Customer Reviews

Snapshots

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the sort of book I love to read -- a book where people are well known to me, in their struggles and their day-to-day lives, in their cultural cues, but placed within a form that gives such familiarity a new twist. This is a well crafted novel, about a family in NJ from the 1970-1990s. Anyone who has lived through this period, particularly as a child growing into adulthood, will catch glimpses of herself in SNAPSHOTS. A book that gave me a chance to see how other people lived, even as I knew the people who lived this.

Meet the family as it is still forming in 1972, a mother, a father, a couple of kids. They're at the beach, they're having fun. Travel with them over the course of 20 years, add a couple more children, some problems. No, a lot of problems. Of course there are a lot of problems, it's a family, isn't it? Then bring them all together, the kids grown, the parents finally at peace with each other, for Christmas 1995. Everybody likes everybody else, there's peace and good will. Breathe deep. Now turn the whole thing around. That's what William Norris did, introduced his family as they come together in 1995, brought them--and us, his readers--backward in time, as the history of these individuals unfolds with all the inevitably of a story already written. In vivid, elegant, lean lanaguge, with all the heart that's in him (and us), this rookie novelist takes us into the heart of what it means to live and grow and stumble and fall and land on our feet. From where I'm standing, that's all there is.

In his first novel, Snapshots, the author William Norris has crafted a cleverly plotted and worthwhile read. In the tradition of Harold Pinter's works and Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland, Norris has told the story of the Mahoney family using the technique of presenting the family in present times and revealing more about them by moving through the past.

Ww first meet the Mahoney clan at the Jersey Shore as the Mahoney parents wait for each of their four children arrive to celebrate Christmas. Each of these children have past histories with each other and themselves and as in any family there are many emotional dynamics at work. The oldest daughter, a doctor, is coping with her demanding lifestyle and a reliance on alcohol to get through her days. The second daughter, who is married, is dealing with an emotional illness and her reliance on drugs to "keep her normal." The third child, a chef in England, longs to be with his girlfriend and is most content living far from his parents and siblings. Finally trhere is the youngest daughter, a vetenarian who can't bear to be separated from her woman lover whom she met in college. And presiding over this holiday reunion are the Mahoney parents who aren't quite sure who these adults belong to.

As the name of the book implies, readers are offered verbal vignettes about this family which serve as literary snapshots of this family. The book ends when the children are quite young and have spent the day at the Jersey shore with their parents. As they pack up and head for home all is before them but already one senses that some of the seeds have been planted for their futures. And while we as readers know most of the future, it is intriguing to see the children evolve and to put the puzzle pieces together till we finish the book.

This was a poignant novel especially for anybody who has raised a child and wondered "what if" or "why?"

This was a fine first novel to read and savor. And now I look forward to another book by William Norris.

This book has not gotten the attention it deserves. William Norris has a real gift for characterization; the people in his book come alive from the very first. Like Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, Norris details the life of an American family and how they got to the places they are --but Norris chooses a path of sensitivity instead of contempt, and the results are characters that linger.

how people became who they are now? This well-crafted book takes one Irish Catholic family and works backward in time to discover the answers to why they are the way they are, how their relationships have formed, the effects our families have on us. Some parts of the book really do stay in your mind like perfect snapshots. I love the end. Highly recommended.

I don't read too many contemporary authors...I tend to focus on books written at least 75 years ago, but I was not disappointed when I read "Snapshots." Mr. Norris' rich characters grabbed me instantly and I was drawn into their world. I wanted to know every detail about their lives...I wanted to find out where they ended up. Every member of the fictional Mahoney family felt like a real person...someone I could have grown up with...someone I now send a Xmas card to every year. I can't wait to see what Norris comes up with next...and he's helped to open my eyes to the many great contemporary writers out there right now.

Snaphots was a deeply satisfying read and all the more gratifying because I took a risk and picked up this book by a writer I had never heard of before.

Bill Norris' 'Snapshots' is an outstanding debut effort. His look back at 25 years in the life of the Mahoney family could have easily slipped into melodrama. Instead, by clevely taking the reader through the story backwards, one is entertained by a layered, thoughtful look at the trials and tribulations that a family encounters. This stylistic choice also allows benefits Norris' book because seemingly insignificant details often turn into significant plot points.

His characters are well-thought out and the situations they face are engaging. His ability to prevent the story from become a tawdry soap opera.

This book is highly recommended. It is a fantastic read.

I read this book after returning from a family reunion which seemed to make the first chapter, where grown children return home for Christmas, all the more meaningful. I loved the characters. I want to know more about them. It was a terrific read! (I only gave it 4 stars because of all the sexual descriptions--I could have used my own imagination.)