Customer Reviews

Paloverde

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

 

 

I began to read this book 2 days ago and could not put it down. It is the story of the birth of a city, Los Angeles, which coincides with the settling of the area by two prominent families, the Deanes and the Van Vliets. Through marriage, these two families merge and produce adventurous men who gamble everything on risky business ventures and beautiful women. The Van Vliets take center stage, and the story follows the lives of two brothers, Bud and V3 (short for Vincente.) The older brother Bud is a confident, take-charge sort who intimidates his more introverted younger brother, V3. The younger man always feels that he is in his brother's shadow and so he constantly strives to match Bud in business and in love. This inevitably pits the two brothers against one another, and their sibling rivalry results in rash actions which have consequences on each succeeding generation of the family. The background setting of early Los Angeles is the perfect one for this epic novel, and the well-developed plot and characters make this 25-year-old book one which deserves to be rediscovered by today's readers.

This book wins on two fronts: it gives a fascinating insight into the development of Los Angeles at the end of the 19th Century, and the emergence of that brash new town, Hollywood; and it is also a great love story, centering first of all around the love of brothers Bud and Vincent van Vliet for Amelie Deane and then of Vincent's son Kingdon for Bud's daughter Tess. I read this book thirty years ago and still love it and re-read it. It is very well-written, the characters are all three-dimensional and I love the history of El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porcunciula (Los Angeles for short), with its railroads, its oil fields, its Santa Ana winds, and its developing movie industry.

It hasn't dated one bit, and if you can get hold of a copy, grab it.

It was actually several years ago I read this book - a friend of mine had just finished it and recommended it to me.

Prior to telling me about the context of the novel, she had noted several times: "I just finished reading this book the other day, and it has done nothing but perturb me ever since. For some reason I cannot stop thinking about it." It is books like the one she was then rather abstractly describing that pique my interest, so I asked if I could borrow her copy of it, for my own enjoyment (and judgment). I began reading it that afternoon while trying to pass the time at a local theatre rehearsal. Needless to say I was absorbed - the prose was stunning! Poignant, written without regret; magnificently and sharply outlined by the dolorous contemplations of each character.

The plot of the book is vague in my mind. I remember some of the subplots very specifically, however, down to even the most intimate details. It is a love story, but one far too literary to be deemed simply a 'romance'. The novel itself takes place over the course of about three generations in the life of a California family. There is much tenderness and brilliance present - it is ultimately a clever book with a tragic ending. I would like to read it once again, and feel what I did the first time. It did not "perturb" me afterward like it did my friend, but it did leave a weighty impact.

Paloverde begins in Los Angeles in the late 19C and tells the story of Amélie Deane and the two Van Vliet brothers Bud and Vincent (nicknamed 3Vee). Both brothers are in love with fifteen year old Amélie but she can only marry one and she chooses Bud, and heartbroken 3Vee leaves to make his fortune mining. When 3Vee returns he is married with a child, no fortune, but still in love with Amélie. 3Vee gets too drunk at a party and the actions he takes have consequences for himself, Amélie and Bud that carry over into the next generation. There's a whole lot more than that, but it's too complicated to try and detail without writing a full recap, which I don't like to do.

The second part of the book tells the story of Amélie's daughter Tessa and 3Vee's son Kingdon as Hollywood is coming into its own and The Great War is raging in Europe. Kingdon, a flying ace is injured in France and while recuperating from his injuries in Los Angeles meets Tessa by accident and they are surprised to find they are cousins. Sparks fly (of course) and they fall in love, but the long ago actions of Kingdon's father threaten to split apart the two lovers who may or may not be too closely related for marriage, and they are eventually wrapped up in a Hollywood scandal of murderous proportions.

Briskin takes the reader on a grand old multi-generational family saga through old Los Angeles, a shocking court battle against the railroad, the first discovery of oil, the birth of Hollywood and its decadent lifestyle to a final culmination in an airplane stunt for Kindgon's latest movie that threatens to go terribly awry. Although many of the storylines were fairly predictable in how they would be resolved (except for the last one - I did not see that one coming!), I still found the book to be highly enjoyable and had a very difficult time keeping my nose out of it until the very end. Four stars.

While unpacking some books after a house move three years ago I ran across a very tattered paperback copy of Paloverde. I could have tossed it out, but knowing that I might be interested in reading it again, I set it aside and eventually reshelved it.

This past weekend I finally got around to re-reading it, and, whoa! It's still as good as it was when I first read it in 1980. First of all, Briskin's an excellent storyteller. Secondly, she obviously did her historical research before she penned this novel. Thirdly, because it takes place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there is nothing dated about it. While Briskin obviously cribbed from actual historical events to shape her tale, it's still a good read.

Back in 1980 my 78-year-old grandmother gave me that now-tattered paperback, saying, "Here, you can have this. I think you'll like it."

If you like depressing romance stories where the characters become wealthy but no one ever wins, this is the book for you. The only saving grace to this book is that it gives an interesting historical account of the development of Los Angeles and the surrounding area. That said, this is the typical romance novel where most the characters marry the wrong person and continue to be confronted with tragedies which never turn out well. Jealousy, misery, envy, malice, and sibling rivalry are the main themes running though this book. And to top it all off the ending is terrible. I love books but this one doesn't even deserve to be recycled. My copy will go in the trash.

I thought I had already reviewed this transaction and my apologies that it may not have gone through previously. The book was received in just a few days and in excellent condition. The seller provided updates as to the ETA along with tracking information. Thank you very much!!!

I actually haven't read this book in years, but it is one of my all time favorites. I love the historical background that the author uses- you get a real feel for Los Angeles as it was at the turn of the century. The characters are very real and have much depth. A great book for a couple of afternoons under a tree or at the beach. This book will stay with you for a long time after you read it.