Local Knowledge

by Liza Gyllenhaal

From an exciting debut author?a novel about three people haunted by the mistakes of their past and their plunge into an uncertain future.

Maddie Alden has always longed for more than her small town could offer. Now that it's being overrun by wealthy New Yorkers looking for a respite from the city, Maddie has gotten herself a lucrative new job in real estate. And her first sale brings her a charismatic new friend who is everything Maddie longs to be. Little does Maddie realize that the glamorous Anne will shake up her quiet marriage? and will force Maddie to face the truth about the past, and the terrible secret she shares with her husband and his best friend?

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Chick Lit, Contemporary

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2008

About the author

I'm the author of 'A Place for Us,' 'So Near,' 'Local Knowledge' and the just-published 'Bleeding Heart' all from New American Library. My novels are set in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts and explore questions of family, marriage, and small town America.

I'm delighted that two of my earlier romance novels 'Changes of Heart' and 'Heart and Soul' have been made available for the first time as e-books from Diversion Books.

I hope you'll follow my blog here on Good Reads and visit my website at http:www.lizagyllenhaal.com where you can get updates on my upcoming events. I look forward to joining the conversations!

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank goodness I'm finished. This book was Boring with a capital B. This book is my lesson as to why I do not pick-up impromptu books without first reading the reviews. I grabbed this at Borders because the title, cover, and overview intrigued me. What a waste of $14-. I could not relate to the characters whatsoever...I just didn't make any connections to them. The only positive thing I can say is that I did enjoy the last 50 pages, but they certainly did not make up for the first 300 which I had to force myself through.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Local Knowledge begins with the observation "you stop seeing things after a while. . . Maybe especially those you love." The narrator of the story, Maddie, is a tremendously insightful human being about herself and others. Her husband observes "You don't miss a whole lot, do you" and yet, so understandably, she catches herself not recognizing things whether it is one of her young daughters getting sick or the powerful shifting of her own motives and priorities. Maddie reflects "most of the time you only think you know the truth about other people, even those you believe you know the best." This book draw the reader into the shifting relationships that exist among human beings and how we have powerful influences on each other, sometimes even when we are unaware of it ourselves. It focuses on a central couple with deep and long foundations to their marriage, how their values and priorities are built on a commitment to each other and how their relationships with others influence them individually and as a family. Liza Gyllenhaal has crafted a novel that draws you into the lives of a number of human beings whose strengths, weaknesses and life experience can remind us of our own humanity.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because the protagonist is a Realtor who is married to a home builder, like I am. It covers several years with the main characters as young adults into the present time. Her characters are fully developed I really enjoyed the way she delved into the heads of her characters and their psychology. Maddie Alden's character goes from a young mother whose only job had been as a waitress until she meets a Real Estate Broker who offers her a job as an assistant. Maddie discovers she has a knack at selling and quickly develops relationships with out of town buyers who are snatching up the upper-end custom homes her husband's company are building. She discovers what she wants from life and surprises herself when she goes for it. A must read if you like stories that revolve around secrets in the past.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real estate in small towns a stone's throw from the city is attractive to those looking for weekend houses. Maddie is a local realtor who depends on the weekenders for her bread and butter; her friend Luke resents them for destroying the land that made the location wonderful in the first place. How land is used is a deep subject which Gyllenhaal mines well. She is very familiar with the small town where the action takes place, and creates a convincing set of characters and situations. The way family predetermines your fate -- the events, the resentments, the petty feuds and tragic rifts-- these are all described in a way anyone could relate to. I especially liked the way the vulgar businessman befriends the police who he can use for his own agenda.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and an interesting character study. Paul was the one person that seemed to keep his head together while Anne is one of those people you should run from because she will suck you into her empty orbit. Unfortunately, Maddie didn't realize this until too late. There is a sad stereotype about how some people lose their brains as they get more money! They are the true leeches.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because the story had so many layers to it. Maddie is an up and coming real estate agent in upstate New York. Post 9/11 many people from the city are seeking vacation homes. But with the increase of vacation homes, the local farms found it more profitable to sell their land and get out of the business all together, changing the community drastically. Maddie feels she has made a friend in Anne, who along with her husband, purchased a very pricy house using Maddie as their realtor. Some of Maddie's friends and relatives feel she has changed and not in a good way. Secrets are exposed, true character revealed and the ending is an explosive one. This book really explores the changing landscape of rural America and we would do well to consider what this change means for all of us.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting started on this book. It did pick up a little but not by much. I thought I had figured out the way it was going to go, but surprisingly it didn't. I thought all characters were selfish in their own ways; so I really don't have a favorite one. It is a hot or miss type of book. Some people will love it- others will not.

[Sandy Towry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been a four star but was disappointed in how the ending was wrapped up. I felt like it needed an epilogue.

[Linda Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well writen and well told story.

[Renae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really excellent. I loved it. The characters were engaging and well developed, I felt myself relating to almost everyone in one way of another. The story started out sort of slow to develop but it eventually got very engaging and was a real page turner.

The end was really a twist I didn't see coming but I loved how it ended. It left me wanting to know more about what happened. Cliffhanger...

I couldn't recommend this book enough, if you read it you have to give it 80 or so pages before it REALLY gets intersting but once it does it's fantastic.

[Kelly Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for three main reasons. One, because at the time of reading I am working for a real estate attorney, and it was interesting to hear about the daily life of a budding realtor, and why she chooses the path she does. Two, because the way the story is told feels very real. The writing expertly balances exposition and action, and reads like an good friend explaining her life to you over coffee. It's entertaining, and realistic. Three, the ending does just what a story should do - it's inevitable and yet still somewhat surprising.

[Kath · Rating 1 out of 5]

This felt like one of the longest books I've read, dragged on and on. At some point, I realized I should give it up but.... that tiny hope that maybe, just maybe it will pick up and get better, kept me handcuffed to the book. Wasted time!!
I was disappointed in the story, it was boring with far too many descriptions of countryside. The characters felt impersonal and I couldn't connect with any of them. As an added piss-off, the ending was ridiculous, it just ended with what felt like an unfinished sentence, no rhyme or reason to it!

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

For myself, who spends many hours reading research papers and nonfiction these days, Liza's new book Local Knowledge was a good read. She writes well and did a lovely job developing her characters. It was a book I looked forward to reading. I often judge 21st Century fiction by the following standards, "Do I just want to see what happens and skim through the book to the end" or "The book is good enough for me to want to read it all." Her book meets the second criteria.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story with many twists. The story of the life of one couple in a small town in New England which delves into the past and present and their interaction with others in their lives. The husband's best friend always seemed to be on the verge of coming between them.
I had a hard time relating to any of the characters which I think is why I didn't enjoy this one more. I wouldn't call it boring, just different. I am anxious to see what others think about this one.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend recommended this book to me, it looked interesting, so I gave it a shot. I am so glad that I did. This book was terrific. The story was one that held my interest, the writing was easy to follow and there were several twists. This is not a mystery, but like any good novel, it contains elements of mystery. This book is not a contender for the Pulitzer, but well worth the read. I recommend it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mental health aspects of this book kind of seem a little flimsy. Is Anne's condition really a thing? Do people really get away with claiming that they have a crazy mental problem that makes them bed inappropriate men and then apparently forget about them when they're medicated? That seems like a lot of bullshit. Anyway, the book was fine for what it was. A summer read, not a lot of thinking necessary. I doubt I'd recommend it to anyone, but enjoyed my time reading it.

[Rachel Stuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was Boring with a big ol' B! I got it on a whim at a bookstore and rue the decision. I cared so supremely little about all the characters, and then the Big Secret was almsot laughable! This is one of those books that was written by a talented writer but just missed the mark. If I read another Gyllenhaal, it will be from the library.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a first novel for Gyllenhaal and I enjoyed it. The story was simple and yet complex with the intertwining of the lives of the characters. The narrator is introspective and analytical but not perfect. She recognizes her own faults and knows herself well. Not perfect by any stretch, she comes across as very human and approachable and, therefore, likable.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't even know what to say about this book. Up until the last 20 pages, I thought this tremendous author was very insightful into the human psyche and her perspective on how people relate to each other was enlightening, but it ended so bizarrely that I just am at a loss of words. It was so depressing that it made me question how well anybody really knows anybody else or even ourselves.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story from beginning to end! Travels the bonds of family and friendship in a small town in upstate New York just beginning to feel the effects of the building boom after 9/11. Told through the voice of Maddie the long time resident who wants more and thinks she finds it in the friendship of a weekender named Anne.

[Ashley O'Melia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love how she wrote from two different time periods that slowly diverged. Gyllenhaal can describe a character so well that you feel like you know them, but there were enough characters involved that it was sometimes confusing. I thought the ending was a bit sad, and I am a happy endings type of person. All-in-all, though, not a bad book.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times the book seemed to move a little slow for my tastes, but overall it was an interesting story. When I was getting close to the end I couldn't figure out how it was going end... A lot happened in the last bit of the book. I got frustrated with some of the characters and couldn't really relate to many if them.

[Jess]

What begins as a lively first-person narrative by a young real estate agent in a small town devolves into a Fatal Attraction-type story about the way the past --- manifesting as a lustful yet psychotic woman, natch --- threatens the security of a nuclear family.

[Brenda Klaassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book on my shelf for a few years. The undercurrent is dark in this book. I found the characters to be interesting. The author touched my emotions with her writing. This story helped me become a better person and rounded reader.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a woman living in a small New England town working as a realtor. There is a mysterious relationship between the woman, her husband and another man in town. Just getting started but interesting so far.

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read an interesting review of this book so I decided to pick it up. The reviews raved about "loveliness of the writing and the story"- It was boring ,it was depressing, it was a waste of my time- enough said.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

So boring. I put it down for several days a couple times. I considered not finishing it, but I wanted to be able to dislike it correctly. It didn't hold my attention at all. I'm pretty disappointed because it's been on my to-read list for years.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this - the characters weren't developed enough for me to understand or care for them. A little predictable as to what roads were going to be taken right from the beginning. Ended up skipping to the end just to see what happened.

[Liz]

Good light read

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

glad it was a library book, very formulaic, secret was not that dark...the lead character "MAddie" is a very traditional female character.