The Reconstruction [Paperback]

Claudia Casper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1998

Sculptor Margaret Fisher slips into a protective cocoon of listless sleep and lurid dreams after her 10-year marriage breaks up. She also plunges into a new project: the full body reconstruction of an "Australopithecus afarensis", based on the famous fossil "Lucy". "An unusual, unprettified, and ultimately haunting character portrait".--"Kirkus Reviews" .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The title of Claudia Casper's first novel, The Reconstruction refers to the skeletal remains of Lucy, a fine example of Australopithecus, an early forerunner of modern-day Homo sapiens. Protagonist Margaret is a sculptor in the midst of a life crisis who, in the course of assembling casts of Lucy's bones for a museum model, begins reconstructing her own life as well. As she searches for clues about Lucy's prehistoric life to give form to her ancient acquaintance, Margaret finds herself pondering the facts of her own past, from the death of her mother years before to her recent exit from a loveless marriage.

In Margaret, Claudia Casper has created a delightful, quirky protagonist, one who lives on in memory after the book is done. Though the path she treads to self-knowledge may be one mapped in many other novels, Margaret definitely chooses the most scenic route, managing in the process to surprise the reader at almost every turn in the road. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In her richly suggestive and assured debut novel, Canadian writer Casper takes on the daunting task of depicting emotional loss, historicity and anatomical restoration-and she acquits herself with distinction. Sculptor Margaret Fisher slips into a protective cocoon of listless sleep and lurid dreams when her marriage of 10 years breaks up. The dangerous depth of her loss, she realizes, arises less from the departure of her husband than from the disturbing realization that the union had been loveless and shored up only by comfort and inertia. Financially and emotionally shaken (and plagued by extensive emergency dental work), Margaret plunges into a new project for a display of primitive humanity at the National Museum: the full-body reconstruction of an Australopithecus afarensis, based on the famous fossil "Lucy." She draws her inspiration from the fossilized footprints of male and female hominids that were embedded in volcanic ash over three million years ago in Africa. A slight twist in the female's gait suggests that she hesitated in order to look over her shoulder-at what we will never be sure-before being crushed by the volcanic eruption. In a dreamlike, intense state of waking dreams and reveries, isolation and reflection, Margaret begins to feel the stirrings of Lucy's primordial steps within herself. Her slow reconstruction of the model brings unexpected questions and truths to light. Casper avoids easy answers and writes bravely about our need to place ourselves in history in order to make sense of our existence.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (February 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312181647
• ISBN-13: 978-0312181642
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,814,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars every woman can identify with Margaret in some way., December 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reconstruction (Paperback)

I really liked the primitiveness of Margaret. You know this woman howls at the moon! In order to purge the bile of divorce and washing a baaadddddd relationship out of her hair, she took on the characteristics of LUCY, and it seemed to work; if only more of us were as brave and bazen, we'd spend less time on the psychiatrist's couch!!!!!!! I enjoyed this book, a wonderful first effort for a local author. It was my book club's last selection, and was thoroughly enjoyed. We look forward to your next book, Claudia!

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting exploration of wounded psyches..., August 21, 2001

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reconstruction (Hardcover)

The story of "The Reconstruction," seems rather straightforward at first glance: Ex-wife of doctor seeks to pull herself together after husband leaves her, and uses a reconstruction of a prehistoric human being's skelleton as a an emotional exercise. This, however, does not do the book justice.

The real focus of this book is on damaged psyches - the main character, Margaret comes from a situation where her husband, a wealthy and respected man, has single-handedly destroyed her sense of self-worth. Now, in financial ruin, she finds that her teeth are showing the decay she feels inside: they're rotting, though no fault of her own, just lousy genetics. From there we walk with Margaret, through the metaphor of the reconstruction of a prehistoric woman who, from footprints left in fossils, walked beside a man, then hesitated for a moment before continuing. This moment sparks something in her, and slowly, as Margaret adds to the fossilized bones, building muscle and tissue and reconstructing the woman, she reconstructs her own life, and her own self.

It is hard to believe that this is Casper's first work; I adored it. This is a fine Canadian talent, and I do suggest you pick it up, especially if you're feeling a little defeated, and would like a realistic tale of "reconstruction."

'Nathan

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An average read, June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Reconstruction (Paperback)

The Reconstruction was my book club's last selection. Our consensus was that while the book had some merit, we found the writing simplistic and the character development a little shallow. The protagonist, Margaret, didn't deal with her problems the way that we thought a modern woman should -- she was weak and far too willing to allow herself to wallow in a mess of her own making. An average read, at best.