Thursday, April 20, 2006

Book review: Three Junes

Apparently I am all about the reviews these days, which means I haven't done anything interesting so I have to fill in the void with books and movies. Anyways, I recently read Three Junes, by Julia Glass. The novel centers around a Scottish family and has three sections, each one detailing one summer over a ten year span. The first section centers on the father, Paul, on a trip to Greece following the death of his wife. The central (in both location and significance) section of the book chronicles the life of Fenno, the oldest son, the reserved gay owner of a bookstore in Manhattan. The last section features Fern, a young American woman whose life crosses paths with both the Scottish father and son. I really liked this book. It reminded me of The Corrections in how it switches points of view in different sections and realistically captures all of the struggles and emotions that come along with being part of a family. However, it wasn't nearly as dark. I prefer Three Junes to The Corrections, because due to my self-absorbed nature, I always prefer books where I can relate to the characters, when their thoughts and actions occasionally remind me of myself. I had nothing in common with any of the characters in The Corrections, whereas in Three Junes, I could see little bits of myself in Paul, Fenno, and Fern.

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