Picturing Will (Vintage Contemporaries)

Rating:
Summary: UGH!
Review: After having finished this novel, I have now read six of Ann Beattie's books -- her first four, written in the late 70s and early 80s, and two recent novels ANOTHER YOU (1995) and this book PICTURING WILL (1989). Clearly something happened during the intervening years. Whereas Beattie's early fiction was full of odd characters, delightful non-sequiters, and brilliant dialogue, PICTURING WILL is dull, dull, dull. The characters are totally bland and whereas a muscular plot might have fleshed them out more, there is no plot to speak of. Beattie looks at the lives of character and explains, explains, explains; she doesn't DRAMATIZE. This tendency not to dramatize was brilliantly exploited in her earlier work, which recreated the ennui and anomie of her characters lives in prose that was razor sharp. PICTURING WILL is filled with none-too-original characters doing nothing much in prose that is lackluster and undistinguished. PICTURING WILL is so bad it makes ANOTHER YOU look distinguished.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful observations
Review: Picturing Will offers an perceptive insight into the minds of serveral interesting characters from several different perspectives. The pace is fast, the story interesting, the character development solid if somewhat fragmented. A wonderful insightful book which looks into the mind of a child, the mind of a step-parent, the mind of a divorced mother, and several other characters as well. Mostly though the book is about the effects of others actions on each other and the writing and style is masterful. Highly recommended especially to those unfamiliar with fragmented families.