Customer Reviews

Suspension

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yesterday, while watching the canned media spectacle of the five year 9/11 anniversary, I kept thinking of Westfield's book.

For most New Yorkers, remembering that day has little to do with flags, weeping eagles, & endtimes.

It was, for many, simply a very very very bad day in the city. It's a personal thing. This is just a tiny part of what I love about Westfield's novel. That such an incomprehensibly large event serves merely as a backdrop to a larger, personalized, comedically suspenseful page turner - with enough twists and turns and back stories to ensure that the book never leaves your hands until they're all resolved. Perfectly.

Suspension is a unique and interesting perspective on the New York City of today. And as far as I'm concerned, the most authentic one i've read to date.

Andy Green's job is to create quizzes for educational purposes. As long as he submits his work regularly and shows up in his office occasionally, everyone is happy. Living a simple life, he has a number of good friends, including a rich and exciting boyfriend and seemingly no enemies. One day, however, everything changes and shakes his world up. His sister's fiancée gets badly beaten after a dinner with Andy and ends up in the hospital. Andy is very shaken by this and locks himself in his apartment and refuses to go out. The world does not stop turning though and his family and friends try to help him overcome the fear and convince him to get out. One day he receives a strange package which finally makes him get out and solve a few mysteries.

Suspension is a very strange novel. It's funny in parts but other parts are quite gloomy and dark. The mixture of mystery and comic events makes the book very engrossing and hard to put down. The main character is quite likable but also hard to figure out at times. To sum this up, the book is a very quick and captivating read.

In a keenly-crafted first effort seemingly generated by a more seasoned pen, Robert Westfield tells a story of isolation and the repercussions stemming from both the choices we make and those we're unwilling to. It is a story that, although set primarily in New York City, moves easily beyond and applies a hand to us all. There is an immediate sense of familiarity with the characters - an indication the author has succeeded establishing empathy - and then the gaining of an even deeper appreciation and understanding as those comfortable layers that worked to lure us in are stripped away to reveal the foundations and motivations justifying actions most of us consider disagreeable. Also impressive is Westfield's ability to take those delicate social matters we are reluctant to discuss and infuse within a humor that somehow lightens the load without affecting their necessary impact. Suspension is a novel that continues to gain momentum throughout, never letting up, even when we have closed the book and are left with its powerful echoes. It is authors such as this tackling issues such as these that makes for the fascinating, thought-provoking literature I often search for yet seldom find.

As a busy mom, there is nothing more frustrating than making time for a book that doesn't grip you. Fortunately, that wasn't the case with "Suspension." I found myself repeatedly plopping my toddler and preschooler in front of videos and locking myself in the bathroom to steal time with this book. Couldn't put it down.
The prose has a wonderful cadence and is very smart, in a learned sense -- but without making the reader feel he must run for the dictionary or encyclopedia. It's accessible. The characters really stay with you. And you don't need to be from or know New York to appreciate the story. The personalilities and themes are universal.
I loved this book and have recommended it to a bunch of people. I can't wait for Westfield's next book!

This is merely a stunning debut novel from a wonderful writer -- it alternately juggles humor (which is very funny) with drama (which is deeply moving) while keeping an interesting storyline going with richly crafted characters. One of the finest novels of the year. One can't write much about the plot without revealing spoilers - better to just settle down in front of the fire and start to read...I loved this novel.

other than to say that I'm somewhat astounded that this is a first novel. Characters, plot and story, and beautiful writing (isn't it just fabulous when a writer actually uses the English language well?) make this one of the best novels I've read in recent years. One of the things I noticed (and found interesting) from reading the interview with the writer at the end is how he ascribed various elements of his life to different characters in the novel -- not as if any character is Westfield barely disguised, but he uses his own experience to animate the other (infinitely interesting) characters. I can't wait to see what's next after this absolutely satisfying debut.

Robert Westfield's "Suspension" gets a hold of you from the first page and doesn't let go until the last. Part loving tribute to New York, part mystery, and all around look at how we live our day to day lives, "Suspension" is a quick, griping read sure to keep you guessing and laughing throughout. As other reviews have stated, it is the story of Andy Green who, after several months of self imposed isolation, learns that life is what happens when we are in another room. The prose is gentle and flows well as Westfield invites you into Andy's life, then takes you for a ride that you didn't expect. The events of 9/11 take a backseat to the confusion and revelations that await Andy and the reader. A very enjoyable ride; one I would not have a problem taking again and again. Can't wait for your next one, Robert!!

i thought this book was amazing. it is so good to see a book that can take on what it is to live in a post 9/11 world, how it has intrinsically changed us as human beings, and yet leave you feeling somehow comforted and alive. and i love seeing new york as a real character, it reminded me of dawn powell that way. and the great thing is even as it feels literary, and important somehow, it still is a real plot-driven page turner! highly recommended

One of the funniest and most poignant books I've read in a long time. Westfield looks at New York living in the 21st century with a keen eye, takes notes with a wicked pen and cradles it all in an incredibly deep affection for the City. I'm starting my fourth read of the book this week. Bravo!

Suspension is four (maybe five) novels in one. A jam-packed work that shifts deftly between the farcical adventures of a Russian cabaret singer, the soul-searching inward journey of an urban exile, a page-turner of a mystery that moves at a rollicking pace, and a complex love letter to the greatness (and some ugliness)of New York City which, like the protagonist Andy Green, was forever changed by the attacks of 9/11. It's as if Westfield wrote four different stories and then decided to carefully weave them all together. The result is terrifically entertaining, provocative and moving all at the same time.

It is hard to believe that Suspension is a debut novel. Westfield's ideas are profoundly philosophical, his humor sparkling, his characters memorable, and his masterful navigation of language and feeling is truly inspiring.

This is a novel you will want to read again and again!