This "novel" is really more a set of short stories loosely tied together by a minor character in one appearing as the main character in the next. They are also thematically related as the characters are essentially making improvements to their lives by making rational decision about relationships.

I enjoyed each story and found the writing to be outstanding and characters to be very authentic and well developed. I could see the attempt in the last story to wrap things up and weave the stories together. It didn't really work. Instead I found the ending wanting something more that was just missing. Still a very worthwhile read. ( )

After finishing this I skimmed some reviews and found that it was frequently compared to the Islamic carpets that have a recurring place in the novel. Intricate interwoven themes, just as in the carpet patterns. Tapestry was another descriptor.

Both of those analogies seem too heavy to me. There is a certain light, shimmery quality to the prose. Gossamer is too fine, though. Think of braided strands of silver and gold.

In structure the book is like a series of interconnected stories, but the central core is actually more solid than that. Events radiate forward and backward in time from a decision made by a young woman to stop short of participating in her boyfriend’s harebrained get-rich (or at least less poor) scheme.

I was captivated by the first sentences, and I remained entranced until the end. Silber is a gifted author, and it’s easy to understand why the book won the National Book Critics Circle award and the Pen/Faulkner.

(P.S. I can’t seem to escape from references to Richmond VA in my reading. I expected it with Razorblade Tears, but who would have thought that a book set in Nova Scotia would have a Richmond connection? Then this book, which is set primarily in NYC and Turkey, with scenes in Germany and upstate NY, also features a lengthy segment in Richmond. Go figure.)

(P.P.S. Judith, I determined that I added this to my TBR the day after you posted your review - so thanks!) ( )

I am the kind of person that wonders about many of the side characters in the books I read. If I am reading nonfiction it is the worst because I will start researching actual people not central to the story, tumbling down Google wormholes, realizing hours in that it is 2:00 am and that I have to work in a few hours. So this book's structure worked for me. There is a central event which impacts many people followed by vignettes featuring many of those minor characters who wee affected. We seeing how their lived were changed by two decisions, each made in an instant, one fateful night. I thought that was very well done, and I found the featured side characters mostly fascinating. In fact the only character I did not find fascinating at all was the main character, Reyna, whose actions set off everything else. I don't think she was a badly drawn character. The character development throughout is excellent. I was impressed with how Silber could give me only tiny slivers of people's lives and yet I as a reader felt I really got to know them. Reyna was well drawn. I see women like her all the time. Reyna is basic. I lost a bit of interest when she was front and center, but she was so interconnected with everyone else that invariably she would start talking or thinking about other characters like Kiki, Lynette, or Boyd, and I would get interested again. In the end reading this was a great pleasure. I will definitely move on to read other Joan Silber. . ( )

Story telling at its best. Really enjoyed this. ( )

Improvement
by Joan Silber
2017, Counterpoint
Hardcover, 256pp

"Some people designed their body art so it all fit together, but I did mine piecemeal, like my life, and it looked fine."

Yet another offering where life is messy and characters are mostly fatalistic and enslaved to whimsical desire. Life sweeps along and affairs abound. The only character of real depth and interest, Kiki, stays in the shadows, validating the proposition that desire fulfilled diminishes interest. The story takes the form of a butterfly effect, book-ended with the best of the small lot of characters. Recommended for those who desire impressionistic morsels to occupy a short commute. ( )