Customer Reviews

A Ship Made of Paper: A Novel

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I read several years ago ENDLESS LOVE, a novel I liked immensely and was therefore eager to start this one. The novel is certainly an easy read. You can race right through it. It's all about Daniel Emerson's obsession with Iris Davenport and his pursuit of her come hell or high water as he rides out his passion in a fragile "paper boat," if you want to mix your metaphors. The characters for the most part are well developed although I thought Iris's husband may have been almost a stereotype. Spencer tackles head-on the dicey subject of an affair between a black woman and white man, certainly an area not every writer is willing to explore.

Having finished the novel, I was troubled by the character Daniel, however. Although his lover Kate continuously describes him as a good man, I'm not at all sure he is. I believe the moral question is this: does anyone have a right to insist on getting whatever he thinks he wants, no matter who gets hurt or destroyed along the way, in order that he can have an all consuming affair? There are of course similarities in Daniel and the young man in ENDLESS LOVE who, as I recall, in a fit of passionate love, burns down the home the young girl he's crazy about lives in. We may be able to forgive youth their folly. I'm not sure we can overlook as easily the sins of people entering middle age.

Having said that, if you accept the premise that everyone here gets hurt or destroyed, you'll find this compelling reading.

This is a fabulous read, and a gorgeous, sexy, lusty and insightful story. A Ship Made of Paper is an important book, not just for its comments about race in modern day America, but also for its sly depiction of modern day love. I've never read any Scott Spencer before A Ship Made of Paper, but I can assure you that I was just "blown away" by this story. This story doesn't have any pretensions, but it can't help being an absolutely sensational melodrama. I thought the characterizations of all four characters - Iris, Daniel, Hampton, and Kate were spot on. He is such an honest writer in the way he exemplifies all their insecurities on sex, race, family, and infidelity.

Spencer shows that is affairs of the heart there are no easy answers, which is why I think the book ended as it did. Iris and Daniel just couldn't stop loving each other. But of course, the real irony of the story was the totally innocent relationship between the two children, Ruby and Nelson - one black, one white. This is a haunting and intelligent love story, that is sly, cynical and yet at the same time an incredibly astute character study of middle class American life. I also thought the story provided an interesting depiction of small town American life, and it was somewhat debunking the myth that "safety" lies in small towns. Of course, the title "A Ship Made of Paper" is totally symbolic of the fragility of human relationships, and how they can so easily be destroyed by the pursuit reckless romantic love.

Wickedly insightful and passionate - this is a must read.

Michael

This is my first Scott Spencer book, and I will definitely seek out his previous works. I loved this book, and could identify with many of the characters. Mr. Spencer writes beautifully, his decriptions of people, places and situations are unconventional and startling. The book's main theme is obsession, and how it can destroy the lives of many. It doens't have the happiest of endings, but it was extremely well-written and enjoyable.

I'm a big fan of two previous Scott Spencer novels ("Endless Love" and "Waking the Dead"). But after reading a "A Ship Made of Paper," I wondered whether Spencer might be one of those writers who had a finite number of stories in him -- and we've already heard them all.

With his desire to speak out against racism in America, Spencer's heart is certainly in the right place, and it's too bad that more writers aren't of a like mind in that sense. Unfortunately, this novel functions more as an advertisement for adultery than it does for colorblindness. Neither Daniel nor Iris is trapped in a relationship that couldn't be gotten out of without, in Iris's case, a lawyer, or in Daniel's, a U-Haul. Yet instead of showing a bit of backbone, both Daniel and Iris, separately, before the central action of the book begins, decide to go looking for love behind their partners' backs. Only then do they develop a flirtation, start an affair, and Fall in Love. Then they have the gall to do things like, in Daniel's case, lie to his girlfriend Kate, carry on under her nose while living in her house as her suspicion rises, and research the practicalities of making a life with Iris while Kate sits at his side (I'm thinking of the scene where he queries a mixed couple about the practicalities of having an interracial marriage, while he's on what's supposed to be a romantic outing with Kate).

In an apparent effort to remove some of the sting of Daniel's actions, Spencer makes Kate an unappealing character herself -- she's racist, for one thing -- but do her flaws make it OK for Daniel to treat her in this manner? It seems to me that the answer is no; a good person would treat Kate with at least a minimal level of respect, regardless of her catalog of flaws. But Daniel is not of this mind. And it seems that Spencer, by making it easy to dislike Kate, is trying to take the easy way out, in a sense.

As for Daniel, Spencer has chosen to imbue his character with many of the traits he gave David Axelrod, the first-person narrator of "Endless Love." Yet while those characteristics (obsessiveness, among others) made sense in the older novel -- where the character in question was a teenager heartsick over the loss of his first love, and perhaps a bit crazy as well -- in Daniel, a middle-aged lawyer, these traits are charmless. They make Daniel seem like, well, an adolescent, when in fact he ought to be a grownup.

I won't get into the many implausible plot twists -- like the police officer who sends a volunteer search party out into treacherous terrain without flashlights, for instance, or Daniel's decision, while on his way to care for an invalid who despises him, to bring along two 5-year-olds, one of whom likes to beat the other up, even though the kids are supposed to be in day care anyway. Suffice to say there are plenty of unlikely scenes, and, yes, they're annoying.

Most offensive, though, is the author's suggestion that dishonesty is OK, as long as one has a worthy goal, like love, and especially if your love is interracial. A close second in the offensive category is the treatment of alcoholism, which, the text suggests, is a character flaw on a par with racism.

I gave this book a 2 because the writing is excellent. However, the characters are all unlikeable. They act irresponsibly and disrespectfully and none of them seems to learn anything. The whole race thing seems disassociated. Daniel and Iris are not torn apart because of color. They're torn apart because they are in committed relationships with other people and worse, kids are involved. I disagree with some of the other reviewers that the ending is unsatisfying; there is no ending. What about Hampton? Will their son improve or become a serial killer? Is Iris pregnant and why would that be a good thing at that point? Will Kate get on with her life and move back to NYC already? It doesn't have to be tied up in a neat little package, but give me something.

The back cover describes this novel as one that "captures all the drama, nuance, and helpless intensity of sexual and romantic yearning, and it bears witness to the age-old conflict between the order of the human community and the disorder of desire," and I bought this book because I was interested in how the author would tell this story. I agree with another reviewer in that my interest in reading the entire novel in spite of my disinterest and disdain for the characters is a testament to Spencer's skill as a writer. I think the book is well written, and I found the language to be descriptive, relatable, and moving, but the characters and their stories were less satisfying. It's a quick and easy read, detailing events and emotions that are confusing, troubling, and even off-putting, much like those in real life. I think it's worth reading--just don't expect any special enlightenment or warm-fuzzies.

I read this book about a year ago and recommended it to a few friends. This still sparks discussion amongst us even today. The debate mostly centers around Daniel's obsession or love for Iris. You be the judge! I found the author's use of setting and mood to match perfectly. Spencer does an excellent job of painting word pictures and weaving plotlines together smoothly. I finished this book quickly based more on the intrigue of the novel than length. If you're looking for a book club book for the new season pick this one up!

I would have given this less than one star if I could. It took me weeks to read this book. It made me so angry that I would put it down for days. To his credit, I had to continue reading it to the end to see if Mr. Spencer would somehow redeem himself. Sadly,he did not.

As a reader, this book was such a huge disappointment. Billed as a love story, the plot was weak and plodding. The characters and setting were boring and the lovers (all of them) had NO chemistry.

As a black woman this book was offensive and truly irritating. I am so sad that many folks will pick this drival up and confirm their stereotypes of African American people. Every black person in this book is dreary, unimaginative and negative. The author managed to cover every stereotype imaginable...

The successful but angry black man who is an unfeeling, sexual beast with his 'woman' on the weekend while cheating on her with prostitutes during the week. And naturally he is a distant father to his 'aggressive' son, the only black child in the school who is beating up all the white kids. The black 'gang' of juvenile home escapees who terrorize, Miss White Lady. How is it that in a town with no black people you manage to have a whole 'gang' of young black men incarcerated?

The depiction of Iris is the most disturbing of all. A woman who hated being black because it was such a burden and yet loved living in a small town where the waitresses wouldn't even serve her coffee did not ring true. Yet she claimed she loved it there because "there were so few neighborhoods with African-Americans where she could live with her family and garden and ski... News flash, Mr. Spencer, a black woman whose husband worked on Wall Street and could afford to have an apartment in the city and a house in the country could well afford to live in a number of communities with sizeable A-A populations right outside of New York City. Montclair, South Orange, Maplewood, Summit, Short Hills (in Jersey alone). How about New Rochelle in NY? And by the way, most of the Black folks out here in the suburbs garden, ski, golf, play tennis, go antiquing...and don't think twice about being black on a daily basis. We're too busy worrying about our children, our marriages, our parents, our friends, the furnace that needs replacing and so on... just like everyone else.

Most disturbing were the love scenes between her and her black husband. Her request that he rape her? Anal sex? No loving tenderness between such animals, huh?

This author should be ashamed of himself. If not, I'm ashamed for him.

Scott Spencer takes his readers on a greased roller coaster of wild twists and turns. You may want to wring their necks, but you will care about these characters. Great read.

I had read glowing reviews of this book so, skeptically, I ordered it and read it in less than 24 hours as I was recovering from jet lag. The book did not disappoint from beginning to end. The story stayed strong, characters developed well and the story never gave in to an easy out. Usually books disappoint me in the end--it is like the author runs out of 'steam' but this powered through right to the end. I am only sorry I read it so fast and have nothing more about the characters to read.