Customer Reviews

The Melting Season

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

 

 

The Melting Season gets off to an irresistible start when its heroine, Catherine "Moonie" Madison, steals a pile of money and hits the highway, leaving behind her small Nebraska town and very complicated family. In precise and arresting descriptions and lucid, lyrical prose, Jami Attenberg captures the landscapes and textures of the midwest and west, and both the liberation and vulnerability of being a woman on the open road. Moonie makes her way to Las Vegas where, amid the city's splendid artifice, she builds real friendships that lead her to confront the truth about herself and her past, and help her to forge a way forward. There are some dazzling and very funny Vegas set pieces and unforgettable characters, but what's most enduring and moving about The Melting Season is that underpinning the adventure and desert glitter is real contemplation--of the nature of love, friendship, and selfhood.

Jami Attenberg paints a rich lovely portrait of Catherine Madison, a woman running away from her past and finding answers to her life in a haunting new friendship. I picked up Attenberg's book and couldn't put it down. The writing is beautiful and the story will stay with you for a long time.

This is a really outstanding book. I'm not a big fiction reader, so my thoughts may not count for much, but I was consistently riveted and entertained by Attenberg's story of journey and realization, most of all by her strong, concise prose style. Attenberg populated Moonie's thoughts with thoughtful observations while still noting that the character isn't used to trafficking in thoughtful observations. There's that annoyingly common compliment that a writer "really understands the mindset of the working-class life," usually turning its blue-collar heroes into prosaic, constantly profound mouthpieces for the author. Moonie Madison is played realistically...she doesn't over-analyze every strange new experience she sees, but gets to the center of what's happening with an enviable clarity.

The story is structured well, jumping back and forth between current action and flashback without much problem (I should point out that my rating is more like 4.5 stars, with the half deducted for the middle section, which amounts to little more than two people laying on a hotel bed, one telling the other her life story. Every time we're taken out of the action to think about that [as when Valka comments on some part of Moonie's story:], it's a reminder that our two main characters have been on their backs and talking for almost 80 pages). The emotional twists at the end were well-handled and not at all maudlin, and though I didn't really need the happy resolution at the end, it was in line with what came before it.

As I say, I don't read much fiction, but I'm sure glad I read this.

I had strong hopes for this book, but it completely fell flat. Moonie's character was supposed to register sympathy with the reader, however, her story doesn't have enough to it to make you feel that way. Attenberg throws in the "family secret" which is almost entirely unbelievable. Valka came on to the scene with flair and fizzled. None of the characters were developed enough, I had hope in Vegas, but then it all went downhill. Perhaps 188 pages weren't enough for this story.

Jami Attenberg tells a somewhat typical road story of a woman, Catherine "Moonie" fleeing from her marriage as well as her hometown. She heads west and ends up in Las Vegas, becoming fast friends with Valka who helps Catherine process her and face her past. The writing is strong and in some parts provides vivid description. A section where Valka and Moonie party with some star impersonators was my favorite part of the book. But the story got repetitive and rambling at times. It lacked a cohesiveness for me that I found distracting. Also, there was a section at the end relating to Moonie's past that I found out of place and very disturbing. I enjoyed Attenberg's short stories, Instant Love better than this book. That said, she's a writer worth watching and checking out.