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Title: Three Junes by JULIA GLASS ISBN: 0-385-72142-0 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 22 April, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.48 (140 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A FANTASTIC read!
Comment: Julia Glass offers her readers a personal connection to the lives she unveils in this brilliant first novel. The writing style practically sings the stories of the three main characters. I liked this book as much if not more than I enjoyed Michael Cunningham's The Hours. The themes in both books are similar, but unlike the characters in Cunningham's novel, Glass provides the backdrop of the commonality of love, life, and relationships. I felt that I could have been any one of the main characters and that any of the supporting characters might have stepped out of my own life. You will appreciate the honesty in Glass' words as she reveals the merging lives of her characters.
I found this book to be a quick read. Even more so, it kept me impatient at work, wanting to return public transportation or a lunch break just to read another few pages. Yet, because of its sensitive content regarding homosexual relationships, some may feel less of a connection with the book. I was also disappointed that some tangents went unclarified. This, again, is so similar to life--we don't have all the answers. It also leaves a sense of wonder and imagination in the reader. We can interpret these mini-story lines as we want. A FANTASTIC read!
Rating: 4
Summary: brooding and atmospheric
Comment: I chose this book because I try to read all of the National Book Award winners, and I was a little surprised by its plodding, detailed format, but not disappointed. _Three Junes_ is split into three sections, and Fenno, the main character, plays a part in each one. The first section, "Collies," focuses on Fenno's father in Scotland and Greece; the second section, "Upright" is about Fenno's life in New York City (the bookstore he owns and the man he falls in love with); and the third section, "Boys," focuses on a woman whom Fenno's father met in Greece and now is meeting Fenno's accquaintance in New York as well. It is a little difficult to shift gears between the sections, but they are connected by thin strings of coincidence and fate, actions and reactions, so ultimately the reader can get comfortable again. Glass deals with some difficult subjects including infidelity, AIDS, and infertility with remarkable smoothness, and makes you really feel the characters' guilt, love, and confusion, as well as hope. It is hope, I think, that permeates the novel most of all. My only criticism is that I felt there were one or two minor subplots that weren't tied up sufficiently, and there also weren't too many ups and downs but just a slow crescendo of choices and misunderstandings. On the whole, however, this is a very rewarding book, and well worth the time it takes to get to know the characters and their environments.
Rating: 4
Summary: Mild and Intelligent
Comment: It has been said that Three Junes "rescues and refurbishes" the plot-driven novel, and it is easy to argue that the relatively mild-mannered main characters are pulled about by events that are not of their own making. Julia Glass makes particularly striking contrasts between many of the prominent male characters and the much more fiery and strong-willed women in their lives --generally their mothers and wives. Those who study the craft of writing will be impressed with the way the author weaves past and present action and first and third person narrative. While I recommend this book fairly strongly, particularly for its craft and introspection, I suspect some readers won't feel completely satisfied at the end as the book doesn't seem to build to a climax or tie up every loose end completely. For those who feel that literary fiction is always depressing, this book touches on tough subjects such as AIDS, childlessness and failed relationships while keeping an ultimately hopeful outlook. Those who liked the strong characters of Michael Cunningham's The Hours or the episodic narration of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, will probably find this to be a fine novel.
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Title: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ISBN: 0142001740 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Life of Pi by Yann Martel ISBN: 0156027321 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Middlesex : A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides ISBN: 0312422156 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ISBN: 0385504209 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett ISBN: 0060934417 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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