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The prologue to this novel takes place at an exhibition of photographs by Walker Evans in 1966. The author tells us that Evans had waited 25 years to show these photos to the public due to a concern for the subjects' privacy. The photos are taken with a hidden camera in the NYC subway car and "captured a certain naked humanity." Kate sees an old friend, Tinker Grey in two of these pictures. In one he's clean shaven, wearing a custom shirt and a cashmere coat. In a photo dated one year later he looks underweight and dirty in a threadbare coat. The novel starts 25 years earlier, in flashback, telling the story of Tinker Grey, Kate and others with picture perfect descriptions of the city, it's highlights and it's inhabitants. Towles writes as though through the lens of a camera. But unlike Evan's subway photos, Towles has a light, empathic touch when it comes to people - the angles never harsh, just true. And how appropriate that the underlying theme of this book is about how much people expose or hide their true lives, how much is deception or reality. As Kate says, " we give people the liberty of fashioning themselves in the moment - a span of time that is so much more manageable, stageable, controllable than is a lifetime." Justice is another theme in the novel. Do those people in the subway get a life that they deserve? What about the rich Wall Street types? Kate becomes a fan of Agatha Christie at a point in the novel when she is hurt, angry and concerned about whether justice exists in the world. She likes Agatha Christie's universe "where everyone gets what they deserve.... and a destiny that suits them." Literature lovers will enjoy several other allusions to and quotes from other writers, not to mention Kate's tendency to start a book somewhere in the middle. But the most enjoyable parts of the book were the laugh out loud funny repartee or the witty narrative voice that often highlights Kate's wise and strong personality. In an emotional moment, she tells the reader: "As a quick aside, let me observe that in moments of high emotion....if the next thing you're going to say makes you feel better, then it's probably the wrong thing to say. This is one of the finer maxims that I've discovered in life. And you can have it, since it's been of no use to me." One of the markers of a good novel for me is whether I miss the characters after I've finished the book. I'm feeling quite bereft and hoping for a sequel.

2022-10-29 03:55