Want

by William Ramsay

A small, family-run hotel struggling to survive on the north shore of Massachusetts is the setting for this novel about a family of dreamers. Alex, the father, has been writing novels his entire life, none of which have been published. Uncle Buck wants to make the hotel famous nationwide, but seems to stumble at every turn. His niece, Fran, struggles to wrest control of the hotel from him, knowing full well she can run it better than he can, while her brother, Jack, seems only interested in the women who come to the bar. Robert, the youngest son, is embarrassed by his eccentric family and it’s shabby hotel, and believes that dreamers are deluded.

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2012

Reviews

[Bill Cokas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you appreciate the art of writing, you will find much to appreciate in "Want." It's full of exquisite phrases and the author has a staggering understanding of the complexity of human emotions. The title is appropriate--all the characters "want" something, even if many of them don't know what it is. And that itself is the story--following the characters on their path of growth through the years as they discover what they want (and don't want) by trial, error, success and rejection. The point of view is omniscient, but it jumps from character to character very abruptly, sometimes from one sentence to the next. In many ways, scene by scene, it's a fascinating look at different types of people and how they react to the unexpected. For me, though, I kept waiting for a more distinct "plot" to kick in and it never did. If you're into literary novels (which I'm not), you might have more patience to let things develop and you'll certainly enjoy the use of language throughout.