie, her husband Paul, and their childhood friend, Luke. Alternating between present-day and backstory, Gyllenhaal peels back layer by layer to show how these three grew up, and builds the suspense to a point where the eventual blowup is devastating.

The main focus of the story is the "friendship" between Maddie and Anne, the privileged wife of a wealthy, entitled jerk. Anne and the Jerk live in Manhattan but buy a McMansion in Maddie's town. As Maddie changes in thrall to Anne, I found the seduction interesting - and Maddie isn't the only one in town to be seduced. Luke falls next, and he falls completely. Blond, thin, and glamorous, Anne is aimless and quirky, blown by any emotional breeze. As the story develops we suspect that she is also deeply unhappy and utterly dependent - but neither Maddie nor Luke pick up on this. Anne serves as the perfect blank slate onto which Luke and Maddie project their longings. In her they see deliverance, the embodiment of their dreams.

As I read this book, I wondered what it was that drove Gyllenhaal to write it? What was she curious about, what was the question she was seeking to answer? If I could respond in her place, I think she was trying to ask, how badly can a person delude oneself in pursuit of one's dreams? "Local Knowledge" delivers a beautifully paced, suspenseful answer.

If Norah Jones recorded a CD of Bruce Springsteen songs, it would come out something like the beautiful music of Liza Gyllenhaal's Local Knowledge.

A contemporary bildungsroman set in not-so-rural-anymore Red River in upstate New York, Gyllenhaal has Maddie Alden tell her own story and that of the two men in and around her life - her husband, Paul and his best friend Luke Barnett. The driving force of the narrative is the encounter Maddie has with Anne Zeller, her first big score as a real-estate agent. Emboldened by her success and flattered by the attention from this effortlessly elegant New York City "businesswoman on sabbatical" Maddie lives through a Berkshires summer like no other she has had. The events compel Maddie to re-examine in detail what led up to this life-changing season and how it would end.

Gyllenhaal's method is to have Maddie take turns with two different stories - one in more or less present time and the other starting with Maddie's formative years and moving forward - until the two strands make contact in real time. The descriptions are rich in detail and Maddie's is an admirably honest voice. It's through her that we hear about what may lie just under the surface of all those charming small towns that prosperous urbanites have claimed as their second homes; of the lives made desperate by the collapse of local agriculture; of the the inevitable sale of generations-owned lands to people who couldn't tell an elm from a maple. Maddie is both particpant in and witness to the transformation of her home town.

Gyllenhaal writes with limpid precision. Maddie doesn't miss much and she also knows she's not perfect. This makes for a very effective narrator. There are beautiful passages all over this book. It takes a writer of Gyllenhaal's abilities to keep it real and yet manage to find the precious poetry hiding under the rubble.

The story is fairly good. There were times when my interest waned, and I had to push myself to keep going, but it wasn't hard. This is one of those books that draws you into the story more than you realize. The ending makes the book. It's after the story is over that you realize the enormity of the decisions that were made by the main character. This book would be a great choice for a book club--there is plenty to discuss!

I haven't found myself thinking about a novel this much after finishing it in a long time. However, the thoughts that I have on it are rather unhappy ones. There are several interesting topics that do pertain to areas that are being developed/over developed. It is also about how the more common people are trying to be like the wealth that is moving into the area with out much thought to the quality of the people, just to the appearance of quality. It's about the compromises people make and consequences that can happen. I've seen the issues associated with land development first hand, as I live in what used to be a tobacco farming area.

It is well written and thought provoking and I recommend it.


That said, I thought that I was getting a light summer read. I really didn't want my brain to work that hard on a book right now as my brain is rather busy and stressed. Now my mind is spinning over the characters and how they were effected by the actions of others, specifically the main character and her desire to climb the social ladder. I guess, if I was going to sum up the plot in a cliche, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

I buy my books most of the time based on premise & then reviews. I paid $11.99 for this on my kindle. Boy I wish I knew what book these other reviewers read, because clearly we read different books. I did not find this book engaging in the least. The ending was a huge disappointment. There was no resolution or even discussion on how they handled their daughter & her feelings. What was the deal with Bob's wife? Did Bob have to sale the farm? What was the look Kathy gave Maddie all about? I usually read a good book in 2 days "tops" this one took a week to trudge through.

This book is fabulous. At first I couldn't tell what it was about, but I didn't care - it was written so beautifully I just wanted to kick back and enjoy it. Slowly a story line developed, but I had no idea where it was going. Even the foreshadowing didn't give it away. Finally it came to a roaring conclusion where everything tied together so exquisitely that I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it coming. Wow! What a story teller she is. I'll be reading more of her books in the future.