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A Separation by Katie Kitamura is a book that has generated a lot of buzz. It’s been on dozens of “must read” lists over the last few months. Now that A Separation has been out for a couple weeks, I think it’s time for a little chat about this book that’s been eliciting some strong opinions. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD (But first, the basics!)
A Separation by Katie Kitamura
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Length: 240 pages
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Publisher’s Synopsis: A young woman has agreed with her faithless husband: it’s time for them to separate. For the moment it’s a private matter, a secret between the two of them. As she begins her new life, she gets word that Christopher has gone missing in a remote region in the rugged south of Greece; she reluctantly agrees to go look for him, still keeping their split to herself. In her heart, she’s not even sure if she wants to find him. As her search comes to a shocking breaking point, she discovers she understands less than she thought she did about her relationship and the man she used to love.
A searing, suspenseful story of intimacy and infidelity, A Separation lays bare what divides us from the inner lives of others. With exquisitely cool precision, Katie Kitamura propels us into the experience of a woman on edge, with a fiercely mesmerizing story to tell.
NOW LET’S TALK!
Marketing
- Did inaccurate press affect your feelings/expectations about A Separation?
- Has this happened with other books you’ve read?
My Thoughts: Had I only read the publisher’s blurb (above), I would have had different expectations about A Separation. I wouldn’t have been looking for a book full of twists and turns, but even so, would have believed I was getting a much more tense, suspenseful novel than was delivered. Unfortunately, there were other sources leading me to believe that this was a significantly different book than it proved to be. A few blurbs:
“Kitamura’s prose gallops, combining Elena Ferrante-style intricacies with the tensions of a top-notch whodunit.” —Elle
“A Separation looks poised to be the literary Gone Girl of 2017.” —The Millions
“A young translator re-examines memory and motivation when she goes in search of her faithless, soon-to-be ex-husband after she discovers that he’s gone missing in a remote part of Greece in this intimate, psychological mystery.” —The Boston Globe
Just after a young wife agrees to separate from her philandering husband, he goes missing. —Entertainment Weekly
Make no mistake about it, this was no Gone Girl and there was almost no suspense! Now that I’ve finished A Separation, I can see that many of the headline accounts about it can be interpreted more in the light of what the book was, a very long musing on marriage. Had I read more carefully, I might also have picked up on that fact. That’s on me, but never-the-less I feel led astray by some of the press. Even on Kitamura’s website, these inaccurate descriptions are quoted (along with others that are much more true to the book). This was not a whodunit and there was very little mystery.
Connecting with the Main Character:
- Were you able to connect with the main character (narrator) in A Separation?
- What happens when you can’t connect with or don’t like the main character in a book?
My thoughts: I can and often do like a book even if I don’t care for the main character(s). The most obvious example might be Lotto and Mathilde in Fates and Furies. I didn’t really like either of these characters, but still loved the book. A more recent example is Allis and Bagge in The Bird Tribunal. It was a great book despite two very unlikeable characters.
I definitely did not connect to the narrator (we never get a name) of A Separation, but the problem went much deeper. I actively disliked her. This was a very annoying woman, quick to pass judgement on everything and everyone: the state of her marriage, the state of others’ marriages, how other people felt, what other people were thinking, what motivated people to do the things they did. I wanted OUT of her head. Since, A Separation is really a one woman show, connecting with its narrator was critical and something I completely failed at.
Listening vs. Reading:
- Did you listen to A Separation?
- When listening to a book on audio, how important is the narrator?
- Can you like a book if you don’t care for the audio book’s narration?
My thoughts: I decided to take a chance on the audio version of A Separation even though the narrator, Katherine Waterston, appeared to be new to narration. (She had no previous books listed.) Unfortunately, it was a risk that didn’t pay off. Waterston read so s-l-o-w-l-y I had to listen at 1.25 speed and her affect was so flat that it did nothing to give the book’s narrator any personality at all. (Perhaps, that’s what they wanted?) Waterston is an actress (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), who has also purchased the movie rights to A Separation. That should be interesting! A story told in first-person, needs especially great narration. That person IS the story, and in my opinion Waterston failed miserably at breathing any life into it.
Still, I tried very hard to keep the two narrators separate. I don’t think I’d have liked A Separation any better had I read it. In fact, I think it would have ended up being a “did not finish” book for me. Listening allowed me to do other things at the same time (drive, make dinner, etc.), so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? PLEASE, ADD TO THE DISCUSSION!
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1) That’s a great point about the publisher’s blurb vs. the press commentary. I thought the publisher’s blurb was fairly accurate – maybe save for the “shocking breaking point.” It was the Elle and Millions comments that really were egregious. I’d been interested in the book long before seeing it in The Millions. And I also heard Rebecca Schinsky talk about it on All the Books podcast before reading it – where she addressed the GG comparison and said AS is not at all like GG. So, despite it all, I think I had the appropriate expectations going in. BUT – if you go into this thing expecting action and shocking twists…you’re definitely going to be disappointed.
2) Here’s where we differ. I liked the narrator’s snarky commentary on marriage, her mother-in-law, her husband, etc. I thought she was funny and spot-on. But, I have been in the situation before where I can’t stand the narrator and want out of her/his head. The Husband’s Secret comes to mind. Cecliia drove me crazy!
3) I always think listening vs. reading makes a huge difference (for me at least)…and not even related to the narrator. I always have trouble with fiction on audio and especially have trouble with books where nothing much happens. Back when I listened to fiction on audio, it had to be very plot-driven books. I feel like this book was all about the writing and that doesn’t generally translate well for me on audio.
Great discussion!
Your comment on listening to fiction really has me thinking. I’m thinking maybe I should concentrate on nonfiction for my audiobooks for a while. Maybe I’ll have better results and I loved When Breath Becomes Air on audio.
As for the narrator in AS, to me she never had any credibility. I get that her husband was a total jerk, but I felt like we never really knew her. We knew what she thought about things, but how was she as a wife? As a friend? I felt like she disliked everyone and came across as morally superior.
Okay, so I only read a portion of this post because I intend to read this one; having said that, I am so thankful to you and Sarah for helping me temper my expectations and not pay attention to the marketing description before I begin – ha!
I’ll be really interested to hear what you think.
I only read the intro to your review because I haven’t read the book yet, but I have to say, I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve heard generally good things. I’ll pop back to read your review once I’ve read the book!
I look forward to hearing what you think.
I feel the same way about unlikable characters. Sometimes I don’t mind them at all and the development is key. With Fates and Furies (which is far more comparable to this vs Gone Girl), I didn’t like the characters as people but they were well drawn and fascinating. Here, the narrator just bored me and I never connected to her or the story. There were some interesting observations about marriage but while I typically love books about the dark side of marriage this one fell flat for me. The lack of quotation marks and not getting out of the narrator’s head don’t help my experience. I expected to love this one but didn’t. I hope others do!
Well said! It will be interesting to see how they make this into a movie since almost all of it was going on in the narrators head. I foresee some huge changes.
OK! I had lots of thoughts on the marketing of this book on my blog, and went on a rant about how TOO MANY books are compared to Gone Girl. This, as others have now mentioned, is much closer to Fates and Furies. I didn’t read much about it beforehand, so I didn’t see that comparison until AFTER I read it. I did read that it was a ‘mystery’ – so I definitely felt cheated of that. The only other book I can think of offhand that disappointed me in this way is The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt – again, no mystery, just character analysis.
I could NOT connect with the main character, as she just seemed like a vessel for the author to make witty and searing remarks. The writing was worthy of much underlining, but I don’t think there was enough there for a novel. It might have worked better for me as a short story. I generally don’t enjoy novels with unlikeable characters, mostly because they are the introspective, navel gazing, priviledged white woman variety – like Fates and Furies, Hausfrau, Rich and Pretty, Unbecoming, etc. I rather enjoyed Gone Girl despite the unlikeable characters because there was SUSPENSE and ACTION and UNPREDICTABILITY. All that is to say that I enjoy a good thriller over a character analysis ANY DAY.
I am not an audiobook person, so I can’t speak to this! I only listen to memoirs on occasion (maaaaybe once a year) like Bossypants or something by David Sedaris. 🙂
I read your review right after I had finished A Separation and SO agreed with you about your Gone Girl rant. I loved that story and no other book I’ve ever read that was compared to GG has lived up to it. It’s truly misleading.
Between the lack of action and the narrator’s never ending opinion, A Separation was a huge disappointment!
Thanks for joining in on the discussion.