A review by wendoxford
The Paper Palace, by Miranda Cowley Heller
5.0
I adored this book. Whilst reading, minor weak spots kept kicking around in my head, but I chose to ignore them as I sank into this layered compelling novel.
One day in a life, a decision making day - with a whole life clinging to every fleshy part of it. The book is broken up into the different key players yet without any change of perspective. This is Elle's life and she she just separates out some strands so the reader can absorb nuances of her headspace through flashback, memories, personalities, secrets and a general accrual of life's detritus. This creates both an intriguing and compulsive impetus alongside a sense of place that conjurs up so much more than just backdrop. The Cape, the backwoods, the lake, the beach are truly core to the narrative.
I enjoyed sitting amongst these beautifully holistic characters. It takes a considered hand for the reader to be able to recognize each person by brief comments, actions and looks without attribution. Similarly we get so far into Elle's head that we understand her reading of and reaction to family behaviour despite what she actually shows.
There are so many issues around which this book revolves yet it balances upon choices made and how life continues to speed on as we are still making up our mind about our guilt and our pasts. The robust exterior of the "paper palace" masks interior delapidation and dusty memories much like the residents.
One day in a life, a decision making day - with a whole life clinging to every fleshy part of it. The book is broken up into the different key players yet without any change of perspective. This is Elle's life and she she just separates out some strands so the reader can absorb nuances of her headspace through flashback, memories, personalities, secrets and a general accrual of life's detritus. This creates both an intriguing and compulsive impetus alongside a sense of place that conjurs up so much more than just backdrop. The Cape, the backwoods, the lake, the beach are truly core to the narrative.
I enjoyed sitting amongst these beautifully holistic characters. It takes a considered hand for the reader to be able to recognize each person by brief comments, actions and looks without attribution. Similarly we get so far into Elle's head that we understand her reading of and reaction to family behaviour despite what she actually shows.
There are so many issues around which this book revolves yet it balances upon choices made and how life continues to speed on as we are still making up our mind about our guilt and our pasts. The robust exterior of the "paper palace" masks interior delapidation and dusty memories much like the residents.