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A Ship Made of Paper
No novelist alive knows the human heart better than Scott Spencer does. No one tells stories about human passion with greater urgency, insight, or sympathy. In A Ship Made of Paper, this artist of desire paints his most profound and compelling canvas yet. After a shattering incidence of violence in New York City, Daniel Emerson has returned to the Hudson River town where he grew up. There, along with Kate Ellis and her daughter, Ruby, he settles into the kind of secure and comfortable family life he longed for during his emotionally barren childhood. But then he falls in love with Iris Davenport, the black woman whose son is Ruby's best friend. During a freak October blizzard, Daniel is stranded at Iris's house, and they spend the night together -- the beginning of a sexual liaison that eventually imperils all their relationships, Daniel's profession, their children's well-being, their own race-blindness, and their view of themselves as essentially good people. And the emotional stakes are raised even higher when Iris's husband, Hampton, suffers a devastating accidental injury at Daniel's hands. A Ship Made of Paper captures all the drama, nuance, and helpless intensity of sexual and romantic yearning, and it bears witness to the age-old conflict between the order of the human community and the disorder of desire.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2003
68 people are currently reading
1351 people want to read
About the author
Scott Spencer
15 books252 followersScott Spencer (b. 1945) is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of ten novels, including Endless Love and A Ship Made of Paper, both of which have been nominated for the National Book Award. Two of his books, Endless Love and Waking the Dead, have been adapted into films.
He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Iowa, and Williams College, and Bard College's Bard Prison Initiative. Spencer is an alumnus of Roosevelt University. In 2004, he was the recipient of a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship. For the past twenty years, he has lived in a small town in upstate New York.
Spencer has also worked as a journalist. He has published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, GQ, O, The Oprah Magazine, and he is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone.
He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Iowa, and Williams College, and Bard College's Bard Prison Initiative. Spencer is an alumnus of Roosevelt University. In 2004, he was the recipient of a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship. For the past twenty years, he has lived in a small town in upstate New York.
Spencer has also worked as a journalist. He has published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, GQ, O, The Oprah Magazine, and he is a regular contributor to Rolling Stone.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews
October 8, 2007
As a student of race, class and gender studies, the description of this book intrigued me. It was clear that somewhere in this book, there would be a dialogue based on the intricacies of these topics.
However.
I finished this book feeling a little duped. This book wasn't a clear discussion on race. Instead, it was an attempt to mix in some racial hot buttons into a soap opera format.
Guns and children? OJ Simpson? Run away teenagers? A blind woman? Sexual procreation to create a non race? Drunken southerners? Roman candle to the throat? Sound interesting to you? then read this book.
Otherwise, don't.
I have no idea why I even finished it.
However.
I finished this book feeling a little duped. This book wasn't a clear discussion on race. Instead, it was an attempt to mix in some racial hot buttons into a soap opera format.
Guns and children? OJ Simpson? Run away teenagers? A blind woman? Sexual procreation to create a non race? Drunken southerners? Roman candle to the throat? Sound interesting to you? then read this book.
Otherwise, don't.
I have no idea why I even finished it.
August 10, 2014
Odd how many bad reviews this book got. It's a beautifully written, sensitive, and sophisticated story. While race is a theme running through the book, the book isn't solely about race. It's about interpersonal relationships and life's unpredictability. The issue of race does make the story more complex, both for the characters' interactions and for their personal reactions to their own feelings. What I think that Spencer may be trying to communicate is that life is messed up, whether race, disability, unloving parents, alcoholism, or something else is to blame, but people will and should strive for happiness and seek to love and be loved when they have the opportunity . . . despite complicating factors.
The characters' personalities are hyperbolized as a way to emphasize the conflict. The four main individuals create a perfect storm of dissonance and contention. Daniel is the easy-going small-town lawyer who loves black culture but carries around the guilt of having left the city because his life was threatened "by blacks." (He seems to both feel that he is betraying something he loves and buying into white society's fears when he chooses to act, but wouldn't he have made the same decision regardless of the race of those who threw him down a set of stairs--therein lies the folly of his guilt. We wonder if a small part of him tries to compensate for it later.) Kate is his hard-drinking writer partner who casually mothers her young daughter Ruby and occasionally uses her to manipulate. Kate is the stereotypical white woman who doesn't see her own racism and who fails to understand Daniel's feelings of contempt for himself for fleeing his law practice. Beautiful and antagonistic, it seems that she is using Daniel as a cushion against the trials of motherhood and domestic responsibility, until realization hits. Iris is the black woman Daniel has, almost inexplicably, fallen for--a nontraditional student, an eternal learner, a mother of a son the same age as Ruby, and someone who doesn't feel defined by her race. She wants to be seen for who she is and owe allegiance to no particular group. Hampton is Iris's uptight, over-achieving husband who wears his sense of privilege and need to control as a shield against a world he feels is against him. On paper, these characters seem overdrawn, predictable in the way that something is predictable when it seeks to be the opposite of stereotype.
It is the way the characters act out their roles that gives them dimension. It is the deft inner dialogues, the subtle shifting of perspectives, and the delicate way that their interactions are handled that shows Spencer's skill and understanding of the human condition. Spencer shows their confusion, their determination, their sore spots, and their capacity for love--and how they act as a result of their vulnerabilities, which is not always nice--in a manner that reflects a deep comprehension of how words and actions can not always be taken at face value due to the complex workings of emotion. He also illustrates how self-preservation and seeking out happiness with another person sometimes requires hurting others. These characters are not perfect and do not live in a perfect world, but they are behaving in the manner that they have developed to cope with life's inconsistencies and disappointments. The title, "A Ship Made of Paper," seems to indicate our own fragility as we sail through life.
I first encountered Spencer's writing in Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer , which highlighted a passage near the beginning of the book. And he deserves to be excerpted. Though he may not get everything right, his writing is of the type that strives to show us what makes us human.
The book did seem to unravel after its climax; the falling action turns the story on its head. However, I don't blame Spencer for not tying all plot lines neatly in a bow. That isn't how life works, and if his goal was to mirror life, then he did himself justice by creating as many questions in the end for the characters as they had in the beginning--although by then, they were faced with completely new questions. Life doesn't give us happy ending, life doesn't provide the ultimate answer, families are never perfect, and just maybe if two people are committed to each other they can make it work, but only with a lot of pain, and growth, and compassion, and gentleness. At least, that's what we hope, and what I hoped for the characters in the book facing a long road of unresolved problems.
The characters' personalities are hyperbolized as a way to emphasize the conflict. The four main individuals create a perfect storm of dissonance and contention. Daniel is the easy-going small-town lawyer who loves black culture but carries around the guilt of having left the city because his life was threatened "by blacks." (He seems to both feel that he is betraying something he loves and buying into white society's fears when he chooses to act, but wouldn't he have made the same decision regardless of the race of those who threw him down a set of stairs--therein lies the folly of his guilt. We wonder if a small part of him tries to compensate for it later.) Kate is his hard-drinking writer partner who casually mothers her young daughter Ruby and occasionally uses her to manipulate. Kate is the stereotypical white woman who doesn't see her own racism and who fails to understand Daniel's feelings of contempt for himself for fleeing his law practice. Beautiful and antagonistic, it seems that she is using Daniel as a cushion against the trials of motherhood and domestic responsibility, until realization hits. Iris is the black woman Daniel has, almost inexplicably, fallen for--a nontraditional student, an eternal learner, a mother of a son the same age as Ruby, and someone who doesn't feel defined by her race. She wants to be seen for who she is and owe allegiance to no particular group. Hampton is Iris's uptight, over-achieving husband who wears his sense of privilege and need to control as a shield against a world he feels is against him. On paper, these characters seem overdrawn, predictable in the way that something is predictable when it seeks to be the opposite of stereotype.
It is the way the characters act out their roles that gives them dimension. It is the deft inner dialogues, the subtle shifting of perspectives, and the delicate way that their interactions are handled that shows Spencer's skill and understanding of the human condition. Spencer shows their confusion, their determination, their sore spots, and their capacity for love--and how they act as a result of their vulnerabilities, which is not always nice--in a manner that reflects a deep comprehension of how words and actions can not always be taken at face value due to the complex workings of emotion. He also illustrates how self-preservation and seeking out happiness with another person sometimes requires hurting others. These characters are not perfect and do not live in a perfect world, but they are behaving in the manner that they have developed to cope with life's inconsistencies and disappointments. The title, "A Ship Made of Paper," seems to indicate our own fragility as we sail through life.
I first encountered Spencer's writing in Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer , which highlighted a passage near the beginning of the book. And he deserves to be excerpted. Though he may not get everything right, his writing is of the type that strives to show us what makes us human.
The book did seem to unravel after its climax; the falling action turns the story on its head. However, I don't blame Spencer for not tying all plot lines neatly in a bow. That isn't how life works, and if his goal was to mirror life, then he did himself justice by creating as many questions in the end for the characters as they had in the beginning--although by then, they were faced with completely new questions. Life doesn't give us happy ending, life doesn't provide the ultimate answer, families are never perfect, and just maybe if two people are committed to each other they can make it work, but only with a lot of pain, and growth, and compassion, and gentleness. At least, that's what we hope, and what I hoped for the characters in the book facing a long road of unresolved problems.
July 26, 2023
3.5⭐ La storia della disgregazione di un ordine familiare e sociale effimero che deriva dall' implacabilità del desiderio, con la motivazione razziale che percorre, in modo stereotipato, tutto il romanzo. Americano nella scrittura e nei temi, sicuramente scorrevole nonostante la mole ma non graffia, solo il finale realistico lo salva dalla mediocrità.
November 29, 2010
This is a story about an interracial relationship, racism, adultery, guilt, familial love, and the dire consequences of letting your heart rule your actions. There are so many problems in this book I don't know where to begin.
If you want to read about a man whose obsession with his love for a woman is both endearing and stalkerish, pick up this book. Daniel is a tortured soul, whose love for Iris and all things black is juxtaposed against the fact that he abandoned a successful law practice in NY because of a beating he took at the hands of blacks.
Part of me wanted to give it four stars b/c it's so well-written. Even the dialogue, which I sometimes found stilted and unnatural, could sometimes express the most beautiful sentiments. Take for instance what Daniel (white male) says to the woman with whom he's having an affair, Iris (black female): "What difference does it make? I would go anywhere. And I'd do anything. I'd crawl through broken glass if I could just be sure that at the end of the day, I'd be getting into bed next to you." The romantic in me smiles, but he has no idea how foreshadowing those words are, because by the end of the novel, his life has been reduced to the symbolic pain and melodrama expressed in those sentences.
The pace of this book was better than Man in the Woods, but I feel so much was left unresolved, and there were periods in which Spencer dangled the carrot, daring me to step over the precipice, but when I did, I found myself on solid ground. It's this kind of see-sawing, anti-climactic teasing that I both loved and hated.
I liked and disliked the cast of characters. Kate, with her sharp tongue and cutting wit, who with all her intelligence couldn't figure out that trying to salvage a dead relationship with a man who no longer loves you is downright pitiful. Daniel, who's been desperate for love, affection, and acceptance since he was a child, and once he thinks he's found that warmth with Iris, refuses to let it go--no matter what. Iris can't make up her mind about anything. Iris has stopped loving her husband, but I'm not so sure of her love for Daniel. I think part of her wants so desperately to be colorless, to blend in, that she's attracted to Daniel and men of other races and completely ignores the fact that although he's not perfect, her husband Hampton adores her. Hampton, who is clearly paranoid because of his blackness, and despite his dislike of and displeasure with whites, his success and constant bragging is a means by which to gain acceptance by them and to differentiate himself from other blacks. The cast of secondary characters are interesting and complex, too, but too many to name.
Overall, a good read. It's reminiscent of Wharton's Ethan Frome or a modern adaptation of some great Shakespearan tragedy, where you read, you hope, you struggle with the moral implications of what's taking place, and in the end, you know no good will come of it.
If you want to read about a man whose obsession with his love for a woman is both endearing and stalkerish, pick up this book. Daniel is a tortured soul, whose love for Iris and all things black is juxtaposed against the fact that he abandoned a successful law practice in NY because of a beating he took at the hands of blacks.
Part of me wanted to give it four stars b/c it's so well-written. Even the dialogue, which I sometimes found stilted and unnatural, could sometimes express the most beautiful sentiments. Take for instance what Daniel (white male) says to the woman with whom he's having an affair, Iris (black female): "What difference does it make? I would go anywhere. And I'd do anything. I'd crawl through broken glass if I could just be sure that at the end of the day, I'd be getting into bed next to you." The romantic in me smiles, but he has no idea how foreshadowing those words are, because by the end of the novel, his life has been reduced to the symbolic pain and melodrama expressed in those sentences.
The pace of this book was better than Man in the Woods, but I feel so much was left unresolved, and there were periods in which Spencer dangled the carrot, daring me to step over the precipice, but when I did, I found myself on solid ground. It's this kind of see-sawing, anti-climactic teasing that I both loved and hated.
I liked and disliked the cast of characters. Kate, with her sharp tongue and cutting wit, who with all her intelligence couldn't figure out that trying to salvage a dead relationship with a man who no longer loves you is downright pitiful. Daniel, who's been desperate for love, affection, and acceptance since he was a child, and once he thinks he's found that warmth with Iris, refuses to let it go--no matter what. Iris can't make up her mind about anything. Iris has stopped loving her husband, but I'm not so sure of her love for Daniel. I think part of her wants so desperately to be colorless, to blend in, that she's attracted to Daniel and men of other races and completely ignores the fact that although he's not perfect, her husband Hampton adores her. Hampton, who is clearly paranoid because of his blackness, and despite his dislike of and displeasure with whites, his success and constant bragging is a means by which to gain acceptance by them and to differentiate himself from other blacks. The cast of secondary characters are interesting and complex, too, but too many to name.
Overall, a good read. It's reminiscent of Wharton's Ethan Frome or a modern adaptation of some great Shakespearan tragedy, where you read, you hope, you struggle with the moral implications of what's taking place, and in the end, you know no good will come of it.
June 12, 2019
Lascio a Sellerio la descrizione del libro.
Sono gli anni del processo a O.J. Simpson, e gli Stati Uniti sembrano dividersi lungo una frontiera di classe, di razza, di genere. Daniel Emerson è un avvocato bianco di New York non ancora quarantenne, tornato a vivere nella sua città natale lungo il fiume Hudson. Accanto a lui, la fidanzata Kate è una scrittrice che fatica nella stesura del secondo romanzo, distratta dalle vicende del campione di football accusato dell’omicidio di due donne. Daniel accudisce Ruby, la figlia di lei, e sembra perfettamente inserito nella comunità, finalmente appagato dalla vita di famiglia alla quale aveva sempre aspirato. Ma un incontro scuote quella perfezione, e la rende più torbida e drammatica. Iris Davenport è una donna nera che frequenta un dottorato in un college della zona, il marito è consulente finanziario a New York e rientra solo nei fine settimana, il figlio è compagno di giochi di Ruby. Iris è per Daniel l’incarnazione di un sogno, sentimentale ed erotico, e diventa presto un’ossessione. La segue in macchina, studia i suoi orari, spesso la nomina quando parla con Kate, ma non crede che le sue fantasie avranno un seguito. Poi il caso, o forse l’implacabile meccanica del desiderio, accelera gli eventi, e provoca una lacerazione capace di disgregare un ordine familiare e sociale la cui solidità si rivelerà quanto mai effimera.
Come ha scritto Joyce Carol Oates, la geografia letteraria di Scott Spencer è profonda e affascinante: confina a sud con John Cheever, a nord con John Updike – del primo ha la capacità di dar vita a personaggi sognanti e innamorati, travolti dalle proprie emozioni; dell’altro il talento di celebrare l’eros, di cantare con precisione le fantasie degli amanti, i loro corpi, la loro passione. Una nave di carta è la storia di un viaggio dissoluto e di un violento naufragio, e una delle più sorprendenti declinazioni del romanzo d’amore contemporaneo.
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Mi ci sono tuffata convinta che sarei approdata alle cinque stelline, seguendo il consiglio di un amico -e critico- di cui mi fido ciecamente, tanto lo aveva decantato.
Intendiamoci, è un bel libro, magnifico anzi, appassionante e coinvolgente, con espedienti narrativi di prim'ordine: brani che anticipano quel che accadrà e che rileggeremo, identici, quasi alla fine, quando i giochi saranno ormai fatti.
Eppure so già che lo dimenticherò presto. Non è mai interamente entrato a far parte di me. Forse perché celebra il tradimento? Forse perché i sentimenti appaiono esageratamente enfatizzati? Non saprei dirlo. Mi aspettavo un nuovo "Stoner" (la cui fine è annunciata sin dalla prima pagina, ragion per cui siamo immediatamente "avvertiti"), cioè uno di quei rari romanzi perfetti capaci di risuonarti dentro anche a distanza di anni. Una musica diversa e incantatrice.
Sono gli anni del processo a O.J. Simpson, e gli Stati Uniti sembrano dividersi lungo una frontiera di classe, di razza, di genere. Daniel Emerson è un avvocato bianco di New York non ancora quarantenne, tornato a vivere nella sua città natale lungo il fiume Hudson. Accanto a lui, la fidanzata Kate è una scrittrice che fatica nella stesura del secondo romanzo, distratta dalle vicende del campione di football accusato dell’omicidio di due donne. Daniel accudisce Ruby, la figlia di lei, e sembra perfettamente inserito nella comunità, finalmente appagato dalla vita di famiglia alla quale aveva sempre aspirato. Ma un incontro scuote quella perfezione, e la rende più torbida e drammatica. Iris Davenport è una donna nera che frequenta un dottorato in un college della zona, il marito è consulente finanziario a New York e rientra solo nei fine settimana, il figlio è compagno di giochi di Ruby. Iris è per Daniel l’incarnazione di un sogno, sentimentale ed erotico, e diventa presto un’ossessione. La segue in macchina, studia i suoi orari, spesso la nomina quando parla con Kate, ma non crede che le sue fantasie avranno un seguito. Poi il caso, o forse l’implacabile meccanica del desiderio, accelera gli eventi, e provoca una lacerazione capace di disgregare un ordine familiare e sociale la cui solidità si rivelerà quanto mai effimera.
Come ha scritto Joyce Carol Oates, la geografia letteraria di Scott Spencer è profonda e affascinante: confina a sud con John Cheever, a nord con John Updike – del primo ha la capacità di dar vita a personaggi sognanti e innamorati, travolti dalle proprie emozioni; dell’altro il talento di celebrare l’eros, di cantare con precisione le fantasie degli amanti, i loro corpi, la loro passione. Una nave di carta è la storia di un viaggio dissoluto e di un violento naufragio, e una delle più sorprendenti declinazioni del romanzo d’amore contemporaneo.
-----------------
Mi ci sono tuffata convinta che sarei approdata alle cinque stelline, seguendo il consiglio di un amico -e critico- di cui mi fido ciecamente, tanto lo aveva decantato.
Intendiamoci, è un bel libro, magnifico anzi, appassionante e coinvolgente, con espedienti narrativi di prim'ordine: brani che anticipano quel che accadrà e che rileggeremo, identici, quasi alla fine, quando i giochi saranno ormai fatti.
Eppure so già che lo dimenticherò presto. Non è mai interamente entrato a far parte di me. Forse perché celebra il tradimento? Forse perché i sentimenti appaiono esageratamente enfatizzati? Non saprei dirlo. Mi aspettavo un nuovo "Stoner" (la cui fine è annunciata sin dalla prima pagina, ragion per cui siamo immediatamente "avvertiti"), cioè uno di quei rari romanzi perfetti capaci di risuonarti dentro anche a distanza di anni. Una musica diversa e incantatrice.
October 9, 2012
This book is fantastic. There are so many gems in here. It's too personal to share here, but suffice it to say the book moved me when I read it, and some of it stays with me now.
February 12, 2014
Ship Made of Paper.....what paper?
First of all let me say, I have no idea why this book is titled as such. I assume it was just a name the author liked because nothing about this book what so ever has to do with paper, ships or ships made of paper. This.. is a serious character study involving obsession, lies, lust, confusion, stereotypes, misconstrued judgement, guilt, misdirected anger and racism, all simultaneously played out coincidentally in a small town outside of New York city during the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial.
Daniel is a big time lawyer gone small time by moving back to the small town where he grew up after a series of events cause him to fear the big city. Daniel brings his live in girlfriend Kate and her daughter Ruby, whom he treats as his own daughter and cares for very much. Kate is an author, slash so/so mother, slash divorce, slash drunken lush, smug sarcastic woman with stereotypical racist tendencies. Daniels, is in obsession/stalker love with Iris. Iris is an African American mother of Nelson, who is Ruby's best friend at the daycare that they attend together. Iris is in graduate school and is married to Hampton, who works in the city during the week and comes home on the weekend to be with Iris and Nelson. Kate doesn't spend much time with Ruby so it falls upon Daniel to take care of the drop offs and pick ups of Ruby which causes him to interact with Iris a lot. During the course of this interaction, for the kids sake, Daniel falls for Iris and Iris has silent feelings for Daniel. Kate suspects. Hampton sort of does too. And life suddenly turns into a whirlwind one unexpected October day when a storm blankets the entire town and brings it to a stand still. Or maybe, a beginning.
After getting a few pages into this book I realized that I had previously read it some years ago. Maybe when it was brand new. There were some parts that I remembered but I really must not have previously been present for this book because I observe more now than I think I did then. Maybe I didn't finish it and put it down. It's possible. Maybe it's maturity in the skill of my comprehension and observation. If I did read this all the way through, I don't know why I don't remember the feeling of annoyance at the stereotypical race misrepresentations. I believe the author attempted to make such a show of the fact that Daniel was white and Iris was African American that at times it was just ridiculous for lack of any other way to say it. The differences were attempted to be shown between the different families. The people. Just the stereotypes were over the top and so was the racism. It was to me the kind of racism that is less in the face more under the cover. The type when people say things like "Yes, I have a black friend and I don't even notice he/she is black." If you really didn't why would you call out their race? Why not say your friend. There were so many racism and stereotypes. I just don't feel it was all dealt with properly. I wasn't offended to the point of putting the book down but I was annoyed by the stupidity of it. Some things were true to form but others.. I was glad to finish. It did linger after a while. There is much more that could be said but these things stood out to me.
I will say the author is a good writer, despite my grievances. You could feel the real mood of the book. When it was fear, you felt the fear. When it was lust and obsession, you felt that coming from those characters. Heartache, hatred, it was conveyed well. It wasn't a bad book. I assume I had a difference of opinion or again was really peeved with the above mentioned thoughts.
I'll give it a 3 1/2 stars. The characters were memorable for what they did. (I remembered them with a little refreshing immediately the second time.) I would recommend it to readers who like those character studies, drama, relationship fiction.
I think it really should have ended worse than it was allowed to end. I think author's should not be afraid of sad endings. In real life, SO MUCH of that would have happened differently and it would have ended badly. It would have made it more realistic.
First of all let me say, I have no idea why this book is titled as such. I assume it was just a name the author liked because nothing about this book what so ever has to do with paper, ships or ships made of paper. This.. is a serious character study involving obsession, lies, lust, confusion, stereotypes, misconstrued judgement, guilt, misdirected anger and racism, all simultaneously played out coincidentally in a small town outside of New York city during the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial.
Daniel is a big time lawyer gone small time by moving back to the small town where he grew up after a series of events cause him to fear the big city. Daniel brings his live in girlfriend Kate and her daughter Ruby, whom he treats as his own daughter and cares for very much. Kate is an author, slash so/so mother, slash divorce, slash drunken lush, smug sarcastic woman with stereotypical racist tendencies. Daniels, is in obsession/stalker love with Iris. Iris is an African American mother of Nelson, who is Ruby's best friend at the daycare that they attend together. Iris is in graduate school and is married to Hampton, who works in the city during the week and comes home on the weekend to be with Iris and Nelson. Kate doesn't spend much time with Ruby so it falls upon Daniel to take care of the drop offs and pick ups of Ruby which causes him to interact with Iris a lot. During the course of this interaction, for the kids sake, Daniel falls for Iris and Iris has silent feelings for Daniel. Kate suspects. Hampton sort of does too. And life suddenly turns into a whirlwind one unexpected October day when a storm blankets the entire town and brings it to a stand still. Or maybe, a beginning.
After getting a few pages into this book I realized that I had previously read it some years ago. Maybe when it was brand new. There were some parts that I remembered but I really must not have previously been present for this book because I observe more now than I think I did then. Maybe I didn't finish it and put it down. It's possible. Maybe it's maturity in the skill of my comprehension and observation. If I did read this all the way through, I don't know why I don't remember the feeling of annoyance at the stereotypical race misrepresentations. I believe the author attempted to make such a show of the fact that Daniel was white and Iris was African American that at times it was just ridiculous for lack of any other way to say it. The differences were attempted to be shown between the different families. The people. Just the stereotypes were over the top and so was the racism. It was to me the kind of racism that is less in the face more under the cover. The type when people say things like "Yes, I have a black friend and I don't even notice he/she is black." If you really didn't why would you call out their race? Why not say your friend. There were so many racism and stereotypes. I just don't feel it was all dealt with properly. I wasn't offended to the point of putting the book down but I was annoyed by the stupidity of it. Some things were true to form but others.. I was glad to finish. It did linger after a while. There is much more that could be said but these things stood out to me.
I will say the author is a good writer, despite my grievances. You could feel the real mood of the book. When it was fear, you felt the fear. When it was lust and obsession, you felt that coming from those characters. Heartache, hatred, it was conveyed well. It wasn't a bad book. I assume I had a difference of opinion or again was really peeved with the above mentioned thoughts.
I'll give it a 3 1/2 stars. The characters were memorable for what they did. (I remembered them with a little refreshing immediately the second time.) I would recommend it to readers who like those character studies, drama, relationship fiction.
I think it really should have ended worse than it was allowed to end. I think author's should not be afraid of sad endings. In real life, SO MUCH of that would have happened differently and it would have ended badly. It would have made it more realistic.
December 20, 2010
Seriously?! Here's the catch, the back inscriptions reads: "...this artist of desire paints his most profound and compelling canvas yet". Perhaps, if your reader prefers trashy Harlequin novels.
Unfortunately, I felt more insulted as a reader while reading this diabolical crap. The main characters had no ethical merit, in fact they had no merit at all and I found myself not only laughing at the deplorable situations but actually saying to myself, "oh come on, now, are they really that stupid". Yes, apparently they are.
A Ship Made of Paper is about a man, Daniel, and is reverent passion for Iris whom is married. Let me note that Daniel is white and Iris is black. No big deal I say, however, our author thought it needed to be the foundation of the book...inter-racial. But he didn't get preachy, instead the author seemed more on the side of unacceptable which I found to be annoying. Anyway, this torrid love affair ends up ruining everyones life - imagine that?!
Unfortunately, I felt more insulted as a reader while reading this diabolical crap. The main characters had no ethical merit, in fact they had no merit at all and I found myself not only laughing at the deplorable situations but actually saying to myself, "oh come on, now, are they really that stupid". Yes, apparently they are.
A Ship Made of Paper is about a man, Daniel, and is reverent passion for Iris whom is married. Let me note that Daniel is white and Iris is black. No big deal I say, however, our author thought it needed to be the foundation of the book...inter-racial. But he didn't get preachy, instead the author seemed more on the side of unacceptable which I found to be annoying. Anyway, this torrid love affair ends up ruining everyones life - imagine that?!
January 22, 2008
I can't believe I actually finished this.
June 12, 2012
Daniel Emerson returns home to Hudson River town after a shattering act of violence in New York City. He reunites with Kate Ellis and her daughter Ruby, he plans to live an ordinary life like most. Although Ruby is not his child by blood or even his stepdaughter, he takes care of her as if she was his own, a pleasure that he does not take lightly. While he knows that he always been attracted to black women, nothing prepares him for falling in love with Iris Davenport who is Kate's best friend. The attraction that he feels for her is overwhelming but he is hesitant t to pursue anything with her, considering that she is married to a overly superficial black man, Hampton. Daniel soon gives into temptation and now Iris must decide what she is willing to sacrifice, all in the name of love.
This is a very moving and compelling book about how love has no boundaries. The lengths that we will go to protect the ones that we love is astounding, I also love how developed and rich the characters were, not to mention the flaws that they had. It is a wonderful book that will leave you questioning if you did not believe in the of true love. I also love how everyone was connected somehow, that was one of the many highlights of the book.
This is a very moving and compelling book about how love has no boundaries. The lengths that we will go to protect the ones that we love is astounding, I also love how developed and rich the characters were, not to mention the flaws that they had. It is a wonderful book that will leave you questioning if you did not believe in the of true love. I also love how everyone was connected somehow, that was one of the many highlights of the book.
November 28, 2011
Okay, okay, I didn't finish this book. I don't usually review books that I didn't finish. I just started to feel embarrassed for the characters with dialogue about their childhood like "It was so hard to be friends with Leroy when his ancestors were brought here in chains and mine sipped gin on the porch." Stuff like that. And the author revels in stereotypes about the Arrogant Black Male who becomes furious when he doesn't get the best parking spot or a drop of his drink gets spilled by the waitress or some nonsense. Could there be something other than black and white here? I mean that both literally and figuratively. The plot is some nonsense about endless love, which in this day and age seems more like stalking.
March 28, 2018
To view on Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings: https://rainyday.blog/2018/03/28/book...
Overall, A Ship Made of Paper was an okay read for me. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t necessarily enthralled by the story and characters either.
The main plot centers on Daniel Emerson, a lawyer who moves back to the small town he grew up in with his girlfriend Kate Ellis and her daughter Ruby. While back at home, he meets Iris Davenport, an African-American woman whose son is best friends with Ruby. He becomes deeply attracted to Iris Davenport and begins to explore a deeper relationship with her one snowy night in October when a blizzard traps them inside her home. But this secret relationship ends up affecting every aspect of their lives.
What I enjoyed about the story was the writing. It was very descriptive to the point where I felt like I was right in the story as these events transpired. I especially enjoyed seeing the dialogue in the story because it brought the characters to life even better for me.
What I also enjoyed when reading A Ship Made of Paper is the variety of topics that can be discussed when it comes to this book. These topics include racism, sexual desire, infidelity, interracial relationships, justice (these events take place around the time of the OJ Simpson trial), alcohol addiction, and pedophilia (one of the married characters in the story is in love with a blind girl who he’s fancied since she was a child).
I feel like each of these aspects was wonderfully woven into this story through some of the characters who in some ways represent one of these topics. For example, Daniel’s girlfriend Kate Ellis is a writer who to me seems like a good example of what racism and alcohol addiction look like. She denies being racist (of course), but is convinced that OJ Simpson is guilty and writes about the trial throughout the story. She also calls the police when two boys brake into her home during the storm and is convinced that the boys who broke into her home are the recent prisoners who escaped from jail in the story, despite not at all getting a glimpse of their appearance. She also drinks heavily throughout the book, doesn’t matter what’s going on in her life. She always finds a reason to drink even when her relationship with Daniel is starting to fail. She’s a wonderful example of what racism and alcohol addiction look like and I feel like I can see other topics of discussion through all the other characters too.
While I enjoyed reading A Ship Made of Paper because of the writing and the different topics that can be discussed, there are a whole lot of things I overall don’t like about this story that make it difficult to give it a higher rating. While I enjoy the way the story is written, I found the pace and plot of the book to move very slow. It made reading this book all the more difficult for me because I kept waiting for the plot in the story to move along, to reach a climax that made me reading this book worthwhile. But the story kept disappointing me again and again. There were only two moments in the story that really made me want to continue reading to see what happened next: the night of the blizzard and the night when Marie Thorne goes missing. But even that was short lived for me, especially the night when Marie Thorne goes missing, because excerpts of what happens during the search for her are at the beginning of each chapter. So even the most exciting parts of the book become mundane for me because I already catch a glimpse of what’s going to happen even if I don’t get to see all of it.
I also don’t like that none of these characters are at all relatable to me. I especially don’t understand Daniel and his stalker-like behavior towards Iris Davenport, the woman he desperately wants to be with despite already being in a committed relationship with Kate Ellis. His behavior throughout the book screams creepy to me when it comes to Iris, and I found the way he felt about her was more sexual desire than actual true love. The only time I ever believe their relationship to be real at all is whenever they both have serious discussions about what they’re doing. Otherwise, I’m not really convinced that their loving relationship will last. It just seems like a fantasy relationship to me throughout with nothing substantial holding them together. I know a lot of it has to do with them both being unfaithful to their partners. I guess I just don’t understand why someone who’s already in a relationship would stay with their partner if they knew they were developing feelings for another person.
The biggest criticism I have for A Ship Made of Paper is the last half of the book after Marie Thorne goes missing. It felt as if the plot after this point in the story took a complete nosedive, leaving the reader feeling confused about what’s going on. While I understood what happened that changed everything, I feel almost as if this part of the story was a whole lot worse than the first half of the book, which wasn’t that much better either. While I liked that the end of this book was ambiguous, the rest of the story just lacked any sort of plot. We know Daniel feels guilty about Hampton’s condition, but the way Scott Spencer decides to take the story with him wasn’t at all an improvement. And then I felt like the robbery at the bar didn’t really add anything to the story because everyone then screamed they were robbed by black people. So all it did was show the prejudice of these characters, that they haven’t at all changed since the beginning of the book started.
So overall, A Ship Made of Paper was an okay read for me. I liked that there are a variety of topics that can be discussed when it comes to reading this book, but the plot of the story isn’t something to boast about. The book was fascinating enough to read, but not a story that I’ll reread anytime soon.
Overall, A Ship Made of Paper was an okay read for me. I didn’t hate it, but I wasn’t necessarily enthralled by the story and characters either.
The main plot centers on Daniel Emerson, a lawyer who moves back to the small town he grew up in with his girlfriend Kate Ellis and her daughter Ruby. While back at home, he meets Iris Davenport, an African-American woman whose son is best friends with Ruby. He becomes deeply attracted to Iris Davenport and begins to explore a deeper relationship with her one snowy night in October when a blizzard traps them inside her home. But this secret relationship ends up affecting every aspect of their lives.
What I enjoyed about the story was the writing. It was very descriptive to the point where I felt like I was right in the story as these events transpired. I especially enjoyed seeing the dialogue in the story because it brought the characters to life even better for me.
What I also enjoyed when reading A Ship Made of Paper is the variety of topics that can be discussed when it comes to this book. These topics include racism, sexual desire, infidelity, interracial relationships, justice (these events take place around the time of the OJ Simpson trial), alcohol addiction, and pedophilia (one of the married characters in the story is in love with a blind girl who he’s fancied since she was a child).
I feel like each of these aspects was wonderfully woven into this story through some of the characters who in some ways represent one of these topics. For example, Daniel’s girlfriend Kate Ellis is a writer who to me seems like a good example of what racism and alcohol addiction look like. She denies being racist (of course), but is convinced that OJ Simpson is guilty and writes about the trial throughout the story. She also calls the police when two boys brake into her home during the storm and is convinced that the boys who broke into her home are the recent prisoners who escaped from jail in the story, despite not at all getting a glimpse of their appearance. She also drinks heavily throughout the book, doesn’t matter what’s going on in her life. She always finds a reason to drink even when her relationship with Daniel is starting to fail. She’s a wonderful example of what racism and alcohol addiction look like and I feel like I can see other topics of discussion through all the other characters too.
While I enjoyed reading A Ship Made of Paper because of the writing and the different topics that can be discussed, there are a whole lot of things I overall don’t like about this story that make it difficult to give it a higher rating. While I enjoy the way the story is written, I found the pace and plot of the book to move very slow. It made reading this book all the more difficult for me because I kept waiting for the plot in the story to move along, to reach a climax that made me reading this book worthwhile. But the story kept disappointing me again and again. There were only two moments in the story that really made me want to continue reading to see what happened next: the night of the blizzard and the night when Marie Thorne goes missing. But even that was short lived for me, especially the night when Marie Thorne goes missing, because excerpts of what happens during the search for her are at the beginning of each chapter. So even the most exciting parts of the book become mundane for me because I already catch a glimpse of what’s going to happen even if I don’t get to see all of it.
I also don’t like that none of these characters are at all relatable to me. I especially don’t understand Daniel and his stalker-like behavior towards Iris Davenport, the woman he desperately wants to be with despite already being in a committed relationship with Kate Ellis. His behavior throughout the book screams creepy to me when it comes to Iris, and I found the way he felt about her was more sexual desire than actual true love. The only time I ever believe their relationship to be real at all is whenever they both have serious discussions about what they’re doing. Otherwise, I’m not really convinced that their loving relationship will last. It just seems like a fantasy relationship to me throughout with nothing substantial holding them together. I know a lot of it has to do with them both being unfaithful to their partners. I guess I just don’t understand why someone who’s already in a relationship would stay with their partner if they knew they were developing feelings for another person.
The biggest criticism I have for A Ship Made of Paper is the last half of the book after Marie Thorne goes missing. It felt as if the plot after this point in the story took a complete nosedive, leaving the reader feeling confused about what’s going on. While I understood what happened that changed everything, I feel almost as if this part of the story was a whole lot worse than the first half of the book, which wasn’t that much better either. While I liked that the end of this book was ambiguous, the rest of the story just lacked any sort of plot. We know Daniel feels guilty about Hampton’s condition, but the way Scott Spencer decides to take the story with him wasn’t at all an improvement. And then I felt like the robbery at the bar didn’t really add anything to the story because everyone then screamed they were robbed by black people. So all it did was show the prejudice of these characters, that they haven’t at all changed since the beginning of the book started.
So overall, A Ship Made of Paper was an okay read for me. I liked that there are a variety of topics that can be discussed when it comes to reading this book, but the plot of the story isn’t something to boast about. The book was fascinating enough to read, but not a story that I’ll reread anytime soon.
February 8, 2017
After a shattering incident of violence is perpetrated against him, lawyer Daniel Emerson leaves New York City and returns to the Hudson River town where he grew up. There, along with his partner Kate Ellis and her young daughter, Ruby, Daniel settles into the kind of secure and comfortable family life he always longed for during his emotionally barren childhood. However, he ultimately cannot control his desire for Iris Davenport, an African-American woman whose son is Ruby's best friend.
During a freak October blizzard, Daniel is stranded at Iris' house, and they spend the night together - beginning a sexual liaison that eventually imperils all their relationships, Daniel's profession, their children's well-being, their own race-blindness, and their view of themselves as essentially good people. The emotional stakes are raised even higher when Iris' husband, Hampton, suffers a devastating accidental injury at Daniel's hands.
Scott Spencer is a new author to me and this actually is the first book by this author that I've read. Reading this story was quite complex for me; there were many layers to it that caused me to read this book slowly - savoring it until I had reached the last page. Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Ship Made of Paper: A Novel from beginning to end. I give this book a definite A+! and have already put three more books by Scott Spencer on my Wish List.
During a freak October blizzard, Daniel is stranded at Iris' house, and they spend the night together - beginning a sexual liaison that eventually imperils all their relationships, Daniel's profession, their children's well-being, their own race-blindness, and their view of themselves as essentially good people. The emotional stakes are raised even higher when Iris' husband, Hampton, suffers a devastating accidental injury at Daniel's hands.
Scott Spencer is a new author to me and this actually is the first book by this author that I've read. Reading this story was quite complex for me; there were many layers to it that caused me to read this book slowly - savoring it until I had reached the last page. Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed reading A Ship Made of Paper: A Novel from beginning to end. I give this book a definite A+! and have already put three more books by Scott Spencer on my Wish List.
November 7, 2010
I've never read any Scott Spencer which is hard to believe, especially as 'Endless Love' ends up on so many "favorite" lists. Maybe it was the youthful equation of Brooke Shields = bad movie = bad book. I read a great review of his latest ('Man in the Woods') and as this book has some of the same characters (but isn't a prequel) I decided to start with this book.
Overall, I was blown away by the complexity of this book--the intimacy between the characters as well as how masterfully Spencer explores the faultlines of contemporary race relationships. A very thoughtful book that will reverberate for quite a while. In the end though, I felt there were just too many racial "incidents" for the story to be truly believable, and the ending was quite ambiguous. I wanted to immediately start the current book (remember not a sequel) if only to find out the ending. I am always looking for male authors who write believable and interesting women characters, and I am very happy to discover Scott Spencer even at this late date.
Overall, I was blown away by the complexity of this book--the intimacy between the characters as well as how masterfully Spencer explores the faultlines of contemporary race relationships. A very thoughtful book that will reverberate for quite a while. In the end though, I felt there were just too many racial "incidents" for the story to be truly believable, and the ending was quite ambiguous. I wanted to immediately start the current book (remember not a sequel) if only to find out the ending. I am always looking for male authors who write believable and interesting women characters, and I am very happy to discover Scott Spencer even at this late date.
December 25, 2023
Not that I was expecting much, but this book was kind of lame. Interracial stuff... cheating stuff.... wimpy men stuff... Some lame side story parts... some random gun shootings... some unimportant but frequently mentioned little kid love....
Also, I don't know if I was just zoning out because the plot was so boring and unoriginal at some parts, but I swear to God the author was drunk during some pages because they made NO sense. But I didn't bother to go back and re-read them to try to understand.
But it wasn't so awful that I couldn't finish it, I was actually excited read the end. The end would have been disappointing if I would have had any expectations, but I didn't so its all good.
I think the author secretly wants to get with a black woman.
I also don't think that white men should really write about how black people feel about racism and such. Call me old fashioned.
OH and the OJ sideline story was just plain dumb.
Also, I don't know if I was just zoning out because the plot was so boring and unoriginal at some parts, but I swear to God the author was drunk during some pages because they made NO sense. But I didn't bother to go back and re-read them to try to understand.
But it wasn't so awful that I couldn't finish it, I was actually excited read the end. The end would have been disappointing if I would have had any expectations, but I didn't so its all good.
I think the author secretly wants to get with a black woman.
I also don't think that white men should really write about how black people feel about racism and such. Call me old fashioned.
OH and the OJ sideline story was just plain dumb.
May 8, 2008
Very well written, especially the dialogue, which was full of subtext but felt real. Liked the way the author handled a difficult subject (white man cheating on girlfriend with a married black woman). The author was able to show simultaneously all the ill effects of the main character's poor decision-making (without beating the reader over the head or getting preachy), while making his poor decisions entirely understandable. A bit erotic in places for my Puritanical tastes. Sad but satisfying ending.
June 26, 2012
Spencer's prose is written with the intensity and fullness of poetic verse, expecially in regards to the feelings, desires and compulsions of the main characters. I could have done without the sexual details of the adulterous relationship - in this regard, I prefer subtle rather than overly explicit.
December 18, 2012
Eh, it was just OK. The author could have cut about 75 pages out and still had a good book. While it's interesting to see how race is viewed behind closed doors between blacks and whites and how one's actions do not always align with one's beliefs, I found all the characters so distasteful that I wasn't able to be invested in anything they said or did.
July 13, 2016
Lots of drama without melodrama. Wondrous prose. A searing story with an ending that left me speechless.
December 26, 2009
My only other Spencer was Endless Love. I remembered the feelings he evoked when I first read that, so was really looking forward to this. If I was rating only his writing style, this would deserve five stars, absolutely! I copied and shared so many quotes from this book, I'm sure my friends are sick of it. Since I have to rate the story as well...three stars. It's a pity.
Spencer has a way of describing emotions that just hit home. Everyone has those feelings of obsession, but it's almost shameful to admit them. I think we all play those games with ourselves. You know, "If I make this paper in the trash, he'll call.", "If I make every light on the drive to work my review will be smashing.". That sort of thing, but we don't say it out loud! Spencer does, and because we all do it, we feel connected to his characters. We can relate, sympathize, agonize over and care about them. There was no problem with that aspect of the book. I connected with them, I just didn't care where the tale was headed.
The story is about Daniel, a man in a "marriage like" realtionship with a woman with a child by another man that Daniel adores. That in itself got my sympathy. I felt, from the beginning, that Daniel loved Ruby (the daughter) more than her mother, Kate. In fact, I felt his love for Kate was DUE to Ruby. Reminiscent of Jerry Maguire. Anyway, Daniel falls in love with Ruby's best friend's mother, Iris. Not only is she married, she's black, to Daniel's white.
Spencer never convinced me that the inter-racial aspect of the Daniel and Iris' love was such a problem. This story would have been just as moving had they both been black OR white. I didn't see the point. Why make it such a big deal, when, really, it just wasn't? An affair is not dramatic enough on it's own?
The descriptions carried me through the book, but the story just...went nowhere. It ends with a tragedy of sorts and penance being paid. I didn't really care. I wanted more meat. There is only so much emotion you can describe or convey in the process of story, before you just have to get down to it. I felt he never did.
Spencer has a way of describing emotions that just hit home. Everyone has those feelings of obsession, but it's almost shameful to admit them. I think we all play those games with ourselves. You know, "If I make this paper in the trash, he'll call.", "If I make every light on the drive to work my review will be smashing.". That sort of thing, but we don't say it out loud! Spencer does, and because we all do it, we feel connected to his characters. We can relate, sympathize, agonize over and care about them. There was no problem with that aspect of the book. I connected with them, I just didn't care where the tale was headed.
The story is about Daniel, a man in a "marriage like" realtionship with a woman with a child by another man that Daniel adores. That in itself got my sympathy. I felt, from the beginning, that Daniel loved Ruby (the daughter) more than her mother, Kate. In fact, I felt his love for Kate was DUE to Ruby. Reminiscent of Jerry Maguire. Anyway, Daniel falls in love with Ruby's best friend's mother, Iris. Not only is she married, she's black, to Daniel's white.
Spencer never convinced me that the inter-racial aspect of the Daniel and Iris' love was such a problem. This story would have been just as moving had they both been black OR white. I didn't see the point. Why make it such a big deal, when, really, it just wasn't? An affair is not dramatic enough on it's own?
The descriptions carried me through the book, but the story just...went nowhere. It ends with a tragedy of sorts and penance being paid. I didn't really care. I wanted more meat. There is only so much emotion you can describe or convey in the process of story, before you just have to get down to it. I felt he never did.
October 1, 2009
To be honest, I'm not sure why I liked this book. All of the characters seemed unbalanced and neurotic and out of control. All the pages of set up were not even remotely worth the follow through. The points that the author tried to make about race relations and infidelity came through blurry and false.
However.
I really did enjoy this. I thought that the writing was vibrant and that the feelings that the characters were having were (while unrealistic) well expressed. I liked the time that this was set in- the idea of race relations against the backdrop of the OJ trial was a good idea. It gave an avenue of thought other than the lives of the characters.
I wasn't blown away by this book, by any means, but I had put off reading it so long that I was nervous that I would hate it. I didn't hate it and it was a good book to read while curled up on the first really chilly day of the year.
However.
I really did enjoy this. I thought that the writing was vibrant and that the feelings that the characters were having were (while unrealistic) well expressed. I liked the time that this was set in- the idea of race relations against the backdrop of the OJ trial was a good idea. It gave an avenue of thought other than the lives of the characters.
I wasn't blown away by this book, by any means, but I had put off reading it so long that I was nervous that I would hate it. I didn't hate it and it was a good book to read while curled up on the first really chilly day of the year.
June 30, 2010
Another disappointment. The story is about what is ultimately an unsuccessful relationship between the male narrator and a married woman. The man is white, the woman is black. The moral of the story seems to be that race may be an impossible barrier to lasting love, but that it isn't a barrier to great sex. In the course of the story, the man is irreparably damaged and the woman's marriage survives, but as a mere shadow - almost a parody - of the stereotype that black women married to black men become mere caretakers of their helpless husbands.
This was not only an unhappy story with an unhappy ending, it seemed a bit shallow and racist to me as well. In fairness, the author may have been striving to show how shallow his white male protagonist was. In either event, while the writing is excellent and sometimes luminous, I found the overall plot probed little deeper into the main characters than a struggling rock garden in a drought.
This was not only an unhappy story with an unhappy ending, it seemed a bit shallow and racist to me as well. In fairness, the author may have been striving to show how shallow his white male protagonist was. In either event, while the writing is excellent and sometimes luminous, I found the overall plot probed little deeper into the main characters than a struggling rock garden in a drought.
August 12, 2016
After reading the many laudatory reviews by other authors I was sure this would be the novel for all time. The prose is excellent and the bones of the story should have added up to more. I did not like the three main characters, but kept reading hoping I would come to love them. This did not happen as the three lied to each other and to themselves as they moved in and out of infidelity or in Hampton's case, his overblown view of himself, the Black Man who represented the entire race.
The ending made me say "meh."
The ending made me say "meh."
February 7, 2017
This book is masterfully written. The procession of each word leading to the next is simply beautiful. A tour de force suitable for anyone wishing to explore the meaning of love and desire.
Thank you Scott Spencer for a wonderful experience. You made my heart pound with emotion and shed tears of happiness.
Thank you Scott Spencer for a wonderful experience. You made my heart pound with emotion and shed tears of happiness.
April 15, 2019
Solo due libri tradotti in italiano di Scott Spencer? “Amore senza fine” è un capolavoro e questo non è da meno. Spencer scrive stupendamente e la storia è la storia di un amore e molto di più. L’odio razziale che è ancora ben presente purtroppo e la vita, che può cambiare in ogni momento. A tratti un Tennessee Williams moderno. Sellerio, aspettiamo il prossimo.
April 18, 2014
Complex, well-developed characters, a lyrical writing style, and a fast-moving plot. What's not to love about this book?
This book tackles a tough subject -- racism -- and yet the reader never feels preached to. (No small feat, that.)
I look forward to reading more work by this author.
This book tackles a tough subject -- racism -- and yet the reader never feels preached to. (No small feat, that.)
I look forward to reading more work by this author.
February 27, 2012
It felt like all the characters were amplified. Either very black and almost militant, or very white and not so subtle in their racism. And the accident was very bizarre.
February 24, 2025
While reading other reviews about this book, it’s interesting to me how so many of them were “I don’t see why Spencer had to make the fact that Iris was black and Daniel was white so prominent” etc. and it’s mind blowing to me that you guys don’t see the importance there? Especially during a rocky period with the OJ trial and in a small predominantly white town…
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Like others mentioned, there was a lot going on and some of the decisions made by Daniel/Iris were not realistic, but I enjoyed this book all the way through. I really enjoyed the little preview before each chapter of what’s to come, and then tying it all together in the later chapters. Spencer is a brilliant writer and I will be reading more of him for sure.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Like others mentioned, there was a lot going on and some of the decisions made by Daniel/Iris were not realistic, but I enjoyed this book all the way through. I really enjoyed the little preview before each chapter of what’s to come, and then tying it all together in the later chapters. Spencer is a brilliant writer and I will be reading more of him for sure.
March 18, 2025
This story kind of meandered for a while but had quite the ending! Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I did enjoy it more than I thought I would and it did really make me think about race relations and other current world issues in more ways that one.
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