Fin & Lady

May 20, 2013
Schine’s new novel (after Alice in Bed) is an entertaining, sometimes perplexing exploration of family bonds and bondage. When Fin is orphaned at the age of 11, Lady, his half-sister, takes him in, pulling him away from the dairy farm in rural Connecticut to the Greenwich Village of the mid-1960s. Lady has always been a shining figure to Fin, who was too young to understand the falling-out she had with their father. Now, Fin and Lady form an unconventional family, set against a tumultuous political and social climate. At times the novel has echoes of Auntie Mame; at others, Dawn Powell. The narrator’s voice is used so sparingly as to intrude when it is used, and the reader gets ahead of the story in figuring out who this shadowy figure is in the tale. The bond between Fin and Lady is strong, but the story itself breaks little new ground and doesn’t reveal anything new about the era or the longings of those experiencing it. Schine writes lively dialogue and excels at sensory detail, especially early on, before the plot becomes predictable, as the novel wavers precariously between satiric comedy-of-manners and something more serious. Agent: Molly Friedrich, Friedrich Agency.

Anne Twomey narrates this unusual story of creating a family with soft tones and a hint of humor. Fin is just 11 when he becomes an orphan in rural Connecticut. His half-sister, Lady, a glamorous, carefree girl of 23 swoops in as his guardian, and everything changes for both of them when she brings him to her home in Greenwich Village. There Fin observes Lady's quintessential 1960s life, filled with all the elements of that period, particularly suitors and sit-ins. The story unfolds from the point of view of Fin, who soon learns that Lady needs as much shepherding as he does. Twomey's performance captures the story's complex emotions with a lilting voice and subtle inflections. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2013

In this madcap novel, Schine (The Three Weissmanns of Westport) paints a fractured picture of the second half of the 1960s in New York's Greenwich Village. Fin, 11 years old and newly orphaned, leaves his rural Connecticut dairy farm home and comes to live with his half-sister, Lady. Only six years older than Fin, Lady is neurotic, capricious, and unstable. She enrolls Fin in a progressive school in which the children study Bob Dylan album notes, play with blocks, and deconstruct the academic hierarchy by first-naming everyone, even teachers. One only realizes by book's end that Fin is telling the story to his own ward. The author interview at book's end is of interest. Anne Twomey brings a thoughtful competence to the narration. VERDICT This book is recommended to Schine fans and those who enjoy 1960s-set fiction and books told from the viewpoint of young characters. ["A good summer read for those who like their family dramas with more bite than sweetness," read the review of the Sarah Crichton: Farrar hc, LJ 7/13.]--David Faucheux, Louisiana Audio Information & Reading Svc., Lafayette

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