Pasadena: A Novel

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

David Ebershoff's second novel, Pasadena, is rich with exuberant details. But instead of overwhelming readers, Ebershoff (The Danish Girl) manages to deftly conduct the symphony found in everyday life. The historical novel opens with Andrew Jackson Blackwood, who has come from the east "with a small wad of money of questionable origin and a full, boyish smile." Blackwood's intent is to buy and develop Rancho Pasaden, and as he passes through the dying orange groves and elaborate halls of the mansion, the realtor tells him the entangled stories of its previous inhabitants. But if Blackwood's character is stretched thin by Ebershoff's drive to reveal the Pasadena that once was, the stories of other characters, such as Linda Stamp, Bruder, and Captain Willis Poore, prove difficult to put down.

As driven as the plot may be, the writing does not suffer. Ebershoff has a luxuriant way with words, and through his beautiful prose he includes readers in the intrigue of a swiftly passing shop window, the refinement of a well-made lobster trap, and the coarseness of a saloon filled with whores and their clients. The many details bring us closer to each character's motives, and when the last page is read we may even realize that the book moved us to a different time and place--just like a good book should. --Karin Rosman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The sophomore slump strikes in Ebershoff's muddled, uneven second novel, a historical work set in his native Pasadena that gets off to a solid start when land developer Andrew Blackwood tries to buy a ranch from an older farmer named Bruder as WWII ends and big profits loom on the horizon. The recalcitrant rancher refuses to sell, but rather than follow that promising plot line, Ebershoff shifts to the beginning of the century to explore the history of the ranch. His vehicle is a complex romantic triangle involving Bruder and his boss, Willis Poore, as they vie for the affection of the beautiful Linda Stamp while the fate of the ranch hangs in the balance. Ebershoff's ongoing fascination with the details and minutiae of his various subplots romantic and otherwise and the Pasadena history he integrates into them slows the momentum of the romantic story line, which briefly develops some intriguing sparks after a strange incident between Bruder and Poore during WWI in which a land exchange gives Bruder the upper hand after the war even though Poore ends up marrying Stamp. As beautifully written as the subplots are, Ebershoff's inability to develop narrative tension makes them seem jumbled and static, and the resolution to the triangle is anticlimactic. Bruder and Stamp are granted some revelatory moments as their longings unfold, and Ebershoff writes eloquently about the impending changes that are about to transform Pasadena. But the triangle conceit isn't strong enough to carry a novel of this length and depth, and this book represents a significant drop-off from Ebershoff's brilliant exploration of the artistic world in The Danish Girl.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (July 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812968484
• ISBN-13: 978-0812968484
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,630 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Familiar pickings in Old California, December 30, 2002

By	Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Pasadena: A Novel (Hardcover)

Entangled in the past and driven by conflicted loyalties, the protagonists are introduced via the curiosity of Andrew Jackson Blackwood, a real estate entrepreneur with a shady past. Using Blackwood as a device, this "Wuthering Heights" plot unfolds with Linda Stamp (Cathy) and Bruder (Heathcliff) as the star-crossed lovers. Their drama is played out in the early years of the 20th Century, when California falls prey to the avid schemes of developers.

Part of Pasadena takes place just a few miles south of where I live, so I chose this book partly for the familiarity of place. Often Ebershoff's descriptive passages are as perfect as the rows of orange trees that once filled the acres of Southern California. But at other times, his extravagant phrases grow tedious, describing myriad flora and fauna native to the state. If I hadn't known the lush hillsides and pure blue skies, now smog-filled and over-built, it is possible to glean a bit of the former beauty of California. As well, the profligate wealth of the era and the careless use of natural resources plundered by entitlement are stark reminders of the disrespect for nature's generosity.

In the beginning, the story is enchanting in its praise of simple farm life and the rewards of hard work in a setting of natural splendor. But by the time the novel moves to Pasadena, the dialog is thick with duplicity, complications, misunderstandings and secrets. In the city of Pasadena, affluence exists side by side with poverty, an uneasy coexistence, with the workers who sustain the privileged lifestyle crammed into inadequate housing, the rambling estates surrounded by acres of groves. That said, Ebershoff does a fine job of portraying wealthy Pasadenans as vapid, elitist and full of energy to better the lives of those less fortunate, ad nauseum. That the upper classes of the 1900's consider the immigrant workers less capable is obvious and belabored.

The great flaw in Pasadena is the promise of its title. Pasadena, the novel, connotes a more comprehensive attention to the city and its origins, yet the book, but for a few asides, is located on one private estate of producing groves, and limited to this very specific world. All of this is historically accurate, but not really of the scope the title suggests. The story is quite compelling on its own, with the psychological twists and turns of the characters, rendering Mr. Blackwood unnecessary. Some incisive editing of about 100 pages might have made this novel more memorable. But there is still the problem of the lover's complete inability to communicate with each other, and the tiresome denouement of their choices.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Saga Of Pasadena From A Native Son, September 13, 2003

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Pasadena" is a splendid novel which affirms David Ebershoff's talent for writing great fiction. It is a far different novel than his critically acclaimed - and popular - literary debut "The Danish Girl"; one still worth the time of a devout reader of contemporary fiction. Ebershoff's latest novel is a sprawling epic which covers almost the first half of the 20th Century, focusing on the shattered lives of Linda Stamp, her father Dieter, and the two men she falls in love with; the mysterious orphan Bruder and the equally enigmatic Captain Willis Poore. Ebershoff tells a compelling yarn about Pasadena's rapid rise from a frontier haven to wealthy Easterners to a surburban city soon to be engulfed by Los Angeles, as seen through the eyes of these four protagonists. And yet, as splendid as Ebershoff's writing is, it did not quite captivate me as much as China Mieville's "The Scar" (Although Mieville's novel is fantasy, it too also tells a compelling saga about dysfunctional characters.). Still I am sufficiently impressed with Ebershoff's latest tale to grant it five stars; it is among the most compelling works of contemporary mainstream fiction I've come across.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Listen don't read, December 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Pasadena (Audio CD)

This muddled rip-off of Wuthering Heights would be a must-miss were it not for the audiobook narrator Lorna Raver's superb, nuanced reading. She gives us vivid characterization where the author gives none, and excels at mood and atmosphere. A beautiful voice beautifully employed on an unworthy project.