flynxnguyen's review against another edition
4.0
But it isn't true. It is impossble to live a whole life sealed inside the constraints of a complex body. Sooner or later, and sometimes by accident, someone is going to reach out a hand or a tongue or a morself of genital flesh and enter that valved darkness. This act can be thought of as a precious misfortune or the ripest of pleasures. The skin will break open, or the cell wall, and all the warm fluids of life will be released - whether we wish it or not - to pour freely into the mixed matter of the world, that surging, accomodating ocean. Larry Weller is disturbed by this notion, but oddly comforted, too. He is recovering; in a sense he's spent his whole life in a state of recovery, but has only begun, at age forty-five, to breathe in the vital foreknowledge of what will become of the sovereign self inside him, that luxurious ornament. He'd like that self to be more musical and better lit, he'd like to possess a more meticulous sense of curiosity, and mostly he'd like someone, some thing to love. He's getting close. He feels it. He's halfway awake now, and about to wake up fully.
janeylouthecat's review against another edition
3.0
Carol Shields published several short story collections over the course of her writing career, and although Larry’s Party is a novel, in some ways it reads like a collection of short stories, all about the eponymous Larry, a mild-mannered, affable Canadian. We accompany him through twenty years of his life, from his mid-twenties to his mid-forties, through two marriages, one child, two country moves, the death of both his parents, and establishing his dream, rather niche, career. Each chapter focuses on a different area of Larry’s life, e.g. “Larry’s work”, “Larry’s friends” (and, yes, even “Larry’s penis”) all the way through to the final chapter, “Larry’s party”.
I’m not entirely sure that this structure worked for me – it made the book a bit of a slow starter, and it took me a while to get into it. I think because every chapter feels complete in and of itself, there wasn’t exactly much drive to pick it up and see what happened next. There was also repetition of certain facts at the start of each section, and this got a bit irritating after a while. However, I do admire Shields’s cleverness in focusing each chapter in this way but at the same time adroitly moving the story on, using details about Larry’s work/friends/penis to explain what has happened in the two or three years that have passed since the last chapter and to fill in details about his past.
I found Larry to be a likeable character, and I particularly enjoyed his fascination with mazes, which begins when he gets lost in the maze at Hampton Court while on his honeymoon and leads to him setting up his own business as a maze designer. I like the fact he’s not exactly an alpha male – he works as a florist, he’s often insecure and uncertain, and he’s also quite a passive character – he’s the sort of person who lets life happen to him rather than making it happen. I can definitely relate to that! I also related to the crisis he experiences when he hits forty (“Getting older was to witness the steady decline of limitless possibility”) and his self-doubt about his own achievements. The flashes of intense love he feels for his son, at the most random moments, also felt very real to me.
I find it quite funny that a book about a man won the Women’s Prize for Fiction but, in fact, for me it is the female characters who really shine here. Larry’s mother, his two wives, his sister, his girlfriend – they are all really interesting (more so than Larry, in some cases…) and I would have liked to have known more about all of them. Carol Shields very sadly died of breast cancer in 2003, but if anyone wants to have a crack at writing Dorrie’s Party (from the point of view of Larry’s first wife) I would definitely read that!!
Overall, not a complete success for me, although I did enjoy it once I got into it. It’s definitely not one for those who like their books plot-driven, but I can see why it was awarded the Women’s Prize – the structure is clever, even if it didn’t quite work for me, and it is a sharply observed, realistic portrait of relationships, family, ageing and masculinity.
I’m not entirely sure that this structure worked for me – it made the book a bit of a slow starter, and it took me a while to get into it. I think because every chapter feels complete in and of itself, there wasn’t exactly much drive to pick it up and see what happened next. There was also repetition of certain facts at the start of each section, and this got a bit irritating after a while. However, I do admire Shields’s cleverness in focusing each chapter in this way but at the same time adroitly moving the story on, using details about Larry’s work/friends/penis to explain what has happened in the two or three years that have passed since the last chapter and to fill in details about his past.
I found Larry to be a likeable character, and I particularly enjoyed his fascination with mazes, which begins when he gets lost in the maze at Hampton Court while on his honeymoon and leads to him setting up his own business as a maze designer. I like the fact he’s not exactly an alpha male – he works as a florist, he’s often insecure and uncertain, and he’s also quite a passive character – he’s the sort of person who lets life happen to him rather than making it happen. I can definitely relate to that! I also related to the crisis he experiences when he hits forty (“Getting older was to witness the steady decline of limitless possibility”) and his self-doubt about his own achievements. The flashes of intense love he feels for his son, at the most random moments, also felt very real to me.
I find it quite funny that a book about a man won the Women’s Prize for Fiction but, in fact, for me it is the female characters who really shine here. Larry’s mother, his two wives, his sister, his girlfriend – they are all really interesting (more so than Larry, in some cases…) and I would have liked to have known more about all of them. Carol Shields very sadly died of breast cancer in 2003, but if anyone wants to have a crack at writing Dorrie’s Party (from the point of view of Larry’s first wife) I would definitely read that!!
Overall, not a complete success for me, although I did enjoy it once I got into it. It’s definitely not one for those who like their books plot-driven, but I can see why it was awarded the Women’s Prize – the structure is clever, even if it didn’t quite work for me, and it is a sharply observed, realistic portrait of relationships, family, ageing and masculinity.
almacd13's review against another edition
4.0
Delightful. Despite loving The Stone Diaries, I probably wouldn't have chosen this for myself. A great choice from a reading pal.
This book follows Larry's story, but told through a number of what I would call short stories. Each chapter/story follows a different aspect of Larry's life, at a different point in his life. No two chapters touch on the same thing, making this a dynamic look at an individual's life.
This book follows Larry's story, but told through a number of what I would call short stories. Each chapter/story follows a different aspect of Larry's life, at a different point in his life. No two chapters touch on the same thing, making this a dynamic look at an individual's life.
robforteath's review against another edition
3.0
The author plays it very straight with us, leading us through Larry's adult life in a sequence of moments. Often a chapter will include a brief retelling of a previous stage of Larry's life, cleaned up and perhaps slightly modified to show how Larry has interpreted his own past. This is all nicely managed and there is plenty of wisdom sprinkled in.
We understand that Larry is meant to be a representation of all of the ordinary men who reached adulthood approximately at the same time the Equal Rights Amendment was being fought in the USA. In case it wasn't obvious, the book explains that the name "Larry" is meant to evoke a particular sort of 1970s man, a sort that was quickly becoming out-dated. Our Larry knows that he isn't one of these men, and that his different perspective was likely achieved due to his early choice of a career with very few men.
The concept and the execution are fine; it's just unfortunate that the mechanism for delivering it all to us is a bunch of stories about Larry that are not particularly interesting. Larry is necessarily a fairly uninteresting person. His life has small, ordinary crises, which lead him into ordinary changes of situation and mood. We are never particularly invested in his marital successes or failures, or his career, or his interactions with people.
We understand that Larry is meant to be a representation of all of the ordinary men who reached adulthood approximately at the same time the Equal Rights Amendment was being fought in the USA. In case it wasn't obvious, the book explains that the name "Larry" is meant to evoke a particular sort of 1970s man, a sort that was quickly becoming out-dated. Our Larry knows that he isn't one of these men, and that his different perspective was likely achieved due to his early choice of a career with very few men.
The concept and the execution are fine; it's just unfortunate that the mechanism for delivering it all to us is a bunch of stories about Larry that are not particularly interesting. Larry is necessarily a fairly uninteresting person. His life has small, ordinary crises, which lead him into ordinary changes of situation and mood. We are never particularly invested in his marital successes or failures, or his career, or his interactions with people.
mya_kershaw_dann's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
daydreamerjade's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
danbydame's review against another edition
Yawn. Nothing happened. It seemed like nothing was going to happen. And as a character book, Larry didn't have much to offer. He's an everyday guy trying to get comfortable in his own skin and his own everyday life. I've already lived and watched this many times in my life. I guess I don't need a book to cover this. I got it covered. I'll put this aside with a polite "No thanks" and move on to something else that will give me something new (new to me!).