Mary-Beth Hughes (1)

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is a collection of connected short stories, but any of them could be read as a stand-alone. I think it's well-written on the sentence level, with beautiful prose and intriguing details. However, I felt a great deal of distance between myself and the characters, and that kept me from engaging as much as I prefer when I'm reading fiction. I was flat-out confused by what was happening in one story about a farm; I felt like I was reading Faulkner or something. So if you're intellectual and enjoy complex literature, I think this could be a book you love. I am more of a populist in my taste for contemporary fiction, so it wasn't my cup of tea. But I am still glad I read it, because I like to know what's out there in the world of literary fiction.… (meer)

The Loved Ones by Mary-Beth Hughes is a poignant novel about a family trying to cope with the death of their child.

The emotional divide between the members of the Devlin family is soon compounded by an unwanted move from their beloved family home in the US to London. Nick is coerced into taking a position in a cosmetic company by his manipulative brother Lionel and after his relocation to the UK, Nick tries to bury his grief with illegal drugs and extramarital sex. Jean is less than thrilled with the move but she eventually capitulates and she, along with their daughter Lily, join Nick in London where she continues to distance herself from both Nick and Lily. Poor Lily was already struggling to fit in at her old school in the US and she does not find it easier to make friends or find her niche after the move.

Numerous characters are introduced early in the novel and it is virtually impossible to keep up with them or their relationships with the key players. With the exception of Lily, the main characters are difficult to like and despite feeling compassion for their loss, they are rather unsympathetic.

The Loved Ones is a somewhat difficult novel to follow. The narrative is rather disjointed and the shifts between past and present are not clearly marked. Despite the descriptive passages, there is a vagueness to the overall storyline that makes it impossible to connect with neither the plot nor the characters. A lack of quotation marks adds to the confusion and when the dialog lasts longer than a few sentences, it is hard to keep up with which character is speaking.

There is no doubt that Mary-Beth Hughes is a gifted storyteller. The Loved Ones is a well written novel with a decent storyline that is unfortunately buried in the midst of the rambling, confusing narrative. The story's conclusion is quite unexpected and although a little abrupt and somewhat ambiguous, it is satisfying.… (meer)

The Loved Ones by Mary-Beth Hughes

Available from Atlantic Monthly Press June 2, 2015

Now, I’m all for a book that asks a bit more of readers. I’m up for a challenge when entering a fictional world. I love to interact with different voices that trust me to be intelligent, and to care enough about the time I’m spending with a book to pay attention. Deep attention. To become engaged with individual characters as if they were my friends, or people I’d love to know or know about.

This book seems to be reaching for that but doesn’t strike a good balance. It overreaches and in the process, turns into a confusing mess. It flips around quickly between characters remembered and “on stage,” so to speak, and characters that aren’t important to the narrative moment are intrusive rather than rendered seamlessly into the narrative.

It was like having someone tap you on the shoulder repeatedly while reading to ask you unrelated and irritatingly pointless questions. But since the interruptions arise from the text itself, you can’t ignore the tapping.

I couldn’t get far into this book before putting it down. I was very disappointed because the concept is exactly the kind of idea I love to read about. Here, though, the voice is too jumbled to follow. A little guidance from the author would have been appreciated.

I received an ARC from the publisher so I could write this review.

DNF: No star rating available.

If you like intelligent narratives and arresting plots, check out [b:The Family Made of Dust: A Novel of Loss and Rebirth in the Australian Outback|31692655|The Family Made of Dust A Novel of Loss and Rebirth in the Australian Outback|Laine Cunningham|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1472357358s/31692655.jpg|6308645].… (meer)