That Old Cape Magic
by Richard Russo
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Book Reviews of That Old Cape Magic
Book Review: Exceptional
Summary: 5 Stars
Richard Russo is quickly becoming one of my very, very favorite authors. Every book will, at least, be good and they are usually outstanding. This latest effort from him is no exception.
The man can tell a story like very few people can. You open the book and it's like a great adventure -- you don't know where you are going to go but you know it will be fun and interesting. I am refraining from any sort of plot description since I don't want to give anything away for the reader and ruin it. I also don't want to analyze it very much because I want the reader to experience it just like I did -- no information other than the dust jacket. It is too gorgeous as it unfolds to spoil it for anyone.
The story is still very character-driven but the overall pace of the book seemed much quicker to me than his other offerings have been. I was able to read the entire book in a 24-hour period which is unusual for a Russo book. I don't want you to think this is bad, just different. He is able to make his keen observations of human relationships and human strengths/frailty while keeping the reader engrossed in an outstanding narrative. If you only read 4 or 5 books a year, this should be one of them.
This book was impossible for me to put down once I started and I am very sad that it is over -- he can't write them fast enough for me !
Book Review: No Magic
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a big Richard Russo fan but "That Old Cape Magic" was not up to his usual high standards. The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Griffin, who is attending a wedding of one his daughters friends on Cape Cod. He is carrying his father's ashes in the trunk of his car. The wedding has him reflecting on the state of his own marriage and life. Like many of Russo's protagonist's, Griffin, is a middle aged man whose pondering the direction his life has taken him. Much of the narrative is in the form of flashbacks to his childhood and his parents unhappy marriage.
I found this book depressing and lacking Mr. Russo's usual good humor. Perhaps it is good witing that I felt Griffin's unhappiness but it did not make for an enjoyable read. The book missed some of what makes Mr. Russo an excellent writer. He has always been outstanding at using the novel's place, whether it is a university ("The Straight Man") or a small town ("Empire Falls", "Nobody's Fool") as an extra character. That element is sorely missing here. Like the characters in the book it feels like "The Cape" is a place we are visiting rather than living.
Why 4 stars? Mr. Russo is an excellent writer and this is a book worth reading. If you have never read Mr. Russo, I suggest you do not start here. I would recommend "Empire Falls" (his best) or "Nobody's Fool".
Book Review: intriguing look at relationships
Summary: 4 Stars
When Jack Griffin was growing up in New England, he vowed to never follow in the footsteps of his academia parents, both professors. Instead he fled to Los Angeles where he became a screenwriter and ultimately married Joy.
Ironically, after his parents die, he and his spouse move east as he accepts a position as a professor of film. As Jack has the urns containing the dust of his parents in his trunk, he looks back at his life wondering is that all there is. He thinks of his honeymoon with Joy at the cape where he demanded they go and a year later to Maine where she demanded they go. He reflects on the marriages of his parents and her parents while pondering whether he needs to call its quits on his.
This is an intriguing look at relationships with the emphasis being on marital, parent-adult offspring, and parent adult offspring's spouse. How haunting these combinations can be is accentuated by Jack's inability to spread the ashes. With flashbacks, the audience sees how dynamics change over time due to age and marital status. Although Jack can overkill a poetic soliloquy with a passionate display of motor mouth, fans will appreciate Richard Russo's deep look at relational magic.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: The Magic is back
Summary: 5 Stars
With That Old Cape Magic, Richard Russo returns to his old form and - well - magic, although with a few subtle changes. The protagonist, Jack Griffin, is a middle-aged former Hollywood screenwriter now college professor. At this stage of his life he's dealing with the death of his father, his demanding mother - who would delight Sigmund Freud - the upcoming marriage of his only daughter and is having second thoughts about his marriage. The narrative jumps back and forth between Griffin's childhood and his present as he attempts to make some sense of his life as he reconsiders the decisions he made along the way - so the reader spends a lot of time inside Griffin's head.
This is all familiar territory for Russo but this novel is by no means a carbon copy of his previous books. Although our protagonist is a little grimmer than Russo's previous ones and may not be as "loveable" as say Sully in Nobody's Fool, he is still fascinating, engaging and very real - so too is the supporting cast. The author's sense of humor - although darker than in previous books - is also prevalent, with more than a few laugh out loud scenes.
An excellent novel for our times and highly recommended.
Book Review: No magic here
Summary: 1 Stars
I read this after Empire Falls hoping I could find something redeeming in the author's work. I found Empire Falls a waste of time and have let yet more of my life slip away reading That Old Cape Magic while I could have been doing something interesting, like, unloading the dishwasher. Both novels are populated by characters that are poorly developed and unappealing, like the cup of tea I set down and come upon hours later, seems a waste to throw it out but then again..... I thought at least Old Cape Magic would be free of the bizarre gratuitous violence of Empire Falls but that was before I arrived at the wedding rehearsal. Remarkably, the best novel I've read lately is The Time Traveler's Wife, which I had no interest in reading, merely bought it to vet it for my thirteen year old daughter who wanted to read it after seeing the ads for the movie. I finished it a week ago and find myself still mulling over bits of the story and wondering how some of the characters are faring these days. The writing was so lyrical, so evocative and true to life, it moved me to tears more than once. Not so for any of Mr. Russo's misbegotten characters. My only solace is that I didn't pay for either of his books.