Paper Wings

by Marly Swick

In a story set against the backdrop of the Kennedy presidency, Suzanne, a twelve-year-old girl, recounts the dissolution and ultimate redemption of her family, her mother's struggle with bouts of severe depression, and her relationship with her mother

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Book Club, Chick Lit

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Annalisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really is a shame that this book is hard to find and therefore not many people have read it because it really is an excellent debut novel.

The main character is an 11-year-old girl whose emotionally imbalanced mother puts all her attention and happiness into electing John F. Kennedy. When he is assassinated, she falls apart and her family is left to pick up the pieces and figure out what in her hidden past has left her so broken.
The addition of sixties fashion and pop culture down to the description of the wallpaper color really puts you into the era. Since the narrator is a child who doesn't understand the full cause or consequence of the scenes around her it makes it interesting.

But that's not what makes the book. The writing is insightful and poetic. My favorite observation is the close of the novel where the character, now an adult, compares her experience as a girl sitting in her father's optometrist chair unable to tell the difference between one lens and another to viewing her childhood as a adult unable to make any more sense out of tragedy now than she did then. I ate up the descriptions in the book.

It's one of those books that leaves you will a hollow feeling when you close it because you aren't ready to be done with the story. It's a book that saturates as it sinks in leaving you in this family's lives even after you've finished the story. If you have a chance to pick up this story, I would highly recommend it.

[Shay Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

After recently reading Marly Swick's "Evening News" and liking it, I ordered "Paper Wings" and liked it, too. The year is 1963. Suzanne's family had just moved into their brand new house in Madison, Wisconsin, three years earlier, and things were looking rosy. Her mother had campaigned hard for John F. Kennedy in 1960, and between that and the move, seemed to be blossoming at last. Then Suzanne and her classmates are let out early from school one fateful day in November--you know the one--and she comes home to find her mother sitting on the floor crying in front of the television set, her hair half washed, and every channel showing the same news.

"Paper Wings" is a really skillful depiction of a time and a national mood, as well as of a particular family, all on the edge of changing forever. Suzanne's mother reverts to being moody, unstable, and depressed. Her optometrist father becomes more and more frustrated with her, and when she takes Suzanne on an ill-advised impromptu trip, in the middle of winter, to her hometown in Nebraska, a lot of disturbing history reveals itself.

Nothing is going to be the same for any of them, or for the nation at large. This story is about innocence--and balance--lost, all through the eyes of a young girl caught in the middle of forces beyond her control. I liked it a lot, and recommend it.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing novel. I absolutly loved it.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book about 5-6 years ago and remembered enjoying it a lot. I guess I got into the Kennedy mode after reading "Train of Small Mercies" and wanted to re-read this book. I tremendously enjoyed this once again!

Suzanne Keller's mother Helen (yes, Helen Keller!) is devastated after JFK is assassinated. Mrs. Keller spirals downward with depression, but back in the early 1960's mental health issues and family situations were handled differently. The story is told from Suzanne's point of view, but it is really about her mothers pain and history which she keeps hidden from her family. Suzanne and her sister Bonnie are totally different children and the family has high hopes for normalacy when they move into their new WI suburban home. A real family portrait of life in the 60s.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book about a family, typical in many ways of families in the late 50's and early 60's when depression wasn't talked about. The assassination of John Kennedy causes a mother and wife, who already deals with depression, to go into a deep depression. Like many other women with depression then she uses tobacco and alcohol to self medicate. It is on a sudden road trip with her younger daughter that the root reason for her depression comes to surface.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and have reread it several times.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One familys reaction to an event that was pivotal in history. An event that many of us have witnessed.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but struggled through it in some parts.

[krdito · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child growing up in the 1960's, I could certainly relate to the story of Suzanne. Her world is shaped by the politics of the time and her family, which is spiraling downward and into different directions. Her voice is authentic, and I enjoyed the references to products popular in the 1960's (Toni home perms, Bufferin, etc.). Suzanne's mom is a bored and lonely housewife whose life is changed by a lie she told as a teenager, which continues to affect her deeply and leave her depressed (these were the days before Prozac!). Each character seems a bit lost. Great story about growing up in the 1960's!

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was another curates egg: good in parts but sadly not enough of the good and too much of the bad. The mum came across as selfish and irritating - the obsession with JFK just too over the top in my view. The epilogue was unessesary as it just rushed through the rest of their lives. Would have been better either to omit or save for a sequel which could then have had some purpose. The story was OK, but nothing special, and so became rather tedious. Sorry but certainly not really one for me.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Original Notes (1998):

Pretty good. At first I thought it was too simplistic, with a lot of trite details, but I got caught up in the story and really enjoyed it. It was fun to read about specific details of Lincoln (Swick teaches at UNL) and I wonder how much, if any, of the material is autobiographical.

My Current Thoughts:

I don't own a copy of this novel and I have no recollection of the characters or plot.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, the only thing that kept me going in the book was the description of the times in which the protagonist grew up. The author nailed it. I could picture everything, but I felt that there really wasn't much point to the book and the ending fell flat for me.

[amy gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but I didn't. Perhaps it was the timing of it all. The first part of the book reminded me of Obama's campaign, which I don't need to be reminded of, and the rest of the book just seemed like a depressed mother who was stuck in the past and couldn't appreciate what she had. I guess reading this so quickly after Revolution Road could have been my down fall. Maybe I need to space these types of books apart.

Ok with that said, I did enjoy the writing and how the story was written from the daughter's perspective. I enjoyed reading about growing up in the 60's, but I just felt so angry about what this family was OK with. So I will give it 3 stars because I'm not sure the problem was so much with the book as the way I felt about the mother. She drove me crazy and if I got anything from this book it was to be the complete opposite of this woman.

Sorry Annalisa i didn't love it. I'm actually quite interested to see what it was you loved about it.

[Bamboozlepig]

I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice coming-of-age tale set in the period after JFK's assassination. (I love stories set in the 1950s and '60s). Suzanne's mother struggles to cope with the assassination and as the story unfolds, you realize her mental illness is tied in to a tragedy from her past. The plot proceeds at a solid pace and the characters are well-drawn, especially Suzanne and her mother. I caught a few minor typos in the text, but that was about it as far as any problems I had with the book.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and the view into a not-so-great marriage from the perspective of the daughter. It is a good book for reading on a plane as it is not too long and will keep you just captive enough to be unaware of how long you have been sitting in that tiny airplane seat.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was okay - couldn't really get into it in the beginning and even in the middle/end of the book it wasn't super exciting. the book isn't really broken up into chapters; it's more of a parts i-iii and epilogue.

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. I think it had a lot of potential, but kind of fizzled out.

[Carly Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off rough... good middle.... boring end.

[Christopher Lee Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong. Not quite as good as EVENING NEWS, but a good coming-of-age novel set during the cultural shift that followed Kennedy's presidency and assassination.

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird book!

[Jecripps]

Swick's use of Camelot (starting with the 1960 election) is startling and poignant. I love this writer.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenaged girl learning to see her mother as a person with a history.

[Karen Burmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made a great impact on me when I read it about 15 years ago (partially because Marly Swick was my creative writing professor at UNL). A great read and one that I will definitely read again.