Lies and Weddings

Finished June 7

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

There and many lies and several weddings in this novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is definitely tongue in cheek at times, and the whole vibe of the novel was just great. 

It begins with a tragic scene in Hong Kong in 1985, and then jumps to the present day. As a reader, I gradually became aware of the way this early event related to the characters and actions in the present day. 

We get a list of seven characters who are the 'main players' in the story. They are an English earl, Francis Gresham; his Hong Kong model wife, Arabella; their three children, Rufus, Augusta, and Beatrice; Thomas Tong, a doctor, friend of Francis, and longterm tenant in a cottage on the property; and Thomas' daughter Eden, a newly minted doctor. 

Arabella is about to get married to a prince of Liechtenburg, on a new resort property of the Greshams in Hawaii. Then things begin to go wrong in a variety of ways from environmental to financial. 

I love a lot of the details of Kwan's writing. Things like the list of schools a character went to listed when they first appear in the novel; the inclusion of text conversations, announcements, invitations, and newspaper articles; and the way he uses language to hint at upcoming plot elements. But the best is the use of footnotes. These footnotes are done properly and seem serious, but are often hilarious in the way they make fun of the characters, situations, and general class system that is at play in the novel. 

Wealth and status in this novel are front and center, but despite the outer trappings of money or the character's title, one can never be sure whether the wealth is a facade or the real thing. I loved the role of Eden as a grounded middle class doctor who lives on the edges of the earl's family. Childhood playmate and friend of all three Gresham children, she doesn't have the designer clothes, the international travel, or the connections that they have. Accepted in some ways, and not in others, she finds herself seeing her situation in a new light here. 

The novel takes us from the English home of the characters to Hawaii for Arabella's wedding, to London, Paris, Marrakech, Beverly Hills, and Venice. We see the high life close hand, designer names dropped continuously, and ostentatious displays of wealth throughout. But they are always so ostentatious that they become objects of ironic humour. 

I will definitely be seeking out more books by this author. 

Paris Echo

Finished October 14

Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks

This novel is haunted by the past but set in present-day Paris. Hannah is an American graduate student, in Paris to do research on women living in occupied Paris for a paper she is writing. She is haunted by the memories of her earlier time in Paris when she fell in love and then had the relationship end. She is also haunted by the stories of the women whose stories she finds. Listening to the recorded voices of the women, collected by a small archive in the city, she finds some hopeful, some sad, and some full of anger. Early in her stay, she finds a young woman on the street, cold and tired. She takes her in, letting her stay in the small second bedroom in her rented apartment. The next day, she finds a young man Tariq has also arrived in her flat, a friend of the woman, and she soon agrees to let him stay there.

Tariq is nineteen and from Morocco. He has come to Paris partly to escape his life there, and partly to see the city that his mother, long dead, was from, and maybe learn about her. Tariq is an open young man, who quickly finds a job, and begins exploring the city. He takes on some of the stories that Hannah is researching and connects them to people he sees in the streets. He also learns more about French history and the people of this country, from many angles. 

Hannah has also reconnected with a professor from her earlier time, an Englishman named Julian and finds herself confiding in him and bouncing ideas off of him. He too finds himself drawn into her research, looking up information on that time in history, and making connections for her. 

As the characters grow closer to each other and learn more about the city, its past, and themselves, they also find new paths forward for themselves.

I really enjoy Faulks writing and this book is one I highly recommend.

By the Light of the Crescent Moon

Finished August 26

By the Light of the Crescent Moon by Ailsa Keppie

This memoir is one that is sometimes uncomfortable to read as Ailsa gives up her autonomy and even her identity to the man she falls in love with. Her story is an extreme version of one many women have, where they try to become what someone else expects them to be, and lose themselves in the process. The author didn't feel loved growing up, and her need for love was thus easily exploited by a handsome man who focused on her, telling her how lucky she was to be chosen by him. She gives us some idea of her life before meeting him, showing that she had explored her sexuality to some extent, but hadn't had a real relationship before Said. Ailsa was a successful circus performer, skilled in her trade, and with other entertainment related skills as well. 

Once they started living together, she made the decision to become Muslim, and this decision process isn't explained here, but her main story begins after she has converted and started to dress in more conservative Muslim clothing, and stop contact with most of her previous friends. Seeing how she became isolated and found new friends and acquaintances in the same situation as herself and grew ever more conservative in her dress and activities really exemplified her desire to please her now husband. 

Her visit to her family in Nova Scotia shortly after becoming married described her husband's charm and the persona he presented publicly, different from the one he sometimes showed her. Said comes across as a selfish and self-centered man, focused on his own needs and pleasures. He changes Ailsa's name to a Moroccan one that is similar and she complies, he celebrates her moves to more intense religious behaviours as rewards for himself, he refuses to help her with looking after the house or with the children they have as he wants her not to become dependent in case he must go away to work, but he doesn't provide for her financially or emotionally. He is a taker, not a partner. 

Ailsa knows there is something wrong with their relationship even as she submits to him more and more, and it is only when he suggests a way for her to get out of her situation (although no help in doing it) that she breaks free.

This is a story of a dysfunctional relationship by a woman whose lack of self esteem allowed her to fall further and further away from her true self. There are glimmers from time to time as she makes a connection or takes an action, but it is a long time before she can connect with her own wants and needs again. 

At times this book was difficult to read as Ailsa abased herself, but it was satisfying to see her finally recognize that this relationship was not one of love at all and find a way out for herself. I hope she finds strength in her self as she moves into the future without becoming dependent again.