Observatory Mansions : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: I wish I had 1/10 the imagination of Carey
Review: When I was at Cambridge last summer attending a Harvard institute, I would walk to Harvard Square and see human statues...pure white clothes, face, hair, etc. There was NO movement on their part...just a money box in front of them. When I realized that it was really a person, I threw coins into their little collection bin. How unique, how bizarre...and then I read about Francis Orme...a human statue, standing on his plinth, a man who has found inner and outer stillness, only moving when he hears the sound of a coin falling into his box. Poor Francis, living in Observatory Mansions with an unusual group of the unloved and unwanted. Francis is a man who must wear white cotton gloves at all times...he cannot look at his own hands. He maintains a unique exhibition in a tunnel connecting his home to a church...items he has either randomly picked up or stolen. Each item has a story that he has conjured up. Poor Francis...mistreated by mom, dad, tutor. Then along comes Anna, incessant smoker and nearly blind. I can honestly say that this was the most innovative, captivating book I have ever read. I am amazed at the creativity of the author. Where did he come up with his ideas? All of my thoughts of writing a novel have been dashed...how could I ever compete with this?

Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking book that haunts you after you're done.
Review: Wow. Finishing this book I am overwhelmed and awed that this is Carey's first novel. Very unique characters and situations and writing style. In many places you can see Carey's theatre background with the dialog reading more like a play without punctuation and the book's plot is more in scenes and acts than chapters, but it really works well for this story - it's about life (and all life's a play!) or the lack of life of this group of misfit characters. I really like the way Carey draws the reader in little by little -- reavealing just enough about one character to shock you, to move you, to keep you reading .... and then switches to another character. It's a book that I'm going to keep thinking about long after the reading of it. Yes, these are disturbed characters, but who among us can't recognize themselves in one or more of them? Anyone who collects anything must wonder where is the line that separates my collecting from the bizarre collecting of Francis Orne? I read a lot of books, and I love a book that keeps me guessing right up to the end, and this one definitely does. Bravo, Mr. Carey!