After reading "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman, the next novel I picked up was "My Absolute Darling" by Gabriel Tallent. Perhaps the only thing that these two books have in common is that they are the writers' first published works.
I was blown away by the first few chapters of "My Absolute Darling". Set around Mendocino in northern California, the novel focuses on Turtle Alveston - a fourteen year old girl and her emotionally disturbed father, Martin. In those early chapters every word seemed to count. They were like musical notes in a symphony of observation.
We share Turtle's acute sense of her surroundings - the jagged coastline, the plant life and Martin's changing moods. Perhaps ominously, Turtle is forever dismantling and cleaning her guns. Martin has taught her how to shoot and the need to be ready when danger comes to call.
Her life is harsh like the dilapidated house she lives in - with mushrooms growing on the rotting window frame in the bathroom. We hear her inner voice - seeking understanding and forgiveness, struggling with terror and her very identity.
It is excellent writing and there is little wonder that Stephen King has called this novel "a masterpiece". Arguably, as "My Absolute Darling" reaches its dramatic crescendo followed by some sense of resolution, the writing becomes a little less assured than it was in those opening chapters. However, the story continued to grip me right to the end
It was a joy to sit out on our decking turning the pages. Gabriel Tallent lives in Salt Lake City and is a keen rock climber but he grew up in Mendocino and knows the landscape of his novel intimately. Surprisingly, he doesn't yet have a Wikipedia page but that situation surely won't last much longer. Hell, no - that fellow can write, really write. He made the Eleanor Oliphant book seem like child's play in comparison. If Tallent avoids a fatal climbing accident his reputation as a writer can only grow.
The best novel I have read in a long time. I hope I haven't given away too much.
 |
| Gabriel Tallent |
Thanks for the recommendation. Good timing. I might buy it for step-ma and then borrow it back.
ReplyDeleteAs Ms Moon says below it is a special book but please be warned that there is an element of violence in it and some abuse too.
DeleteOK. I kind of got that warning before. However Gwen seems to actually go for those kind of books, oddly enough.
DeleteIt's nice to learn that some little old ladies have different reading appetites - not just Poldark on a horse or WWII nurses falling in love with wing commanders.
DeleteI've just bought "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" for my Book Club to read. I gather you weren't impressed with it then ?
ReplyDeleteNo. I wouldn't say that Helen. In its own, humane way it was a very good read but so lightweight in comparison with Gabriel Tallent's novel.
DeleteThanks for the heads up...I've not heard of this book as yet...until now. It sounds terrific.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what your tastes are in reading Lee but for me it was special.
DeleteMy taste in reading is wide and varied, Yorkie.
DeleteI read that book and it blew my mind. Absolutely. It was triggering for me in a lot of ways but it was also so amazing that I had to keep reading, no matter what. It IS a masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anybody else who has read it Ms Moon so it is very heartening to discover that you were also blown away by the book.
DeleteQuite a recommendation. Just reading your synopsis altered my view of the title of the book.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
The title phrase appears several times in the book. I won't say more than that.
DeleteWhat you've given away should make many of your followers want to read this book.
ReplyDeleteAs I say, I tried not to say too much Red.
DeleteLike Lee, I had not heard of the book (or its author) before reading your review here. You have managed to make me want to read it while sort of dreading it at the same time, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeletePS: Speaking of reading, did you see that I have finally finished "The Old Ways"? My review is here.
DeleteI will read your review later today Meike. We are just getting ready to drive to Suffolk.
DeleteBased on your and Ms. Moon's recommendations, I want to read this! I'll put it in my Goodreads queue for later, since life is so busy for me at the moment that I (sadly) don't have a lot of spare time for reading. By the time winter break gets here I'll be ready to spend two weeks curled up in a chair with my nose firmly buried in a book!
ReplyDeleteIt will be a treat to savour Jennifer.
DeleteI'm not sure if I'll be able to read this or not. There are some books that I find too disturbing and since most of my book reading right now is for pleasure I tend to avoid those others. But thank you for the review and based on it I'll have a closer look when I see this in our bookstore.
ReplyDeletePlease don't be wary Jenny. It's only a book.
DeleteI liked "My Absolute Darling" a lot, too, although I felt like it went overboard at the end!
ReplyDeleteI agree Steve. I think the ending got a bit lost.
Delete