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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subtle and Beautiful,
By A Customer
This review is from: Oxygen (Paperback)
Andrew Miller has created a unique and beautiful novel about characters who are caught in regret and the human struggle. The interweaving story lines are subtle and beautiful, and will be meaningful to readers who wish to look beyond the obvious and see the interconnections of our existence. One of the profound themes of Oxygen calls to mind a phrase from American poet jani johe webster, who wrote so eloquently: "hoping not to leave/ this earth/ regretting." And so the main characters of the book, estranged brothers Larry and Alec, their dying mother Alice, and, in a different country, a talented but anguished playwright, experience this very struggle: the struggle to live in a way that will liberate them from their wounds and regrets. Andrew Miller took on a great challenge in creating a novel that exists outside the box, and the outcome is a beautiful and nuanced literary work.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing Talent,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Oxygen (Paperback)
There are books notable for their story, those notable for their writer's style and the rare book notable for the author's facility with language and grammar. This book is all three. The book tells the story of a group of disparate characters united superficially by their families, in one case, by work in another but much more profoundly by their shared humanity and attempts to survive their own weaknesses. One character tries to atone a much earlier failure when he let a lover die and another family tries to ease their mother's terminal illness while trying to come to terms with all they and their relationships to her are not.The plot hurries ominously onward but the fluidity of the writing finds you reading more slowly so to give its almost poetic quality its due. This is the sort of writing that I hope to be doing a lot more reading of in years to come.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eloquent and emotionally resonant,
By A Customer
This review is from: Oxygen (Hardcover)
The ink from Andrew Miller's pen flows with such natural grace and ease there's a hushed sense of intimacy in the rhythmn of his prose. The experience is not dissimilar to tuning into a confession. But don't read the blurb and jump to the conclusion that you're dealing with some overhyped angst ridden family drama belonging to that genre much beloved by British book critics. "Oxygen" is exceptional because its writer is not only gifted with an uncommon eloquence, he has the rare intuitive ability to connect with the reader in a manner suggesting a dangerous knowledge of the human heart and that is what makes the difference. Alice Valentine is dying of cancer. Her two sons, Larry and Alec, return to Brooklands to spend her last days with her. The family is not estranged but separated, Alice in the loneliness of her terminal illness, her golden boy Larry in the shameful aftermath of his collapsing marriage and career in America, and the listless Alec in his own sense of failure as he struggles on with his translation work for a Hungarian playwright. They harbour truths about themselves they're barely able to recognise let alone confront or articulate, so Alice's death scene becomes the perfect occasion for them to come together, resolve their differences, exorcise their demons and settle the score. This they do, but quietly - strictly no histrionics - and in ways you least expect. Lazslo's story may be linked with Alec's by a thin narrative thread but he shares with Larry and Alec the same need for courage and redemption. Whilst Larry's release comes unexpectedly one evening after Alice suffers a fall, Alec digs deep to find the resolve to perform the ultimate act of heroism. For Lazlo, he sheds the burden of guilt for letting his lover die in enemy hands during the 1956 Hungarian uprising when he agrees to act as courier for a political cause. By using contrasting settings (domestic and bohemian) for his two stories, Miller universalises the issues and achieves an impact far beyond his contemplation. "Oxygen" is hugely deserving of its Booker Prize & Whitbread Prize nominations and the many accolades heaped upon it. A minor masterpiece.--
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