jcschildbach's review against another edition
5.0
I love Jennifer Egan's work. This was not at all what I expected, in terms of subject matter, based on her other novels. The core of the story is about a young woman who wants to become a diver in the Navy shipyards in New York during World War II. There's a very rich family story here as well, focused largely on her father and his associates. I won't get into a whole lot more to avoid spoilers. Definitely worth the read.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
2.0
When I read Jennifer Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad" two years ago, I was disappointed because the postmodern fragmented writing style and the many POVs left me really confused and irritated. It had moments of brilliance that made me wish the whole novel was this way. Great writing, in a way, that made it impossible to emotionally connect to. "Manhattan Beach" couldn't be more different as a novel if it tried, and yet my reading experience was equally disappointing.
Instead of the music industry, we're in 2nd world war New York and instead of postmodern, the writing style is so straightforward and traditionally "historical novel" that it veers into clichéd on a regular basis. But: I loved the first 50 pages. I found myself immediately in the main character's world. I liked her, her family, I liked the atmosphere and the story line about working as in the war industry as a woman. Both the diving aspect and the family intrigued me.
And then... it just kind of went off the rails. The writing became irritatingly cloy and amateurish, and the story became convoluted. The whole mafia thing just didn't feel realistic or true to life at all, and didn't add anything. The ending was disappointing, too. But by that point I just wanted to be over with it - what a nosedive of a novel!
Instead of the music industry, we're in 2nd world war New York and instead of postmodern, the writing style is so straightforward and traditionally "historical novel" that it veers into clichéd on a regular basis. But: I loved the first 50 pages. I found myself immediately in the main character's world. I liked her, her family, I liked the atmosphere and the story line about working as in the war industry as a woman. Both the diving aspect and the family intrigued me.
And then... it just kind of went off the rails. The writing became irritatingly cloy and amateurish, and the story became convoluted. The whole mafia thing just didn't feel realistic or true to life at all, and didn't add anything. The ending was disappointing, too. But by that point I just wanted to be over with it - what a nosedive of a novel!
steph72000's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
offbalance80's review against another edition
3.0
As January is the middle of peak awards season, I keep hearing the term "Oscar bait." For those of you who are not cinephiles like me, it refers to films that appear to have been produced for the sole purpose of netting its cast and crew a bucket of pretty gold trophies that seem to be handed out in large quantities during these colder months. While Manhattan Beach isn't a movie (yet), I definitely felt like I was reading some Oscar bait. That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you - I do enjoy costume dramas with serious themes - but so much of this book felt like a check list for the next award season (disabled sister! missing father! Roaring Twenties and Depression flashbacks! overcoming misogynistic obstacles! World War II! - Someone call Saoirse Ronan - we may have her next part yet.). I guess we don't label melodramas as melodramas anymore, but that's what this was - a sweeping, epic, (enjoyable! )melodrama. All it needed was a crack cinematographer and a lush score (Hans Zimmer, maybe?) and we're all set.
The writing is absolutely beautiful, and the storytelling far more focused than the gimmicky and scattershot "A Letter From the Goon Squad" (which I hated and the rest of the world loved). The historical pieces are well-researched and the characters reasonably well drawn, and fans of New York history will be especially thrilled by Egan's use of the Navy Yard and the area around it (as well as areas of Brooklyn oft overlooked). Still, I was deeply annoyed by the ending, which cemented this book into the realm of melodrama (it looked like it could have gone a number of different ways towards the middle), but I enjoyed the trip there. You may as well.
The writing is absolutely beautiful, and the storytelling far more focused than the gimmicky and scattershot "A Letter From the Goon Squad" (which I hated and the rest of the world loved). The historical pieces are well-researched and the characters reasonably well drawn, and fans of New York history will be especially thrilled by Egan's use of the Navy Yard and the area around it (as well as areas of Brooklyn oft overlooked). Still, I was deeply annoyed by the ending, which cemented this book into the realm of melodrama (it looked like it could have gone a number of different ways towards the middle), but I enjoyed the trip there. You may as well.
kakovac's review
1.0
Wow, this was a disappointment. A Visit from the Goon Squad is easily on my top 10 list of favorite books, maybe even top 5. But this was a terribly boring slog through a plot that never had the motivation or drive that I needed to know more. It took me so long to finish, yet I had no desire to do so faster because it was so dry and meandering. Meandering can be done well, but I just never had the feeling that this was headed anywhere satisfactory.
dllh's review against another edition
4.0
I had only ever read Egan's Goon Squad previously, and I've pretty much forgotten it by now, though my recollection is that it was sort of off beat. This one struck me as much more of a straight narrative, and I liked it a lot. I don't often see books in my head as I read them anymore, but I did see much of this one. I also heard it, imagining the various accents the characters used. I thought she did a nice job with the characters (whom I both liked and didn't), and the plot felt real without being dull, and indeed with some neat historical interest. Also it's just shot through with Melville (starting with the epigraph), which is generally a good hook for me. This is a fine, fine book.
kelz31's review against another edition
3.0
While I enjoyed reading this, I found the persistent POV shifts to be confusing and felt that the story began to lack purpose as it meandered into its second half.
mpetruce's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Great writing in this book and the WWII-era plot with gangsters and unions and other stuff was enough story to keep me interested through some of the more emotional, navel-gazey parts. Nothing wrong with that but I like stuff to also happen besides internal monologues. A few loose ends that didn’t get tied up the way I would have wanted them to, but maybe that’s kind of how they would have played out in real life. The jumping around in time was a little awkward, especially in audio where I thought I might be missing a track. But overall an enjoyable book from a great writer. The multiple narrations were well done.