While meticulously creating a life-sized model of ""Lucy,"" humankind's ancestral link to the primate world, Margaret, a sculptor, finds herself exploring more deeply her own life, her loveless marriage, and her feelings of decay and despair. A first novel.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
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From Publishers Weekly
In her richly suggestive and assured debut novel, Canadian writer Casper takes on the daunting task of depicting emotional loss, historicity and anatomical restoration-and she acquits herself with distinction. Sculptor Margaret Fisher slips into a protective cocoon of listless sleep and lurid dreams when her marriage of 10 years breaks up. The dangerous depth of her loss, she realizes, arises less from the departure of her husband than from the disturbing realization that the union had been loveless and shored up only by comfort and inertia. Financially and emotionally shaken (and plagued by extensive emergency dental work), Margaret plunges into a new project for a display of primitive humanity at the National Museum: the full-body reconstruction of an Australopithecus afarensis, based on the famous fossil "Lucy." She draws her inspiration from the fossilized footprints of male and female hominids that were embedded in volcanic ash over three million years ago in Africa. A slight twist in the female's gait suggests that she hesitated in order to look over her shoulder-at what we will never be sure-before being crushed by the volcanic eruption. In a dreamlike, intense state of waking dreams and reveries, isolation and reflection, Margaret begins to feel the stirrings of Lucy's primordial steps within herself. Her slow reconstruction of the model brings unexpected questions and truths to light. Casper avoids easy answers and writes bravely about our need to place ourselves in history in order to make sense of our existence.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Margaret is depressed: her husband has just left her; her teeth are decaying; and she can't meet the deadline on her latest sculpture commission. But a new assignment from a natural history museum to reconstruct the body of Lucy?the famous female fossil of the species Australopithecus afarensis?helps Margaret cope. During the months it takes to create the figure of Lucy, Margaret is intensely introspective, spending her time in her studio or in her garden while her life goes by in flashbacks. As she identifies with the simple life Lucy must have led, Margaret gradually begins to enjoy herself and overcome her loneliness. By using the detailed reconstruction of Lucy as a metaphor for the re-creation of Margaret's life, Canadian author Casper puts an unusual twist on a familiar story. Her accomplished first novel is recommended for public libraries.?Patricia Ross, Westerville P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I really liked the primitiveness of Margaret. You know this woman howls at the moon! In order to purge the bile of divorce and washing a baaadddddd relationship out of her hair, she took on the characteristics of LUCY, and it seemed to work; if only more of us were as brave and bazen, we'd spend less time on the psychiatrist's couch!!!!!!! I enjoyed this book, a wonderful first effort for a local author. It was my book club's last selection, and was thoroughly enjoyed. We look forward to your next book, Claudia!
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The Reconstruction was my book club's last selection. Our consensus was that while the book had some merit, we found the writing simplistic and the character development a little shallow. The protagonist, Margaret, didn't deal with her problems the way that we thought a modern woman should -- she was weak and far too willing to allow herself to wallow in a mess of her own making. An average read, at best.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
every woman can identify with Margaret in some way.
Dec 12 1997
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I really liked the primitiveness of Margaret. You know this woman howls at the moon! In order to purge the bile of divorce and washing a baaadddddd relationship out of her hair, she took on the characteristics of LUCY, and it seemed to work; if only more of us were as brave and bazen, we'd spend less time on the psychiatrist's couch!!!!!!! I enjoyed this book, a wonderful first effort for a local author. It was my book club's last selection, and was thoroughly enjoyed. We look forward to your next book, Claudia!
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting exploration of wounded psyches...
Aug 21 2001
By Jonathan Burgoine
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The story of "The Reconstruction," seems rather straightforward at first glance: Ex-wife of doctor seeks to pull herself together after husband leaves her, and uses a reconstruction of a prehistoric human being's skelleton as a an emotional exercise. This, however, does not do the book justice.
The real focus of this book is on damaged psyches - the main character, Margaret comes from a situation where her husband, a wealthy and respected man, has single-handedly destroyed her sense of self-worth. Now, in financial ruin, she finds that her teeth are showing the decay she feels inside: they're rotting, though no fault of her own, just lousy genetics. From there we walk with Margaret, through the metaphor of the reconstruction of a prehistoric woman who, from footprints left in fossils, walked beside a man, then hesitated for a moment before continuing. This moment sparks something in her, and slowly, as Margaret adds to the fossilized bones, building muscle and tissue and reconstructing the woman, she reconstructs her own life, and her own self.
It is hard to believe that this is Casper's first work; I adored it. This is a fine Canadian talent, and I do suggest you pick it up, especially if you're feeling a little defeated, and would like a realistic tale of "reconstruction."
'Nathan
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
An average read
Jun 4 1999
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The Reconstruction was my book club's last selection. Our consensus was that while the book had some merit, we found the writing simplistic and the character development a little shallow. The protagonist, Margaret, didn't deal with her problems the way that we thought a modern woman should -- she was weak and far too willing to allow herself to wallow in a mess of her own making. An average read, at best.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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