Polly Dugan
Auteur de The Sweetheart Deal
Œuvres de Polly Dugan
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Sexe
- female
Membres
Critiques
Book Description...
"Two young women who've dated the same man navigate love, destiny, loss, and choice in this powerful debut.
Anna Riley and Anne Cavanaugh have had a lover in common, but it's not until a pivotal moment in one of their lives that their paths unforgettably converge. "Beautiful and connected in unexpected ways...." (Jodi Angel), the linked stories in So Much a Part of You "read like whispered secrets." (Scott Nadelson)
Peter Herring was the center of Anne's universe in college, and now, a few years later, he's become the center of Anna's, and merely a minor player in his ex-girlfriend's world. That is, until Peter and Anna are invited into Anne's parents' home to visit with her dying mother, and he finds himself drawn back into her orbit. Years later, when her own mother is dying, Anna will find herself yearning to reach out to Anne, with whom she had shared such a brief but intimate bond, and find solace in that moment from long ago.
Perspective evolves with time, and so with time, what Peter means to each woman-as lover, as friend, as connection to the past-also evolves. Through exploring Anne's and Anna's ties to Peter and unfolding the narratives of the people who weave meaningfully in and out of their lives, Polly Dugan reveals the power of family secrets, the ripple effects of her characters' emotional choices, and how poignantly their intertwined relationships shape who they are and how they love.
Possessing that rare ability to write the sweep of emotion with tenderness, Polly Dugan invites readers to witness the moments that define her characters-the moments that come back full circle to comfort or haunt them, or both. So Much a Part of You will break your heart and still have you asking for more."
Title: So Much a Part of You
Author: Polly Dugan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review
"So Much a Part of You" by Polly Dugan
What I thought about this novel...
This author presents to the reader a collection of tales where the story will connect to one another in one way or another. I will say I did have a little trouble understanding some parts of this novel's connection however, before I had finished reading the novel I was able to understand and see its connection. Most of these stories took place around the 1980's during the depression era where we found life somewhat much simpler and then it weaves on to the present time. The story was well written as the author give us a story of Peter who had quite a moral issue with two women that loved him. All the way through the read all these issues will find that these three will explore relationships, loyalty, families and even love. I found it interesting how this author was able to give the reader stories that weaved the past and present together as they are interconnected together giving the reader a look at their emotional, physical and psychological lives. As you read from each short story you will see how the characters that are well presented having been weaved into the very next story which was very well done by the author. Be ready for a collection of stories that are linked together that will have a little bit of it all from some tragedies, from accidents, grief, anxiety, to one night stands, friendships, alcoholism to even an abortion. Now, will all these stories be something you can identify with in your life?...Well, you will have to pick up this read to see if this collection to see. It will be a interesting read that may still leave you wondering.… (plus d'informations)
"Two young women who've dated the same man navigate love, destiny, loss, and choice in this powerful debut.
Anna Riley and Anne Cavanaugh have had a lover in common, but it's not until a pivotal moment in one of their lives that their paths unforgettably converge. "Beautiful and connected in unexpected ways...." (Jodi Angel), the linked stories in So Much a Part of You "read like whispered secrets." (Scott Nadelson)
Peter Herring was the center of Anne's universe in college, and now, a few years later, he's become the center of Anna's, and merely a minor player in his ex-girlfriend's world. That is, until Peter and Anna are invited into Anne's parents' home to visit with her dying mother, and he finds himself drawn back into her orbit. Years later, when her own mother is dying, Anna will find herself yearning to reach out to Anne, with whom she had shared such a brief but intimate bond, and find solace in that moment from long ago.
Perspective evolves with time, and so with time, what Peter means to each woman-as lover, as friend, as connection to the past-also evolves. Through exploring Anne's and Anna's ties to Peter and unfolding the narratives of the people who weave meaningfully in and out of their lives, Polly Dugan reveals the power of family secrets, the ripple effects of her characters' emotional choices, and how poignantly their intertwined relationships shape who they are and how they love.
Possessing that rare ability to write the sweep of emotion with tenderness, Polly Dugan invites readers to witness the moments that define her characters-the moments that come back full circle to comfort or haunt them, or both. So Much a Part of You will break your heart and still have you asking for more."
Title: So Much a Part of You
Author: Polly Dugan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review
"So Much a Part of You" by Polly Dugan
What I thought about this novel...
This author presents to the reader a collection of tales where the story will connect to one another in one way or another. I will say I did have a little trouble understanding some parts of this novel's connection however, before I had finished reading the novel I was able to understand and see its connection. Most of these stories took place around the 1980's during the depression era where we found life somewhat much simpler and then it weaves on to the present time. The story was well written as the author give us a story of Peter who had quite a moral issue with two women that loved him. All the way through the read all these issues will find that these three will explore relationships, loyalty, families and even love. I found it interesting how this author was able to give the reader stories that weaved the past and present together as they are interconnected together giving the reader a look at their emotional, physical and psychological lives. As you read from each short story you will see how the characters that are well presented having been weaved into the very next story which was very well done by the author. Be ready for a collection of stories that are linked together that will have a little bit of it all from some tragedies, from accidents, grief, anxiety, to one night stands, friendships, alcoholism to even an abortion. Now, will all these stories be something you can identify with in your life?...Well, you will have to pick up this read to see if this collection to see. It will be a interesting read that may still leave you wondering.… (plus d'informations)
Though each segment could be read as a standalone, each is So Much a Part of the Landscape that Polly Dugan's work is best read all-in-a-burst.
More trust is required on the reader's part than, say, with Carrie Snyder's more prominently linked The Juliet Stories or Elise Juska's The Blessings.
But nor are the links as subtle as in, say, Katie Ward's Girl Reading, in which the tales cross hundreds of years but revolve around the act of reading.
So Much a Part of You focuses on a core group of characters, the concerns of the collection swelling outwards like ripples in a pond, but with the core remaining distinct.
In fact, the only gap appears to be between the first story, which focuses on a single character from an earlier generation, and the remainder of the tales which concentrate on interconnected contemporary characters.
But this gap is actually not a gap and here is where the reader's trust is required; the circle is cinched with the final story, in a quietly satisfying "ahhh" moment, with a subtle thematic link that could not have been predicted but which is surprisingly satisfying.
The majority of the stories are preoccupied with relationships, with the dramatic ebb and flow of affections. The characters are frequently young (the youngest is in the first tale) and struggling with issues of identity, or somewhat older but facing circumstances which challenge aspects of their identity which once seemed immovable.
The prose is straightforward and the use of figurative language is minimal. The stories are scenic, set out with a journalist's attention to detail, with only the occasional simile to add to the reader's sensory experience of characters' key realizations.
Polly Dugan makes deft use of detail from the 80's music references, to sobbing in the theatre during "Against All Odds", the radio in Chris' mother's car playing Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain", the pearls against Audrrey's clavicle, ad the Olivers' farm at the end of a dirt road lane with soybean fields on both sides.
The majority of the stories are narrated by a female character, and the girls and women in the collection behave credibly (not always likeably, but believably); they are sometimes flimsy and fuzzy, losing themselves in the pursuit of a romantic relationship, and sometimes determinedly independent.
The male characters' vulnerabilities are also explored, and the storyteller's voice is consistent throughout, so that a sense of unity in the collection is maintained, despite the regular shifts in character and perspective and, as the collection proceeds, time.
As the years pass, the characters' preoccupations grow more complex, reflecting a variety of experiences (often revolving around a loss or a perceived loss). "He feels the fatigue of having aged, as though he has undergone a crash course in the business of growing older."
Polly Dugan's style is gently probing; singly, the stories in So Much a Part of You might not have the same emotional resonance with readers but, in combination, the characters take hold.
In much the same way that writers like Jami Attenberg and Meg Mitchell Moore can catch a reader's heart unawares, Polly Dugan's stories are tender explorations of love and loss.
This review originally appeared here on Buried.In.Print.… (plus d'informations)
More trust is required on the reader's part than, say, with Carrie Snyder's more prominently linked The Juliet Stories or Elise Juska's The Blessings.
But nor are the links as subtle as in, say, Katie Ward's Girl Reading, in which the tales cross hundreds of years but revolve around the act of reading.
So Much a Part of You focuses on a core group of characters, the concerns of the collection swelling outwards like ripples in a pond, but with the core remaining distinct.
In fact, the only gap appears to be between the first story, which focuses on a single character from an earlier generation, and the remainder of the tales which concentrate on interconnected contemporary characters.
But this gap is actually not a gap and here is where the reader's trust is required; the circle is cinched with the final story, in a quietly satisfying "ahhh" moment, with a subtle thematic link that could not have been predicted but which is surprisingly satisfying.
The majority of the stories are preoccupied with relationships, with the dramatic ebb and flow of affections. The characters are frequently young (the youngest is in the first tale) and struggling with issues of identity, or somewhat older but facing circumstances which challenge aspects of their identity which once seemed immovable.
The prose is straightforward and the use of figurative language is minimal. The stories are scenic, set out with a journalist's attention to detail, with only the occasional simile to add to the reader's sensory experience of characters' key realizations.
"He smells like booze, something harder beneath the beer. She knows it well. And more – laundry detergent, shampoo, and himself. His sunny, earthy smell of boy makes her feel empty and reckless. His scent is like a plateful of something she wants to cut up and shovel in by the forkful until she’s stuffed."
Polly Dugan makes deft use of detail from the 80's music references, to sobbing in the theatre during "Against All Odds", the radio in Chris' mother's car playing Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain", the pearls against Audrrey's clavicle, ad the Olivers' farm at the end of a dirt road lane with soybean fields on both sides.
The majority of the stories are narrated by a female character, and the girls and women in the collection behave credibly (not always likeably, but believably); they are sometimes flimsy and fuzzy, losing themselves in the pursuit of a romantic relationship, and sometimes determinedly independent.
"By their last night together, Caitlin thought she loved him. She felt like a rock he’d taken and carved something out of. She was a different person from the one she’d been a week ago."
The male characters' vulnerabilities are also explored, and the storyteller's voice is consistent throughout, so that a sense of unity in the collection is maintained, despite the regular shifts in character and perspective and, as the collection proceeds, time.
As the years pass, the characters' preoccupations grow more complex, reflecting a variety of experiences (often revolving around a loss or a perceived loss). "He feels the fatigue of having aged, as though he has undergone a crash course in the business of growing older."
Polly Dugan's style is gently probing; singly, the stories in So Much a Part of You might not have the same emotional resonance with readers but, in combination, the characters take hold.
In much the same way that writers like Jami Attenberg and Meg Mitchell Moore can catch a reader's heart unawares, Polly Dugan's stories are tender explorations of love and loss.
This review originally appeared here on Buried.In.Print.… (plus d'informations)
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buriedinprint | 1 autre critique | Jul 16, 2014 |
buriedinprint | 1 autre critique | Jul 16, 2014 | Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 3
- Membres
- 68
- Popularité
- #253,411
- Évaluation
- 3.4
- Critiques
- 3
- ISBN
- 14
- Langues
- 1
The Sweetheart Deal is a quick and easy read. I enjoyed the format of short chapters with alternating characters featured. The ending is predictable right from the beginning but there are some twists to keep the pages turning. I would like to have had another chapter or two, perhaps a glimpse into the future a few years later. Overall, I enjoyed this book and think it would be interesting for a book club discussion.