Customer Reviews

An Unfinished Life

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One of the finest books written about growing up in the West is Mark Spragg's memoir, "Where Rivers Change Direction." He's also a talented screenwriter whose "Everything That Rises" is a touching film about a rancher father and young son. So I've found myself expecting probably too much from his fiction. "The Fruit of Stone" and "An Unfinished Life" seem to lack the sparkling brilliance and deep truth of his earlier work, and I wish it wasn't so. When Spragg is good, he breaks your heart.

"An Unfinished Life" reads much like a film script. It moves along in the present tense and is largely visual, describing behavior and capturing dialogue, but often staying just on the surface and not getting to the emotional heart of a scene. The characters and situations are often a little too predictable; you feel that you've seen and heard them already somewhere else. Dedicated to author Kent Haruf ("Plainsong"), the book seems rather much inspired by that author's small-town characters of three generations. You keep wishing Spragg would just yield to his own vision, which if his memoir is any indication, has to be deeper, darker, more troubling, and powerful.

Having said all that, I won't discourage readers from enjoying many of the pleasures that are to be found in this novel. A master of quirky dialogue, Spragg writes several scenes, mostly between the two old men at the center of the story, full of quiet verbal sparring that makes their relationship spring to life. The tentative friendship between a young sheriff and a woman on the run from an abusive husband keeps us interested. And his journey into the mind of the husband who stalks her is thoroughly creepy and disturbing.

But for readers who don't know Spragg, I'd point them instead to his memoir, "Where Rivers Change Direction." It's the real thing.

Griff, a precocious 9yo girl who is determined to force Jean, her mother, to grow up and take responsibility for herself, is the main focus of this book that starts with Griff pretty much forcing her mom to drive away from her last abusive boyfriend and head toward California. They only make it to Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean grew up and married Griffin, Griff's dad, who died in a car accident before Griff was born.
Einar, Griffin's angry old father (angry cuz he blames Jean for the death of his only son), reluctantly takes them in, and Jean begins working at the local restaurant.
Griff falls in love with the ranch, the old man, his Vietnam War buddy Mitch who's been nearly killed by a grizzly, and with the sense of permanence that she's been lacking all her life - and she's determined not to leave.
Good story-telling, good writing, good characters, good book.

Though well written, this is not a challenging read, as I tore through the book in nothing flat. The characters are largely well developed and enagaging. I agree with another reviewer, this reads like a film script or could even be a play. Griff, the little girl is the centerpiece of the story and her brave, gutsy, irrespressible spirit is a delight. I felt the author captured that time in a little girls life where there's a fear of nothing-that is definitely the case with Griff. I loved this book for Griff-she's spunky & wise.

You genuinely care about the characters and the two crusty old cowboys who are lifelong friends getting goo-goo over a little girl is sweet-I love Griff's observations of these two old coots. You really sense the patience and calm in these two older men that often in life only comes with age.

There is some predictability to the story however, and I found some trouble with Jean's character. The constant bad taste in men when she'd been married to a good man who was not abusive I find a bit implausible, and what's the deal with her and the sheriff? Their relationship just seemed a bit flimsy for me, was it just for the sex or for protection from the nasty abusive boyfriend Roy, I couldn't really tell- it could have been fleshed out more.

I look forward to the movie, but casting Jennifer Lopez as Jean??? She just doesn't strike me as the earthy ranch girl type from Wyoming...sorry folks. Maybe she'll surprise me.

Mark Spragg is an excellent storyteller - he allows you to see the vast land of Wyoming and the emptiness that is in the land and his characters.

This is a well used story that seems to work over and over again. One of loss and pain without meaning. It echoes in our postmodern minds - there isn't any meaning to be found, so just make the best of it. Find some people to attach one's self to and live out a bleak existence.

The life in the story is Griff the child. She still has hope and the others seem to feed off this hope, even though deep down they know it is just an illusion. Luckily the story ends before Griff learns of the futility of her hope and that there really is nothing out there.

If you want to understand the postmodern mind, I would recommend this book. If you are looking for a masterfully crafted story about the emptiness of the human condition, this is a good one. But if you are looking for something noble, something that points that there is a deeper meaning to life than just getting through it, you need to look elsewhere.

Three of the main characters in this book are fairly stereotypical - Einar, the hard, wizened grandfather who lost a son, the precocious adolescent, the hated daughter-in-law. Added to this mix is the grandfather's best friend, a near cripple due to a bear-mauling, and the novel works well although at first blush you think you have seen them all before.

The daughter-in-law is battered by her boyfriend. Her daughter calls her on a promise that they would leave with the next beating and they do. With no where else to go, they end up at the grandfather's ranch. He did not know he had a granddaughter and she did not know she had a grandfather. The mother is hated by her father-in-law because she was driving when her husband, Einar's son, was killed in an accident.

As one might expect, the granddaughter melts the hearts of the two old men. The daughter-in-law begins to win some grudging respect, mostly due to the fact that she has a good daughter (if the child is good the parent can't be all bad).

So much of this book is predictable, you would think it would fall into the "already read that" category. However, Mr. Spragg's writing has a haunting quality to it. This makes the entire novel different and makes the characters almost seem ephemeral at times. They haunt and are the type of characters that will stay with a reader for a good long time - the mark of quality characterization.

This is a story of family and character renewal. The individauls renew themselves independently as well as members of the family. The precipatator is the child, yet she is very likeable. She is not the sappy sweet irritating child cast member. She is believable and has no supernatural insights or powers. Perhaps this is why the entire novel seems more believable than most of this type.

A good book that will stay with you.

An Unfinished Life is a decent read, not a great one. In tone and plot and character, it reads a bit like a Plainsong shadow--similar story but more vague and with less of an impact. Or one could say it reads more like a typical screenplay in that its characters are somewhat lacking in depth/history, much of the plot is easily predicted, and some of the scenes/characters seem created solely for their "quirkily cute" effect. It's by no means a bad book, but it's more of a snack than a full meal.
Jean Gilkyson left her hometown of Ishawooa, Iowa after the car accident that killed her husband Griffin (she was driving). Her father-in-law, grizzled and gruff Einar, has never forgiven her for "killing" his son and so she's never returned, moving from town to town and from abusive boyfriend to abusive boyfriend. Having left her most recent one, Roy, Jean realizes she has no money and no place to go but "home", along with her very precocious nine-year-old daughter. Einar of course isn't thrilled to see her, but the same isn't true of Einar's friend of 50 years, his Korean War buddy Mitch, whom Einar must now take care of since a grizzly bear attack that left Mitch badly wounded. Added to the mix of characters is the small-town Sheriff Crane, the local cafe owner, and the grizzly bear.
The story as mentioned is relatively predictable. Two gruff old men, one long-held grudge against family, a cute and precocious nine-year-old girl. Does anyone doubt where the story is going? The same predictability mars the side plots involving Roy's attempt to chase down Jean and the Mitch and Einar's plans for the recently captured grizzly bear (who is "sad on the inside", unlike Mitch who is "sad on the outside").
The predictability holds true with regard to the characterization as well; we've seen these people many times before: the lonesome gruff old man with the heart of ice (easily melted), the good-hearted persistent small-town sheriff, and so on. And their lack of deep history doesn't serve the book well, especially with regard to the long-standing relationship between Mitch and Einar. We're plopped down into this tight bond without ever giving a real sense of where it came from.
That said, despite its predictability of story and character, the book remains an enjoyable read, if conventionally so. One wishes for more depth, more bite, fewer "cute" tricks, but it goes down quickly and easily. I can see it working quite well as a movie, possibly because I go into movies with lower expectations. Slightly recommended, though I'd give Spragg another chance on his next novel, hoping that he attempts more than he does here.

This is what passes for great literature today. So-called beautiful writing with a cliched story and empty characters. The men in the story seem flesh and bone, but their lives and relationships are less than believable. The young widow in the story is totally unsympathetic and I couldn't understand how she ended up in the life she has. Her daughter, age 9 supposedly, seemed more like 11 or 12. The whole plot was trumped up. The writing is conventional at best. Read Plainsong by this author's mentor, Kent Haruf, instead.

At first I wasn't going to read this book as the jacket stated it involved yet another abused woman. I figured same story different characters. I was wrong. The author gave us the gift of Griff and her grandfather and a love they grow into. And Mitch loves Griff so much. I loved how the author told us about the relationship between Einor and Mitch and the bear. True, loyal friends to the end. Griff's life becomes the adventure every child should have when her mother finally leaves ole Roy the abuser. What a jerk, aren't they all? It is a hard to put down book, the author kept us wondering what would happen next. Excellent writing.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I love the characters in An Unfinished Life. Mark Spragg has nailed old men with regrets, a woman with a sordid past, and a young girl with hope.

AN UNFINISHED LIFE sat on my bookshelf for three years. I'd see it there but choose something else to read. All the same, I always knew I'd want to read it. In time. The cover alone kept my interest.

I'd never read anything by Mark Spragg before though so for some reason, kept passing it over. Then, last week, its turn came and I started reading it. It grabbed ahold of me immediately. I was transported to Wyoming, a state I've only driven through but which appealed to me in its own unique way. I'd read and then have to make lunch or do the laundry but even when I was doing something else, I was thinking about Einer and Mitch, Griff and Jean, and their relationships with each other and with their pasts.

The book is marvelous and definitely made me want to get in the car and head west as soon as I could. Since I can't, I'll continue to visit in my mind and reflect in Mark Spragg's incredible painting of a place few of us even think about on a regular basis.

As a side note, the movie (Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman) is stunningly wonderful and if you've seen it, you'll certainly want to read the book since it is, of course, 100 times better.