Customer Reviews

Twenty Questions: A Novel

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On Sunday, December 2, at the Oregon Book Awards ceremony at the Porland Art Museum, Alison Clement won this year's Ken Kesey Award for the Novel. I was pleased and gratified because "Twenty Questions" is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. I found myself helplessly turning pages, thanks to Clement's skillful development of plot, characterizations, and theme. Clement has a gift for revealing just the right amount of information a little at a time--keeping me reading to find out the answers. Her intriguing characters and their complex relationships made me sorry to finish the book, no longer able to enjoy the company of these folks who had become like good friends. And her adept treatment of "personal and political violence and the connection between the two" imbues the story with an important universal message that carries over into life. Alison Clement's magnificient novel has proved the solution my gift-giving for this year.

I loved this book and devoured it. The characters are so well defined, and get under your skin. It's a change of pace to read a story about blue collar people, and those who are living in the trenches.
The plot is dynamite. There are some great twists that I didn't see coming.
My only caveat--in the end the story stays with you, and it was depressing. Maybe that is testament to what a good book this is.

I loved this novel!! I never wanted to put it down... it definitely keeps you engaged and wanting to know more!!
A new favorite author of mine!

When she saw the newspaper, Oregon elementary school cafeteria cook June Duvall knew instantly how fortunate she was. Yesterday her car broke down and Ronald Pruett offered her a ride; she considered accepting it as she hates saying no, but declined anyway. Pruett has been arrested for the strangulation murder of Vernay Hanks, a waitress at Darnay's Hamburgers, who obviously said yes to his ride offer.

Though not sure why she cannot stay out of this tragedy, June, rationalizing it as survivor's guilt, befriends the victim's daughter, ten years old student Cindy, and her newly named guardian, her crotchety Uncle Harlan. Though she loves her spouse Bill as she always thinks of the Nyro-Fifth dimension tune, she finds herself spending more time with the grieving duo. This leads her to wonder what is lacking with her relationship with Bill, but soon a bigger puzzle surfaces when Cindy wears a bracelet that belongs to June's mother-in-law; other evidence surfaces linking Bill with Vernay as June, applying the kids' game TWENTY QUESTIONS, inadvertently begins to disentangle the circumstances that led to the woman's homicide.

Though the anti-war stance seems out of place, this fine drama makes strong cases that justice is myopic when it comes to the unfair treatment of the disenfranchised poor and on a personal scale to be honest with yourself and others in relationships. June is a terrific protagonist struggling with deep feelings of guilt that ignite inside her when she realizes Cindy attends her school. She knows her lies to gain access is wrong though her intentions are honorable. The amateur sleuth elements augment a deep character study of personal and often overlooked societal responsibilities to one another.

Harriet Klausner

This has to be one of the best books I've ever read. The book description only scratches the surface of what it's about. It's an incredible story about a woman, June Duvall, and her relationships with other people and how she thinks and how she reacts to things that happen in her life, both directly and indirectly. Alison Clement is an immensely talented writer who has done an amazing job of developing the characters that make them seem so real, like you're getting to know them rather than just reading about them. Her use of dialog between June and the people in her life, combined with both subtle and vivid descriptions of June's thoughts and reactions, make this a book that's hard to put down. I also highly recommend the author's previous book, Pretty Is As Pretty Does. It's a completely different story, but just as enjoyable and well written.

It is difficult to review this book without giving away too much but... June believes she escaped the clutches of a murderer and is led to learn more about the woman she thinks was murdered in her stead. She finds out more than she wants to know and learns her marriage isn't all its cracked up to be. In the process, she befriends, through a lie, the murdered woman's daughter and brother. When she learns her association with the child is more than the simple fact that Cindy (the dead woman's daughter) attends the elementary school she works at, she begins to unwravel the mystery.
I enjoyed the book, although I didn't appreciate the anti-war sentiments being tossed in for good measure. I didn't think they had anything to do with the story at all and were simply a means of the author making her opinions known.

I love this book more each time I read it. The characters are developed so well you can't help but get sucked into the story. The author described the emotions that follow a break up & betrayal to a T! I recommend this book to anyone with a soft side!

I couldn't get away from this book. I live in New York City and normally do my reading on the hour-long trip to and from work on the subway train. This book is so engrossing I did not want the train ride to end so I could keep reading. I almost missed my stop a few times; it's that good. I genuinely wish it could have gone on; I wanted to keep reading about June Duvall! Hooray, Alison Clement!