For Kings and Planets

Rating:
Summary: A carefully wrought and engrossing coming of age story
Review: The best writers we have are those who are able to reveal us to ourselves without our ever quite understanding how it happens; we only know that there is a kind of alchemy involved. "For Kings and Planets" is so subtle, so carefully constructed, the characters so thoroughly real, that I finished the book with the desire to read it again in an effort to discover how it was possible for me to learn as much about myself as about Orno, the central character.

After reading Canin's previous books, particularly "The Palace Thief," it was clear to me that the art of the "character driven" story in his hands is a kind of prism through which the subtleties of motivation and choice in his characters' lives could be viewed in such a rich variety of ways that the books deserved to be re-read. The same is true of "For Kings and Planets," and it is in many ways a greater achievement.

Hemingway was fond of the image of boxing and pummelling the great writers he admired. Ethan Canin is not so pugnacious, but he takes on what many consider to be the great American novel, "The Great Gatsby," and with remarkable skill adds to the seminal myth of the idealistic mid-westerner coming to the big city to be captivated, disillusioned and, finally, to grow up. The story of Orno and Marshall is a tapestry of relationships in which Orno is forced to understand that the city and glamour with which he has fallen in love is an elaborate facade which serves only to obscure the solidity of his own soul. It is a love story in which a young man courts a world he desires by disavowing the world from which he comes. He is embarrassed by his own parents, his own "plain" origins; Marshall and all he represents are more glamorous and exciting. It is only when Orno really does fall in love that he is able to see how easily he had been seduced and the importance of what he might have lost.

Canin's prose is stately and precise. He is a beautiful writer and as his characters slowly reveal themselves, as people do in our own worlds, we understand how rare is the ability to engage the reader without melodrama and moral instruction. We, like Orno, are asked to search our own souls for what is already there. This is a superb book by one of the two or three best American writers of our generation.

Rating:
Summary: Descriptive albeit sporadic at times
Review: This was my first experience with Ethan Canin. A gifted storyteller, he takes readers through years in the lives of college friends Orno Tarcher and Marshall Emerson. Canin is not subtle in his writing, but he still allows his audience to form conclusions on occasion with little help.

I found it easy to relate to Orno's naive existence and to feel irritated by Marshall's sometimes clear indifference towards Orno and life in general. Some of Marshall's qualities, in fact, may remind readers of JD Salinger's Holden Caulfield (although Marshall is not nearly as vivid or complex). Canin is, on the other hand, guilty of providing too much detail at times and straying from the central theme or idea of the story. But this is a minor flaw that is far outweighed by his lucid descriptions of the characters. Some of these do indeed surface at odd times for inexplicable reasons. However, the ease of Canin's storytelling combines with descriptive language and an interesting plot to make this definitely a recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: Fine thread of suspense
Review: Because we know and use fiction craft, authors can often see behind the curtain of another author's book. That's why I loved the fine thread of suspense by which Ethan Canin kept me reading to find out what would happen to his enigmatic characters who behaved as if they weren't sure who they were, and therefore the reader isn't sure. Canin kept them on the elusive edge of excess and poetry and irrationality. I couldn't stop reading until I knew if they'd fall off. For me it's rare to find a novel I can't put down -- perhaps because I've been reading them since I was six. It's rare to find descriptions that linger after the book is read. This was my first Canin. Next time I want to be engrossed, I'll pick up another of his books.

J. R. Lankford
Author, The Crowning Circle

Rating:
Summary: He could do better
Review: Ethan Canin's previous two books were works of genius. I especially enjoyed Emperor of the Air, each story is simple but poignant, almost Carver-esque. Which makes For Kings and Planets so much more of a let down. Instead of the unobstrusive prose, Canin chose to write in flowery prose, something he is simply not good at doing. Writing a novel instead of vignettes is also not Canin's forte, as the plot goes everywhere and the third person is unconvincing. The book is also too preachy, especially about the meaninglessness of education in favor of precocity. I highly recommend Canin's short stories, they will change you. But don't pick this book as your first, because you'll never want to read this guy again. If you like to read about Ivy League schools and precocity, check out Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise and Salinger's Franny and Zooey, respectively. About boyhood relationships that turn sour, read Chabon's the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the dentist's chair, less than NYC
Review: This is a very long book that covers the life of its two main characters from their first day at Columbia to their early thirties. I understand that Orno and Marshall are supposed to have symbolic value, Orno representing the obtuse, hard working midwest and Marshall the depraved, sophisticated city. And the book is well written, no doubt, Ethan Canin has a very elegant prose style. But I don't buy Orno's relationship with Simone, and I never cared what happens to any of the characters at all. None of them achieve the status of "person", they were all "types." Orno is a dope on page one and he is a dope on page 300. Wouldn't being in New York, particularly the time spent with Marshall, make him a sharp enough guy to know that something is up when his lost child of a best friend takes him to a shed the night before his and Simone's wedding. Particularly when it is revealed that Marshall is accompanied by a woman who is more or less a prostitute. There's a lot of classism and regionalism stuff in the book that is mildly interesting, but were a lesser author to write a book with similar content-well they probably have, I just haven't heard of it. I know Ethan Canin is capable of more after reading Emperor of the Air, so I was dissapointed. It really isn't bad though, just not particularly groundbreaking, nor does it have terribly interesting characters.

Rating:
Summary: My first by Canin-- and not the last
Review: I really loved this book-- and I'm surprised by the polarity of reviews here. Some of the criticism amazes me; Canin is criticized for writing about family conflict: "tension between family members is normal," chides one reviewer. Is this to say that writers should only tackle abnormal subjects? Others seem to criticize him for not being Waugh, Updike, or whomever.

I found this book a delight. It gave me the same feeling I had reading "A Separate Peace" 30 years ago. It artfully accounts the trials and traumas of the college experience; the remarkably diverse cultures we have within the boundaries of this country; the benefits, dangers, and costs of friendship; the deceit one will use to mask reality and build a facade.

This is the first work I've read of Canin's. If this truly is Canin's worst, as several here say, I can't wait to get my hands on his other works.