From Amazon.com
David Ebershoff's second novel,
Pasadena, is rich with exuberant details. But instead of overwhelming readers, Ebershoff (
The Danish Girl) manages to deftly conduct the symphony found in everyday life. The historical novel opens with Andrew Jackson Blackwood, who has come from the east "with a small wad of money of questionable origin and a full, boyish smile." Blackwood's intent is to buy and develop Rancho Pasaden, and as he passes through the dying orange groves and elaborate halls of the mansion, the realtor tells him the entangled stories of its previous inhabitants. But if Blackwood's character is stretched thin by Ebershoff's drive to reveal the Pasadena that once was, the stories of other characters, such as Linda Stamp, Bruder, and Captain Willis Poore, prove difficult to put down.
As driven as the plot may be, the writing does not suffer. Ebershoff has a luxuriant way with words, and through his beautiful prose he includes readers in the intrigue of a swiftly passing shop window, the refinement of a well-made lobster trap, and the coarseness of a saloon filled with whores and their clients. The many details bring us closer to each character's motives, and when the last page is read we may even realize that the book moved us to a different time and place--just like a good book should. --Karin Rosman
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
The sophomore slump strikes in Ebershoff's muddled, uneven second novel, a historical work set in his native Pasadena that gets off to a solid start when land developer Andrew Blackwood tries to buy a ranch from an older farmer named Bruder as WWII ends and big profits loom on the horizon. The recalcitrant rancher refuses to sell, but rather than follow that promising plot line, Ebershoff shifts to the beginning of the century to explore the history of the ranch. His vehicle is a complex romantic triangle involving Bruder and his boss, Willis Poore, as they vie for the affection of the beautiful Linda Stamp while the fate of the ranch hangs in the balance. Ebershoff's ongoing fascination with the details and minutiae of his various subplots romantic and otherwise and the Pasadena history he integrates into them slows the momentum of the romantic story line, which briefly develops some intriguing sparks after a strange incident between Bruder and Poore during WWI in which a land exchange gives Bruder the upper hand after the war even though Poore ends up marrying Stamp. As beautifully written as the subplots are, Ebershoff's inability to develop narrative tension makes them seem jumbled and static, and the resolution to the triangle is anticlimactic. Bruder and Stamp are granted some revelatory moments as their longings unfold, and Ebershoff writes eloquently about the impending changes that are about to transform Pasadena. But the triangle conceit isn't strong enough to carry a novel of this length and depth, and this book represents a significant drop-off from Ebershoff's brilliant exploration of the artistic world in The Danish Girl.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
