Starting Out in the Evening

Rating:
Summary: Stirrings of Desire
Review: An obsure old writer confronts the infirmities of age and the stirrings of desire rekindled by an ambitious and pretty young graduate student. A daughter still struggling for his affections and in serach of a perfect husband. Her boyfriend, torn between actualization and the possibilities of domestic bliss. More than anything, reading this book reminds me of Marquez's General in His Labyrinth. How do we go gently into the night ...?

Rating:
Summary: Graceful writing, important questions
Review: Brian Morton has crafted a fine novel that asks subtle questions about art and life, youth and age, father and daughter, love and loss. To his credit, he allows his characters to insinuate a few answers in their choices.

Without giving another summary (others have done well in this regard), I would rather mention the tender complexity of the characters: Heather, the dreamy graduate student, confronts the reality of Leonard Schiller, the author of two novels that left such a lasting imprint on the mind of an impressionable young girl; Leonard, the aging novelist who has committed his life to art, writing four novels and grinding away to complete his fifth and last, enjoys one last lascivious taste of desire; and Ariel, the author's daughter, meanders along seeking meaning in life, in her work and, hopefully, in one romantic, loving relationship.

Not much happens. Heather writes her master's thesis; Leonard's health deteriorates; and Ariel finds increasing comfort in a resuscitated relationship. Their lives intersect and the dynamics leave all wondering (and wandering) about what's important, and about the essence of themselves.

Morton's portrayal of these characters, and of the internal complexity of their choices, is compassionate and forgiving. The novel is delightfully and slyly complex, though its rendering is spare and elequent. I recommend this book to all readers of fine fiction.


Rating:
Summary: A Smooth and Charming Read
Review: First of all, STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING is a very smooth and easy read. Morton's prose continually moves forward and yet achieves a fine, uncluttered grace. I read the 328 pages in a single day. What I loved most is the story here of an aging writer's life. It's funny and poignant. There is so much charm in the book and yet Morton manages to sidestep the danger of giving us a saccharin view of the writer's world. As a woman (and a writer), I greatly admire the rendering of the female characters here, especially Heather, the young, ambitious graduate student who is writing a thesis on the work of Leonard Schiller. Leonard's relationship to his 40-year-old daughter Ariel, who has yet to find herself, is heartfelt. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the writer's life.

Rating:
Summary: A Smooth and Charming Read
Review: First of all, STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING is a very smooth and easy read. Morton's prose continually moves forward and yet achieves a fine, uncluttered grace. I read the 328 pages in a single day. What I loved most is the story here of an aging writer's life. It's funny and poignant. There is so much charm in the book and yet Morton manages to sidestep the danger of giving us a saccharin view of the writer's world. As a woman (and a writer), I greatly admire the rendering of the female characters here, especially Heather, the young, ambitious graduate student who is writing a thesis on the work of Leonard Schiller. Leonard's relationship to his 40-year-old daughter Ariel, who has yet to find herself, is heartfelt. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the writer's life.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, wise
Review: It's been a long, long time since I've ready anything that hit me with the emotional impact that STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING had. THE VIGIL by Clay Reynolds (sadly, out of print the last time I checked) was the last book before this that had me singing its praises so loudly.

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING doesn't use any sort of formula to get the reader involved. Instead, it depends of three-dimensional characters in complicated but life-like situations.

As an aspiring writer, I enjoyed a chance to get a glimpse into the creative process and find out what the inner life of a 'real' writer is like. Although it's a book about ideas, it sure isn't dry.

This is one I'd recommend to any reader of any age.

Bravo.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent "Book Club" Reading
Review: Morton's accessible prose and contemporary references will probably attract a raging current of mainstream readers. As an English major who is wary of popular paperbacks (in public, anyway) I must admit that I devoured this novel with gusto. The prose is substantial and lean, the characters are three-dimensional and fresh. The story spoke to me on a personal level, it brought some smiles and sighs, a few insights. Aside from the somewhat rambling plot and a few "hip" moments, the story is well-crafted and very enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: Started out sappy, but soon grew into a beautiful journey into the lives of an aging writer and the two younger women who influenced him. Full of ruminations about values and the people and ideas that sustain one. Easy to read within a day or two and to lose oneselves into a captivating story.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: Started out sappy, but soon grew into a beautiful journey into the lives of an aging writer and the two younger women who influenced him. Full of ruminations about values and the people and ideas that sustain one. Easy to read within a day or two and to lose oneselves into a captivating story.

Rating:
Summary: A modern masterpiece - don't miss this one!
Review: Starting Out in the Evening is a joy to read. With deceptively simple, beautifully constructed prose, Brian Morton tells a compelling story - I couldn't put this book down after reading the first two pages - and deals with some pretty big themes, e.g. what does it mean to be an artist? In so doing Morton has created characters that are so utterly lifelike they live on in your memory long after the final page is read and although it deals with serious themes, it is never heavy handed and contains a good deal of humor.

The unlikely hero of this remarkable novel is Leonard Schiller, a frail, aging, out of print novelist, whose lifelong devotion to his art raises the fundamental question regarding the relationship of art to life and vice versa. However, the story belongs nearly as much to his 39 year old daughter, Ariel, a child of the 60s struggling with the issues of daily life while retaining the capacity to brighten the lives of those around her.

Heather and Casey provide marvelous counterpoint to the main protagonists: she is the graduate student who blazes her way into Schiller's dignified world in hopes of resurrecting his career while jump starting her own, while he is the level headed intellectal drawn to the charm and levity of the less predictable Ariel. These beautifully developed relationships ring true in every detail and are never sentimental.

It is not possible to convey what is best about this novel by summarizing the plot or describing the characters. It is Morton's writing that makes this book such a remarkable experience. Starting Out in the Evening is a must read - don't miss it!

Rating:
Summary: beautiful story of life, love and passion
Review: This book sat on my bookshelf for nearly five years, and I cannot believe I allowed it to. It is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. It is deep and sentimental in topic, and yet it reads like a fast paced novel.

The characters are intense and mulit-dimensional: Leonard Schiller, a seventy something writer who's life has been dedicated to his art; Ariel, his forty year old daughter in search of her life's meaning and someone to father a child; and Heather, a twenty something aspiring writer and critic who decides to write a master's thesis on Schiller's work.

The relationship of the two women will Schiller is incredibly portrayed, as with Ariel Schiller is a loving and nurturing man, and with Heather, his passions are reignited and she makes him feel young. Also interesting is the way Heather and Ariel portray Schiller, and also the way these two women change as Schiller's life circumstances change.

The parallels drawn between the three characters is fascinating, especially since each person is so different, and at such a different place in life. Ironically, even though each feels so different from the other, when the older two are compared to Heather in their memories, it seems they are more similar then they think.

At the end of this beautiful book, one cannot help but wonder what happens to the characters. Schiller's life goal at the end is to complete his final novel, and I so wish he were a real person so that I could read it. He is a beautiful charcter that brings memories of Morrie Schwartz from Tuesdays With Morrie.

If you are looking for a touching, moving, beautifully written book, don't wait any longer. Pick this book up and you will not put it down. Even when you are finished, the characters live on.