A review by rachelgertrude
All Is Vanity by Christina Schwarz

4.0

The characters really bugged me. Margaret didn't seem to care about anything other than being the best at something. It seemed like the only reason she wanted to write a novel was for the acclaim it would give her, and not because she had a message.

You know how they say that the people that annoy you the most are the ones whose faults are most like your own? Throughout the course of this book, I started to see that Margaret grated on me because she was so real (and probably because I identify with her faults). As irritated as I was, I had to know more about her. It's like the way you feel when you think your name has been said out loud, and you tune in.

Letty, on the other hand, begins the story as a charmingly clumsy housewife with the gift of just the right words to make any moment memorable and funny. But when her husband gets an important job, she becomes more and more consumed with appearing good enough in society - having the right tiles on the kitchen floor, the right kind of organic yogurt in the fridge, etc.

These characters were so real that if a camera had caught them on film, you would see the rough edges and the acne, rather than their air-brushed loveliness. All had their weaknesses, with the power to undo them: Margaret's prideful desire to stand out, to be the best; Letty's envious desire to have everything (herself, her home, her children) look beautiful to those around her; Ted's parsimonious need to record every single purchase in the house ledger. I was reminded of Golem's pursuit of his "precious:" we all have the ability to be Golem or Smeagol, according to the sway that we give to that darker side of our characters, the thing we are always in question of whether we can or cannot live without. Schwarz imparted this truth honestly and without cutting corners, so, while it was sometimes painful to read, this was a very valuable book.