A Likely Story

A Likely Story: One Summer With Lillian Hellman
By Rosemary Mahoney (273 pages)
Published by Doubleday
Bookish rating: 3.75

A Likely Story is an autobiographical account of one poor (literally poor, actually), hopeful teen girl's summer spent working for the, at that point, elderly, poor-sighted Lillian Hellman (playwright) in the 1980s in Martha's Vineyard. 

Mahoney ended up hating Hellman and complains relentlessly about her. A decade or two later, she's still pissed. Now, I've read/studied/worked on a LOT of Hellman history and lit, and Mahoney's account has a ring of truth as to how Hellman likely behaved, but a good deal of her criticism stems, I think, of Mahoney's disappointment in that her visions of Hellman seeing Mahoney's own genius and mentoring her instead of criticizing her inability to properly chop onions or whatever is hugely at play here.

The autobiography is overwritten and achingly self-conscious, which actually gives an effective boost to portraying Mahoney's younger self as so very insecure. For a book with "Lillian Hellman" in the title, too much time is spent on the details of Mahoney's past and childhood, which are rather unimportant, from a literary point of view, except for the heartbreak of her mother's alcoholism, polio-disabled leg, and early death of her father. 

I felt bad, truly, for the too-smart-for-her-circumstances Mahoney, and I'm sure writing this book was cathartic for her. My feelings are mixed. For a book about Hellman, there was too much Hellman-free Mahoney memoir. And yet? That part did inform so much of why Mahoney took everything SO personally. Recommended for Hellman buffs.

Maine

Maine
By J. Courtney Sullivan (509 pages)
Published by Vintage
Contemporary fiction
Bookish rating: 4.5

Maine is a slow-developing (in the best sense), unhurried tale of four flawed, strong-willed women of the Kelleher family: Maggie, who's knocked up with her a-hole boyfriends spawn; Anne-Marie, a Kelleher by marriage who wants desperately to be just perfect family-wise and thus projects this anxiety onto a dollhouse obsession; Kathleen, who detests everything her family stands for and thus is (of course) living in California on a worm farm in a hippie-esque existence; and Alice, the alcoholic matriarch of it all, with a past that would drive anyone to drink.

The story (stories?) are absorbing and enjoyable--I loved reading this book. The characters are fantastically and fully developed, warts and all, and Sullivan's ability to show how perspective is everything just shines as these women interact and judge each other.

Unlike other reviewers, I didn't get a strong sense of place with Maine. Perhaps this was due to so much being told in flashbacks (and thus not in Maine) or something. It just didn't seem coastal. I had no desire to put on a plastic bib and eat lobster like I expected. So, a half point docked there.

Ultimately, though, no matter. Maine is a thoughtful, entertaining read that shows how freaking complicated families are. Highly recommended.

Untold Story

Untold Story
By Monica Ali (259 pages)
Published by Scribner
Bookish rating: 4

So, I admit it. My decision to read Untold Story, a novel that explores identity and the what-ifs had Princess Diana faked her death and now worked at a kennel in a small American town, might have been slightly influenced by the recent royal birth across the pond.

My snobby side thinks the very bad reader reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are a result of mediocre readers who expected a non-literary, sensationalistic piece of crap and were thus disappointed that this novel was done so much better than that. Fortunately, I suppose, I had read Ali's Brick Lane, so I knew what sort of author she is: a good one. In other words, I suspected Ali would create a thoughtful novel that didn't scream OPPORTUNISTIC. She succeeded.

Ali presents the story from the perspectives of Lydia (Diana), her dying confidant and bodyguard (which ensures she ends up utterly alone), and a paparazzi photographer. We go deep inside her mind and internal conflict, which explores whether leaving her entire life behind was worth it. I wondered how Ali would handle making Lydia's decision to leave her sons, certain she'd come up short. What mother could actually do that, especially such a hands-on one? Well, Ali pulled it off.

Ultimately, Untold Story makes you seriously consider what sort of selfhood an entirely public figure might have. Where do the evening gowns and tabloids leave off, and where does real identity begin? At what point do you lose your mind?

Anyway, this is a thought-provoking, insightful read. Recommended.