- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (Aug 6 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 015100613X
- ISBN-13: 978-0151006137
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 612 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,375,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Let's face it, sequels can be confusing. Especially sequels that are meant to be standalone literary experiences. Martha McPhee's Gorgeous Lies explores the fictional world established in her well-received first novel, Bright Angel Time. In the 1970s, therapist and would-be revolutionary Anton Furey becomes the paterfamilias of two families. He brings them to live together under one roof, where they become a kind of hippie Brady Bunch.
They were famous for many reasons. They were famous because they lived on a vast piece of property. They were famous because Anton was a Gestalt therapist and in town he had a reputation for holding therapy sessions on his front lawn. They were famous because there were so many of them. They were famous with all the shopkeepers and merchants in town for making late payments on their bills, but even so they still got credit, because they were famous.
The book toggles between that chaotic time and the present, when Anton Furey lies dying of cancer and his family is scattered to the four winds. Gorgeous Lies reveals, never quite completely, what happened in the intervening years. The writing here is careful and funny and evasive, at times almost mystical. But McPhee's elliptical style isn't well suited to a standalone sequel. Too often we're left wondering if she means to leave some mystery open-ended, or if it was just something we missed in the first novel. Fans of Bright Angel Time will welcome the return to utopia. The rest of us are charmed, but a bit befuddled. --Claire Dederer
From Publishers Weekly
An offbeat writing style and poetic metaphors distinguish this crowded tale of a patriarch, his harem of lovers and the litters of offspring they produce, the follow-up to McPhee's well-received novel Bright Angel Time. Gestalt therapist Anton Furey is dying of pancreatic cancer, and the people closest to him gather at the New Jersey family estate, Chardin, and recall the emotional ups and downs of life with a womanizing dreamer and charismatic charmer. His children with ex-wife Agnes insecure Nicholas, gentle Caroline, money-hungry Sofia, barely there Timothy and adopted Finny (son of Anton and an Italian maid) are not fully sketched: some are given vivid cameos, while others fade into the background. The children of Anton's wife Eve from a previous marriage cynical, headstrong Jane, model-perfect Julia and homely Kate are better drawn and as flighty in their loyalty to their stepfather as he is in his choice of lovers. Youngest daughter Alice, the only child of Anton and Eve, is Anton's favorite for her mix of joie de vivre and sweet gravity. Like an anti-Brady Bunch, the members of the sprawling double family fluctuate in their alliances and affections over the 25 years of Eve and Anton's marriage. Their one common trait is their hunger for Anton's attention and approval. As the novel unfolds, Anton's unlikely past is revealed: his Texas childhood, his early stint in a Jesuit seminary and his grand passion for the communal haven of Chardin. His insatiable need for connection particularly with women can be repellant (as when he pursues one of his stepdaughters), but it is his infectious zest for life that drives this invigorating if convoluted novel.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
THEY LOVED ANTON. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THEY LOVED ANTON. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written,
By A Customer
This review is from: Gorgeous Lies (Paperback)
There's virtually nothing about this novel that I didn't like! Page by page, it is simply the best book I've read this year. Don't miss reading this one! Also recommended: Bright Angel Time, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
2.0 out of 5 stars
Huh?,
By Kelly (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gorgeous Lies (Hardcover)
The POV remains a question and where the title came from is a mystery. Why would a girl kill her father if she loved him dearly? How can one man have that many afairs in a single lifetime? How can one man have that many children from different women in a single lifetime? How can that many women justify having a lustrious afair with a man who slept with more women than Hugh Hefner? The book was strange and it didn't have an exact ending. Nothing was accomplished and it bored me, frankly. Skip this one and move onto All The Finest Girls.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well written novel of interesting characters,
By A Customer
This review is from: Gorgeous Lies (Hardcover)
I had no idea that this book was a sequel and I thought it held together very well. I'll probably go back and read the first book but I didn't feel I'd missed anything.Anton is dying of pancreatic cancer and his life flashes before him and before his wives and children. The various voices in the novel were sometimes confusing at first but they lent themselves to a real picture of Anton and his life and death. I found the religious thoughts of Anton fascinating and I also found him disgusting much of the time. Family relationships are always difficult and McPhee writes of each member well. There were many lies in this story and we don't always know who is telling the truth. We do get a good picture of a man's life and how control can be lost or won.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
