Ann Packer's first novel, “The Dive from Clausen's Pier,” had a striking cover; the lower half of a young woman's body, carrying a suitcase. It made you curious to discover what the story was behind the intriguing cover. It was a wonderful book, selling many copies and earning the author critical praise.
Her second novel was recently published, and once again the cover is eye-catching. A woman's hand reaches out to pull the chain on a lamp with a bright red lampshade. It again makes the reader want to pick up the book titled “Songs Without Words.”
The novel opens with a prologue set in 1976. Sarabeth and Liz are best friends, seniors in high school. Sarabeth is living with Liz's family following the suicide of her mother and her father's subsequent move out of town for a job.
Move forward 30 years, and Liz is married to Brody, a successful businessman, and mom to Lauren, a high school junior and Joe, a 12-year-old boy. They appear to be a happy, typical upper class suburban family.
Sarabeth has never married, but she had a relationship with a married man that ended badly last year. She creates lampshades and stages homes, working with real estate agents to help them sell homes for their clients. (Fans of HGTV will know what a stager is). On Thursday evenings, she reads books like “Anna Karenina” to people at a senior center. On Sunday afternoons, she goes to the movies with a friend.
Liz and Sarabeth are still close friends, and Sarabeth spends a lot of time with Liz's family, including holidays. They have lunch together frequently, and Lauren looks up to Sarabeth.
Everything starts to unravel when a crisis is precipitated by Lauren. The author hints at Lauren's general unhappiness, her poor self-esteem, not doing well in school, apparently friendless outside of one girl and longing for a relationship with a popular boy at school who doesn't reciprocate.
Lauren's action radiates outward to affect everyone in her family. Liz and Brody's marriage, which on the surface appears to be a solid one, starts to crack as they drift away from each other instead of supporting one another. Brother Joe retreats deeper into his own world of soccer and school, not knowing how to deal with his sister.
Even Liz and Sarabeth's relationship is damaged by this. Ever since they were children, Liz was always someone whom Sarabeth could depend on to take care of her. When Sarabeth's mother, who was ill for years, finally dies, Liz and her family take her in as one of their own. Sarabeth breaks up with her married boyfriend, and Liz is there to pick up the pieces.
The one instance when Liz needs Sarabeth to be there for her, Sarabeth finds herself unable to step up and be a good friend. For awhile, Liz is too preoccupied with Lauren's problems to realize that Sarabeth is not there. When she finally does reach out for Sarabeth and discovers that Sarabeth is unable to be there for her, it is something she cannot handle; it is too much.
For most of the book, Liz and Sarabeth are estranged from each other. The problem with this is that the friendship between them was not well established enough for the reader to understand what this meant. I found myself asking, what was this friendship about? How did they interact? Why are they still friends?
The book tells the story of their friendship, but we only see the aftermath of their estrangement. Sarabeth wants to reach out to Liz, but instead, we see her spiraling downward, ashamed at herself for not being able to call and find out what she can do to help Liz through the worse crisis in her life. It affects her work and her relationships with the other people in her life as well.
The characters in this novel for some reason don't feel entirely drawn out, but perhaps that is the point that the author is trying to make. Is she trying to say that we can't really know anyone else's inner self, even our own spouse, children or best friends? Does she believe that underneath a seemingly happy family lies a troubled family?
Liz seems to be the least well drawn of the three females in the book. She likes being a stay at home mom, does yoga, likes to cook for her family, but is there something deeper? She appears to be someone in complete charge of her life, and when her daughter hurts, she understandably wants to make everything better. When she can't, it totally undermines her self worth.
After enjoying “The Dive from Clausen's Pier” and its rich characterizations, particularly the main character, I was hoping that this sophomore effort would be as involving. “Songs Without Words” is good, but not great. I give it three stars.
Auburn native Diane La Rue's lifelong goal is to read a book a week. If you have suggestions, e-mail her at laruediane2000@yahoo.com
If you read
What: “Songs Without Words”
Who: Ann Packer
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Cost: $24.95, hardcover
The novel opens with a prologue set in 1976. Sarabeth and Liz are best friends, seniors in high school. Sarabeth is living with Liz's family following the suicide of her mother and her father's subsequent move out of town for a job.
Move forward 30 years, and Liz is married to Brody, a successful businessman, and mom to Lauren, a high school junior and Joe, a 12-year-old boy. They appear to be a happy, typical upper class suburban family.
Sarabeth has never married, but she had a relationship with a married man that ended badly last year. She creates lampshades and stages homes, working with real estate agents to help them sell homes for their clients. (Fans of HGTV will know what a stager is). On Thursday evenings, she reads books like “Anna Karenina” to people at a senior center. On Sunday afternoons, she goes to the movies with a friend.
Liz and Sarabeth are still close friends, and Sarabeth spends a lot of time with Liz's family, including holidays. They have lunch together frequently, and Lauren looks up to Sarabeth.
Everything starts to unravel when a crisis is precipitated by Lauren. The author hints at Lauren's general unhappiness, her poor self-esteem, not doing well in school, apparently friendless outside of one girl and longing for a relationship with a popular boy at school who doesn't reciprocate.
Lauren's action radiates outward to affect everyone in her family. Liz and Brody's marriage, which on the surface appears to be a solid one, starts to crack as they drift away from each other instead of supporting one another. Brother Joe retreats deeper into his own world of soccer and school, not knowing how to deal with his sister.
Even Liz and Sarabeth's relationship is damaged by this. Ever since they were children, Liz was always someone whom Sarabeth could depend on to take care of her. When Sarabeth's mother, who was ill for years, finally dies, Liz and her family take her in as one of their own. Sarabeth breaks up with her married boyfriend, and Liz is there to pick up the pieces.
The one instance when Liz needs Sarabeth to be there for her, Sarabeth finds herself unable to step up and be a good friend. For awhile, Liz is too preoccupied with Lauren's problems to realize that Sarabeth is not there. When she finally does reach out for Sarabeth and discovers that Sarabeth is unable to be there for her, it is something she cannot handle; it is too much.
For most of the book, Liz and Sarabeth are estranged from each other. The problem with this is that the friendship between them was not well established enough for the reader to understand what this meant. I found myself asking, what was this friendship about? How did they interact? Why are they still friends?
The book tells the story of their friendship, but we only see the aftermath of their estrangement. Sarabeth wants to reach out to Liz, but instead, we see her spiraling downward, ashamed at herself for not being able to call and find out what she can do to help Liz through the worse crisis in her life. It affects her work and her relationships with the other people in her life as well.
The characters in this novel for some reason don't feel entirely drawn out, but perhaps that is the point that the author is trying to make. Is she trying to say that we can't really know anyone else's inner self, even our own spouse, children or best friends? Does she believe that underneath a seemingly happy family lies a troubled family?
Liz seems to be the least well drawn of the three females in the book. She likes being a stay at home mom, does yoga, likes to cook for her family, but is there something deeper? She appears to be someone in complete charge of her life, and when her daughter hurts, she understandably wants to make everything better. When she can't, it totally undermines her self worth.
After enjoying “The Dive from Clausen's Pier” and its rich characterizations, particularly the main character, I was hoping that this sophomore effort would be as involving. “Songs Without Words” is good, but not great. I give it three stars.
Auburn native Diane La Rue's lifelong goal is to read a book a week. If you have suggestions, e-mail her at laruediane2000@yahoo.com
If you read
What: “Songs Without Words”
Who: Ann Packer
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Cost: $24.95, hardcover
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.