See Now Then

December 10, 2012
In her first novel in a decade, Kincaid (Autobiography of My Mother) brings her singular lyricism and beautifully recursive tendencies to the inner life of Mrs. Sweet, who is facing the end of her marriage, and who, over the course of the book, considers the distinctions between her nows and her thens, particularly when recounting what was while the memories bleed with a pain that still is. Particularly touching is Kincaid’s rendering of motherhood. The immediacy of Mrs. Sweet’s small son’s toys—Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers—creates a significant foil to the ethereal interior echoes. Such is the reality of parenting: what is imagined or remembered loses every battle against plastic warriors and the demands of children. What’s startling is the presumably autobiographical nature of the plot. The family lives in Bennington, Vt., like Kincaid, and Mr. Sweet is a composer who leaves his wife for a younger musician, as was the case with Kincaid’s former husband. While evidence of fictionalization is obvious (naming the children after Greek myths), the book feels precariously balanced between meticulous language and raw emotion. The distinction between life and art is not always clear, but only a writer as deft as Kincaid can blur the lines so elegantly. Agent: The Wiley Agency.

June 15, 2013

Kincaid's first novel in ten years painstakingly describes the failed marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sweet, a couple who live in Vermont with their two children, Hercules and Persephone. This nonlinear, often stream-of-consciousness narrative features starkly beautiful but often repetitive language and also functions as commentary on how memory and the passage of time can influence people. While Kincaid (Autobiography of My Mother; Lucy), who narrates, has a lovely speaking voice, listeners may wish she had adopted a slower pace so they could better digest the densely crafted prose. VERDICT Primarily of interest to Kincaid's fans. ["The excessive lyricism and lack of linear structure can make this a difficult read, but literary fiction collections will want to acquire," read the review of the New York Times best-selling Farrar hc, LJ 2/1/13.--Ed.]--Beth Farrell, Cleveland State Univ. Law Lib.

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