West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan: Pick or Pass?

West of Sunset
by Stewart O'Nan
Viking, 2015
305 pages
source: review copy from publisher via Netgalley

Regular readers of this blog know I am a huge fan of author Stewart O'Nan. I am in awe of his ability to turn ordinary people and the mundane events of daily life into novels filled with characters and situations that genuinely matter to me. O'Nan also has the distinction of being the only author I have ever pre-ordered.

His new novel, West of Sunset, is a bit of a departure. As you've probably heard, the novel is about F. Scott Fitzgerald, specifically the last three years of his life. He is a "has been" in literary circles, his health is failing, and Zelda is institutionalized. He moves to Hollywood to try his hand at screenwriting. There are no ordinary people or mundane events here. Instead, big time celebrities grace these pages - Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Bogie, Joan Crawford, George Oppenheimer, and the list goes on.

The novels starts off slowly. Very slowly. In fact, I considered abandoning it. HOWEVER, it is Stewart O'Nan and I did request a review copy, so I chose to continue and was eventually rewarded.

Should you read West of Sunset?  I do recommend this novel, but with reservations. Hopefully my "Pick or Pass" will help you make your decision.

Pick up West of Sunset  if:

• You are a die-hard fan of Stewart O'Nan and want to read everything he has ever written.
• You can't get enough of F. Scott Fitzgerald, his novels, or his life with Zelda.
• You generally enjoy fictionalized accounts of the lives of famous people.
• You appreciate a beautifully written, well-researched piece of fiction which provides insight into the life of its subject.

Pass on West of Sunset  if:

• You are curious about Stewart O'Nan and would like to try one of his novels. Do yourself a favor and pick up Last Night at the Lobster  instead.
• You don't have much interest in F. Scott Fitzgerald or Hollywood. This will surely bore you to death.
• Your primary interest in the Fitzgerald household is Zelda. She's a minor player here.
• You often wonder why, after so much research on the subject, an author chooses to write a novel instead of a biography.

What do you think? Will you pick or pass?

The Odds by Stewart O'Nan

"You couldn't relive your life, skipping the awful parts, without losing what made it worthwhile. You had to accept it as a whole--like the world, or the person you loved."

Art and Marion Fowler, on the eve their thirtieth wedding anniversary, are out of options. Their lives are crumbling around them; bankruptcy and divorce seem inevitable. In a desperate last-ditch effort, they cash everything in, stuff the money into a duffel, and board a bus to Niagara Falls for a Valentine's Day weekend get-away. Can they win big at the casino, pay off their debts, and somehow salvage the marriage?

Stewart O'Nan is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and his latest novel, The Odds, reminds me why: He understands people. He knows how we think, what makes us tick, and why we do what we do. Art and Marion are an unremarkable, but not especially likable, couple. As O'Nan deftly weaves their story, the reader comes to understand how they arrived at the breaking point. The weekend unfolds and their drama plays out against the backdrop of Niagara Falls - the cheesy tourist traps, rip-off elevator rides, the Maid of the Mist, a Heart concert, and finally the hotel casino. In spite of myself, I gradually began rooting for them to beat the odds.

Although this is not a cheery novel, there are a few things I especially enjoyed:

• Heart concert scene - I laughed out loud (in recognition) at the middle-aged rockers
• Niagara Falls - I've been there a few times and O'Nan nails the atmosphere
• Chapter headings citing various odds - Odds of vomiting on vacation: 1 in 6, Odds of a U.S. citizen filing for bankruptcy: 1 in 17, Odds of winning an olympic gold medal: 1 in 4,500,000

After reading three O'Nan novels in quick succession last fall, I couldn't resist pre-ordering The Odds, something I've never done before. His latest effort certainly did not disappoint, but I enjoyed both Emily, Alone and Last Night at the Lobster more.

My rating:

Author Birthday: Stewart O'Nan

*photo credit

From today's Writer's Almanac:

It's the birthday of writer Stewart O'Nan (books by this author), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1961). He worked for years as an aerospace engineer, and when he came home from his work every day he would go down to his basement and write. In 1994, he published his first novel, Snow Angels, about a murder in a small town in western Pennsylvania. He often writes about characters who feel trapped by their circumstances and end up doing horrible things. He said, "My own life isn't terribly interesting, even to myself, and that ... [is] why I write about people and places so different from the ones I know."

Stewart O'Nan's latest novel, The Odds, was every bit as good as I had expected. If I'd known today was his birthday, I would have finished the review in time to post. Instead, let me say that O'Nan was my favorite author discovery of 2011 and link to my thoughts on a few of his books.

• Wish You Were Here
• Emily, Alone
• Last Night At the Lobster

Have you read Stewart O'Nan yet?

Literary Overdose: Is Four Too Many?

It's Family Weekend at Twin A's college and we're hitting the road again. I wanted to write a quick Sunday Salon-type post before leaving, and last night's twitter conversation provided just the spark I needed.  It began as an impromptu meeting of the Stewart O'Nan fan club (@LitHousewife, @mattviews, and I seem to be the charter members), then several others joined in and our conversation broadened. At some point during the rapidly flying tweets, someone mentioned that they usually read three books by an author before moving on. I thought that was very interesting....why three instead of two? What happens if you read four in a row - author burnout?

Soon I began thinking about my own reading habits and notorious lack of structure and rules. Looking back over the past year, I have spent extended periods with two authors - Richard Yates and Stewart O'Nan. In both cases, strangely enough, it would appear that I followed the same three book rule.

A couple of years ago, I read Revolutionary Road. I thought it was brilliant and have been meaning to return to Yates ever since. I finally did last spring - in a big way. My personal Yatesfest began with The Easter Parade and continued with Disturbing the Peace and Cold Spring Harbor. The grand finale was A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey. Several short stories were also scattered along the way. I plan to read the remainder of Yates work, but after three novels and a biography, a break from his tragic reality was in order.

My author 'discovery' of the year, Stewart O'Nan, was next.  I absolutely love his writing style and characters. A stormy Labor Day weekend was spent reading Wish You Were Here. The lakeside setting provided an ideal end-of-summer read. Emily, Alone featured many of the same characters and was the perfect follow-up. In total awe of O'Nan, I headed to the library and came home with Last Night At the Lobster... also stunning. That was three and, just as with Richard Yates, I decided to take a break.  O'Nan's new novel will be released in January and is already in my amazon shopping cart for pre-order. This break will end in just a few months.

So that's twice this year I've unintentionally followed the 'three book rule'. Is it some sort of intuitive reading reaction, or simply coincidence? Now I'm curious. When you delve into an author's work, how deep do you go before taking a breather? Is there such a thing as literary overdose?

On to my current reading...
After Tuesday's Two-for-One Intros, it appears that Her Fearful Symmetry has 'won'. It's perfect for the season and, after 100 pages, I'm really enjoying it. However, On Chesil Beach has not been totally abandoned. I'll get back to it as soon I'm done.

I finished the audio version of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach and must say it is totally unlike anything I've ever read... in a weird but totally interesting kind of way. For our road trip today, I have downloaded Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck and hope my husband and Twin B will agree to listen.

We had our first snowfall of the season yesterday. Although I'm not really looking forward to winter, the snow in the trees and mist rising from the lake made for a beautiful view this morning. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Sunday Salon: So Much to Talk About

Good morning! This is my first Sunday Salon since the end of July - the leaves are changing, the morning temperatures hover around 40, and it's time to accept the fact the summer is over. My sweaters and fleece made an appearance last week... yesterday I even wore socks. All I need now is a pumpkin spice latte.

The girls have settled into their college routines. Daughter #1, a senior, seems to be involved in just about everything, while the twins, first years, are making friends and getting used to college life in general. Twin B lives at home and commutes to a nearby college, so we have at least another year before achieving 'empty nester' status.

August, packed with travel and moving kids around, was a slow reading month, but things have certainly turned around in September. I've finished five books so far (unheard of by mid-month for me), including three 5 star and one with a 4 1/2 star rating! Am I getting soft in my rating or choosing books more wisely? Definitely the latter...

As you can tell from recent reviews, I've discovered Stewart O'Nan. His quieter, character-driven novels have quickly made him a new favorite. He'd long been on my 'authors to read' list. but Nan's review of Emily, Alone convinced me the time had finally come. Since the book is a sequel, I decided to read Wish You Were Here first. That novel was a perfect end-of-summer read for Labor Day weekend, and I followed up immediately with Emily, Alone. (Listen to this NPR interview to hear O'Nan talk about Emily). After that, I couldn't resist Last Night at the Lobster. I rated that one 4 1/2 stars but, the more I think about it, it should have been 5. If you're interested in O'Nan, this short novel would be the perfect starting point.

My reviews:
Wish You Were Here
Emily, Alone
Last Night at the Lobster

My audiobook selections have veered toward mysteries this month. Friday I posted thoughts on Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin - definitely a favorite this year. Yesterday I finished What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman and loved that, too. Lippman has so many other books to choose from. Can you recommend another title?

I've started participating in Devourer of Books Friday Sound Bytes feature. Jen posts an audiobook review and invites others to link up. It's a another great source for audio reviews and an excellent community-builder, too.

I'm currently reading The House of Sevens Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Frances and Audrey are hosting a group read (in conjunction with Carl's R.I.P challenge) with posts scheduled for October 14. After two chapters, I've decided it requires my full concentration... definitely not a book to read when I'm tired!

Banned Book Week is coming up September 24. In perusing ALA's top 100 banned/challenged books list, I noticed The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison at #15. Since I've never read Morrison (collective gasp!) and own the book, it seems like the perfect time to begin. Do you plan to read a banned book next week?

Today we are celebrating my mother's birthday, so there won't be much time for reading. I need to clean the house and make lasagna now, but will be back this evening for some blog hopping. After a long summer, I look forward to catching up with everyone. It's good to get back to The Sunday Salon!

Last Night At the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

Last Night at the Lobster
by Stewart O' Nan
Viking, 2007
146 pages
source: borrowed

In a nutshell:
This novella takes a close look at The Red Lobster in New Britain, CT- employees, customers,and operation - on it's final night of business.

My thoughts:
Last Night at the Lobster is the third O'Nan novel I've read in as many weeks, and my first impulse upon finishing was to immediately begin the fourth. Once again, there is not a lot of action, but the reader really gets to know and understand the characters.

In this case, the primary focus is on the manager, Manny DeLeon. It's four days before Christmas, a snowstorm is raging, and Manny is determined to keep up appearances and finish the evening like any other....except it's not just any evening. It's the final night of operation for the Red Lobster. The location is 'underperforming' and parent company Darden has decided close down the Lobster and transfer Manny to a nearby Olive Garden, where he will be downgraded to assistant manager.

I loved the behind-the-scenes aspect of this novel. The kitchen tension, corporate guidelines, staff interactions, customer descriptions, and jack-of-all-trades manager provide the reader with insight into the chain restaurant business. O'Nan must have spent many research hours at Red Lobsters.

Last Night at the Lobster is also infused with a feeling of loss. Of course, there is the loss of the restaurant, but Manny is also mourning the recent loss of his abuela as well as his break-up with Jacquie (an employee). At the same time, he must come to terms with his current relationship and impending fatherhood.

By the way, I decided to forgo a fourth O'Nan novel and begin a group read of The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As Amy said on twitter, "O'Nan will be waiting for you, like a good friend." I like that...

A favorite passage:

"He tramps out to the end of one wing where Dom's and Roz's cars sit in exile and works back toward the Lobster, the illusory movement of the colored string through the front doors and the glow from the windows and the candlelit faces of people eating inside all suddenly, surprisingly beautiful to him, as if he's still stoned. He rests for a moment to appreciate the vision and hears, in the hush, at a distance, the frantic whizzing of a car spinning its wheels. In the storm light, the restaurant looks warm and alive and welcoming, a place anyone would want to go. It looks like a painting, and he feels proud, as if this is his work, and in a way it is, except it's over, like him and Jacquie, lost, gone forever. Is that why he loves it so much?" page 40-41

My rating:

Bottom line:
Stewart O'Nan is fast becoming a favorite author. If you aren't familiar with his work, this little book is a perfect introduction.

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan

Could it be, even for elderly people, that this was life - 

startling, unexpected, unknown?

-Virginia Woolf

I think Emily, Alone is one amazing book.

I wonder how a middle-aged man can know, and perfectly convey, the mind of an 80-year-old widow. Perhaps O'Nan spent years really listening to a mother, grandmother, or great aunt.

I'm glad I read Wish You Were Here first. Set seven years earlier, it provided the background necessary for a deeper understanding of Emily, her family, and their history.

I'm feeling slightly sad...although the book ends on a hopeful note, it's not exactly a cheerful novel. Of course, two daughters leaving for college, a cold, rainy Labor Day, and the unofficial end of summer may have contributed to my blue mood. Still, this quiet, introspective novel will not be for everyone.

I loved these quotes:

"The temptation was to mourn those days, when they were young and busy and alive. As much as Emily missed them, she understood the reason that era seemed so rich - partly, at least - was because it was past, memorialized, the task they'd set themselves of raising families accomplished" p.55

"Often, as she leafed through the sticky, plastic-coated pages, spotting herself with a frizzy perm or wearing a loud, printed blouse, she was struck by how long life was, and how much time had passed, and she wished she could go back and apologize to those closest to her, explain that she understood now. Impossible, and yet the urge to return and be a different person never lessened, grew only more acute." p. 65

"She fretted especially about Sarah and Justin, how they would turn out, and thought it unfair that she would probably not be around to witness it. She'd watched her own children grow up, maybe that was enough - as if one were allowed to see only so much of life, the future, like the past, necessarily hidden and mysterious." p.90

"Though they all lived alone, and preferred to, they were all worried about one another, equally. Why had it taken them so long to arrive at this point? Shouldn't it have always been that way?" p. 126

I will read more O'Nan.


I rate Emily, Alone:

Emily, Alone
by Stewart O'Nan
Viking, 2011
255 pages
source: borrowed from the library

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan

Wish You Were Here
by Stewart O'Nan
Grove Press, 2002
517 pages

Summary (from amazon):

A deep, poignant study of a family fighting its inner demons awaits in Stewart O'Nan's Wish You Were Here. A year after the death of her husband, Emily Maxwell gathers her immediate family together at their summer home on Lake Chautauqua in western New York for a final sendoff and to dole out keepsakes before the new owners move in. Joining Emily is her daughter, Meg, fresh from rehab and upset over her imminent divorce, and Meg's children: the emotionally unstable Justin, and Sarah, a teenage beauty learning to use her charms. Ken, Emily's fortyish slacker son, and his wife, Lisa, also bunk down for the week, bringing along their two kids: the troubled Sam, and Ella, a plain, smart girl who finds herself with a crush on her cousin, Sarah....

Wish You Were Here is an excellent character study of a family grudgingly plodding forward while believing the best chance for happiness passed by sometime ago.

My thoughts:

Novels about family relationships almost always interest me, but throw in a lakeside setting and it becomes irresistible. The cover blurb promises "the perfect summer-by-the-lake read" and that's exactly what O'Nan delivers.

Wish You Were Here is divided into sections - one for each day of the vacation. There is little action in this relatively quiet novel. The characters don't change or grow (it's only one week), but the reader really gets to know them and, by the end, understand them, too. O'Nan also pays close attention to detail, whether it is a description of the natural surroundings, a round of golf, or subtle nuances of the characters' interactions. This author gets it!

There were at least a couple of instances where plot lines could have been wrapped up (too) neatly and easily but, happily, this resolution was not chosen. Real life isn't necessarily tidy and neither is this novel.

Favorite Quotes:

"The lake had gone calm, flags limp at the end of the docks. The sun hung just above the treetops, throwing shadows. In the field across the road, a family of rabbits was out, feeding under the apple trees. They stayed close to the bushy edge of the field, brown balls in the dark light, cheeks working as they nibbled the grass. He counted five, one just a baby. This was what he would miss after the cottage was gone, these slow moments." p. 31

"Her mother wanted a list of five things she wanted, like it was a game show, a lottery. What she wanted-she could admit it now, alone and stoned-was to be young again, to try it all over: love, family, everything. That wasn't what her mother was offering, just furniture, mementos, souvenirs of another life. It was all gone, she thought. With the cottage, they could pretend it wasn't, but it was, as sure as Jeff would never come back to her or Sarah would never love her like a child again. Time destroyed everything." p. 131

"There was nothing to be afraid of. That life was behind her now- not gone, no, it was still a part of her, but it belonged to the past, and she needed to keep it there, to relinquish her grip on it, as hard as that might be, if not impossible." p. 463

My rating:

Next up is Emily, Alone, a sequel to Wish You Were Here.

Tuesday Intro: Emily, Alone

"Tuesdays, Emily Maxwell put what precious little remained of her life in God's and her sister-in-law Arlene's shaky hands and they drove together to Edgewood for Eat 'n Park's two-for-one breakfast buffet. The Sunday Post-Gazette, among its myriad other pleasures, had coupons. The rest of the week she might have nothing but melba toast and tea for breakfast, maybe peel herself a clementine for some vitamin C, but the deal was too good to pass up, and served as a built-in excuse to get out of the house. Dr. Sayid was always saying she needed to eat more.

It wasn't far -- a few miles though East Liberty and Point Breeze and Regent Square on broad streets they knew like old friends -- but the trip was a test of Emily's nerves. Arlene's eyes weren't the best, and her attention to the outside world was directly affected by whatever conversation they were engaged in. When she concentrated on a thought, she drove more slowly, making them the object of honking, and once, recently, from a middle-aged woman who looked surprisingly like Emily's daughter Margaret, the finger."

Emily, Alone
by Stewart O'Nan

I finished Stewart O'Nan's Wish You Were Here yesterday and immediately moved on to it's sequel Emily, Alone. After just a few pages, I can tell it's another winner. Have you read O'Nan? Would you continue reading this based on the opening paragraphs?

Tuesday Intros is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. Find more intros here.