Customer Reviews

Wit's End (Basic)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm at my wit's end, feeling like a party pooper for writing a negative review of a book I so wanted to like, a book which seems to give other people great enjoyment. But truth be told, this novel just didn't grab me. The critical endorsements on the book jacket all mention the author's narrative voice, which I agree is witty and engaging, what enticed me to read in the first place. And, since I live in Northern California, it's always fun to recognize specific places and types of people, especially the "characters" who hang out in Santa Cruz. But they remained just that- "characters" and not real people with whom I could connect. Other reader comments summarize the plot much better than I can, so I will just try to give an idea of what I expected but failed to find. As a mystery lover, I love a good puzzle, whodunnit and why. But this novel is a case of habeus corpus: where's the body? Where's the mystery? Many possibilities (the protagonist's search for her father's past, the mysterious disappearance of a dollhouse figure, fan mail to a fictional detective, the link between cult communities, both fictional and real), but nothing that even the apathetic protagonist seems compelled to investigate. In fact, she doesn't start seriously searching until 2/3 of the way through the book! Also, for me a clever, humorous narrative voice has to connect to the characters in a meaningful way, not just convey their random thoughts and lack of introspection. At one point the protagonist complains about "sarcasm without wit"; "Wit's End" has the cleverness that goes beyond sarcasm yet still remains on the surface, away from psychological depth. Not "sarcasm without wit," but wit without empathy.

As a reader of mysteries, I might be the ideal audience for this book.

The plot that drives the story flows quietly; it's the sparkles and sallies that make this story enchanting. Like the Jane Austen Book Club, this is not a book to be rushed through.

What I liked best about the book - and I liked a lot of things - was the author's voice. The absurdities of the story are the absurdities of everyday life, observed by a master and reported in a deadpan voice; I frequently found myself chuckling. (It's a book that elicits chuckles rather than guffaws.) The characters (dachshunds included) are drawn with affection and an eagle eye. Rima, the protagonist, was good company.

It's got a great sense of place: the beach town of Santa Cruz, the decrepit ranch, the interesting Victorian mansion, Wit's End, and the intricate doll-houses relating to the murder mysteries of A.B. Early.

The mysteries driving the plot are interesting, but aren't the story; which is why it doesn't matter that there is no case. To me, that was about Rima coming to terms with the loss of her father, and even more, of her beloved younger brother. And yet, despite the tragedy at its heart, this is not a tragic book. It's a story of how one goes about surviving: with humor and heart.

After the death of her father (expected), Rima Lannisell moves from Cleveland, Ohio to Santa Cruz, California to stay with her godmother, famous mystery author, A.B. Early; a woman whom she hardly knows. During her stay, Rima plans to find out just what the story is behind Addison's relationship with her father.

The majority of the plot focuses on Rima becoming embroiled in her own "Maxwell Lane" mystery, making it sometimes difficult to tell what is "real" and what is fantasy.

During Rima's quest to find out about the relationship between Addison and her deceased father, Rima finds herself becoming a detective with the help of Addison's fictional detective, Maxwell Lane.

Much of the plot centers around letters written during the early times of Addisons career from a woman named Constance Wellington, who lived in Holy City - a transformed cult. The reader soon finds that Addison is quite obsessed with cults.

Most of the time, Rima is a self-pitying woman who continues to mourn the death of her brother, Oliver, who's been dead about four years. Personally, I found Rima the least likable character of the bunch, but it didn't interfere with the reading of the novel.

Fowler interlaces humorous characters (with Addison Early, herself, and other secondary characters) while still making them appear as real as can be. The commentary about online blogs and "everyone being a writer" (through Addison) is hilarious and oh-so true.

The plot ties together neatly at the end, but also wants you to hope for more.

Mysteries are my weakness, and the whole idea of the doll-house murder scenes in Wit's End was so delightful to start with that I was drawn right in. Fowler sets off in a voice that is fresh and original, stirring in quirky characters with great names like Scorch - some of whom are "real," some of whom are characters in books within the book, and some of whom are both. The funky Santa Cruz scene and a cult outpost called Holy City are as fascinating on the page as the real Santa Cruz is. And when a mini-murder corps (named Thomas Grand) mysteriously disappears, the fun really begins.

As Rima - one of those characters who both is real and fictional, at least in some fans' minds! - tries to uncover the truth about her family, the reader is treated to wonderfully funny and true insights about human nature and the way we behave online and off. Wit's End is without a doubt one of the freshest, most original books I've read this year!

I enjoyed "The Jane Austen Book Club" so thought that Karen Joy Fowler's next novel would be a no-brainer. I was quite disappointed. Fowler's wit truly does not fail the reader - it is in ample supply on just about every page. I also enjoyed the well-drawn characters and especially relished the Santa Cruz setting and dusty old house. But I found the story-line distressing difficult to follow. I really wanted to quit the read at about page 200, but persevered. Sorry that I can't recommend this book.

No one writes more engaging books than Karen Joy Fowler, and WIT'S END is no exception. Part mystery, part reluctant love story, part hilarious cultural send-up, the book is elegant and intelligent at every level. Fowler is the best postmodern writer working today; her books weave allusions and jokes into their engrossing plots with great deftness, and her prose is inventive and always beautiful. In WIT'S END she not only creates a mystery novel but also a contemplation of what mystery means--why we seek and need the very things we yearn to solve. A wonderfully learned book that wears its learning lightly, a gorgeously written book that moves with grace and economy, it's one of the finest books published this year, and one that I am commending to everyone I know.

The premise for this story is intriguing: the past meets the present through death scene dioramas and faded old letters. And I expected to enjoy it - a genteel sort of mystery, set in a place I know well, written by an author I enjoy. But in the end, Wit's End felt like a book trying too hard to be about a place, losing the plot along the way. Very recognizable Santa Cruz events and eccentricities over-accessorize the story - to a distracting degree - as do the strong political leanings of the characters. None of that served any real purpose in developing the mystery, which fizzed out in the end. I don't mind having read it, but I can't recommend it very strongly. You can borrow my copy instead!

A young woman who has lost her entire immediate family comes from Ohio to live with her godmother, a very successful California mystery writer. What was the older woman's relationship to the girl's father--and to her own?

This slight novel by the author of "The Jane Austen Book Club" is enjoyable if you are not expecting too much from the mystery element--the plot is as evanescent as the Santa Cruz mists. But if you are in the mood for witty commentary on contemporary American politics and culture as exhibited in this California seaside town, you'll be pleased-- excesses and irrationality of both right and left get a drubbing. The themes of loss and love are examined, sometimes poignantly.

Not a classic novel, but it has its pleasures.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was charming and gentle, but held my attention throughout. I enjoyed the descriptions of the setting, and the whole premise of the story. I can easily see myself rereading it several years from now. Bravo!

Rima loses things: "countless watches, rings, sunglasses, socks, and pens. The keys to the house, the post office box, the car. The car. A book report on Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone (Modern Library Classics) plus the library's copy of the book plus her library card. Her mother's dangly turquoise earrings, the phone number of a guy she met playing pool and really, really did want to see again. One passport, one winter coat, four cell phones. One long-term boyfriend. One basically functional family."

Rima's mother died almost 15 years ago, her brother was killed in a car accident, and her father recently died of cancer. This 29-year-old school teacher needs a break from her life in Ohio.

Rima accepts an invitation to stay with her wealthy godmother in Santa Cruz, California. Addison Early is "The Grande Dame of Murder," a very successful mystery writer. She lives in a beach house called "Wit's End" that was once owned by a survivor of the Donner Party. The rooms are filled with dollhouses, each a replica of a murder scene that she constructed to plan a different novel, e.g., "'The Box-Top Murders', poison in the breakfast cereal; 'One of Us', rattler in the medicine chest; and "The Widow Reed', weed whacker in the hedges."

Maxwell Lane is the star of Addison's novels, movies and TV series. Like a modern day Sherlock Holmes, he lives in the minds of his fans. Addison fight intrusions on her privacy, including a series of Wiki-wars on Wikipedia. Maxwell's life is analyzed on Web sites, and he's become a star of "fan fiction". [Wikipedia's current definition: "Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF or fic) is a broadly defined term for fiction about characters or settings written by admirers of the original work, rather than by the original creators."]

Like Fowler's wonderful The Jane Austen Book Club, this comedy of manners has charm. The plot is weak -- Rima makes a half hearted attempt to find who stole one of the doll house figures and to discover the true relationship between Early and her father -- but in each case Rima concludes "there is no case."

Nonetheless, there is subtle humor here like the introductory list of Rima's silly and serious lost items. The fraught relationship between writers and fans in the Internet Age provides topical interest and fodder for insights into the mystery genre.

I enjoyed the book and Fowler's clever insights, but missed the richness of interaction of characters described by Fowler in the Book Club. And, of course, Maxwell Lane is no Jane Austen.

Robert C. Ross, 2008