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October 6, 2017

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan | Review

This post may include Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan - The WWII era story of a daughter's longing for her vanished father and the gangster that figured in both their lives.Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Publisher: Scribner
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Length: 448 pages
Buy on Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

In the midst of WWII, Anna Kerrigan crosses paths with Dexter Styles, bringing back far-off memories of a meeting between her long-vanished father and Styles.

From the Publisher

“With the atmosphere of a noir thriller, Egan’s first historical novel follows Anna and Styles into a world populated by gangsters, sailors, divers, bankers, and union men. Manhattan Beach is a deft, dazzling, propulsive exploration of a transformative moment in the lives and identities of women and men, of America and the world. “

The Draw
  • Jennifer Egan’s writing earned her the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad.
  • This book has already been nominated for the National Book Award for fiction.
  • So much hype surrounding this book, starred reviews everywhere and on many “best of fall” lists.

{My Thoughts}

What Worked For Me

Old Movie Quality – Many times when I was reading Manhattan Beach I felt a sort of old noir movie vibe going on. I pictured the whole story in black and white, especially the nightclubs and bars, filled with the beautiful people and run by gangsters. The era, spanning the depression to the end of WWII, lent itself to the old-fashioned feel, with Egan’s beautiful writing adding another rich layer.

A Girl with Gumption – For the most part I liked Anna Kerrigan, the young woman at the heart of Egan’s story. Her family had been dealt some hard blows including a vanished father, and Anna did everything she could to make life better for her mother and crippled younger sister. Anna’s desire to become a diver felt real and her course to achieve that goal was one of the parts of this book that I liked best. Everything about Anna’s quest to become a diver was interesting.

Themes of Change and Redemption – Both Dexter Styles and Eddie Kerrigan came to be on quests for redemption. Both had made decisions in their lives that they’d begun to regret, but neither found change an easy path to walk.

“…Dexter felt the protesting part of himself – angry, eager to be done – slide abruptly away. He settled into the project of providing this accursed creature an experience of the sea. He absorbed the importance of it, the singleness of the task. It was a relief.”

Like Dexter and her father, Anna also sought to make-over her life.

What Didn’t

A Slow, Slow Pace – I’m so sorry to say it, but for me Manhattan Beach was just plain slow. I almost quit at about 67%, instead I rallied and kept going. Throughout the book there were times when it felt like the pace was about to pick up, but then? It didn’t.

Under-developed Characters – I never felt like I really knew or understood any of the three primary characters, making some of their actions almost incomprehensible. Egan spent a lot of time on side characters who seemed to pop in and out of the story when the plot needed to move. A tighter focus on the primary characters might have saved Manhattan Beach for me.

Vanishing Character – Eddie was missing for much of the book and then suddenly took over. Why? His story dominated the second half and was filled with characters who meant nothing to everything else that had been happening.

Implausible Actions – Had I known the characters better some of the choices they made might have been a little more believable for me. As it was, the book required me to suspend disbelief too many times to really enjoy the story.

{The Final Assessment}

Rarely do I write such a negative review, but I did finish Manhattan Beach and my commitment is to reviewing books I finish. I admit, I probably should have quit on this book, but just never could quite believe it wasn’t going to turn the corner into brilliance. For me it didn’t, but Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly can’t all be wrong. I look forward to hearing what others think of Jennifer Egan’s latest. Grade: C-

If you liked this book you might also enjoy:
  • New of the World by Paulette Jiles – My favorite National Book Award nominee from 2016 delivers a tight little historical fiction that’s a pleasure to read. (my review)
  • The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church – Spanning some of the same time frame, this follows a young woman trying to emerge from her famous husband’s shadow. (my review)
  • A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan – If you’ve never read Jennifer Egan, I highly recommend starting here!

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.

Filed Under: By Title, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction Tagged With: 1940's, 2017, Book Review, Grade C, New York, World War II




Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah's Book Shelves says

    October 6, 2017 at 4:00 am

    I’m going to file this under “critical darling that doesn’t really connect with regular readers”….along with What We Lose. Haha…

    Reply
    • Susie | Novel Visits says

      October 8, 2017 at 8:22 pm

      And New People and Home Fire. Should I go on?

      Reply
  2. renee says

    October 6, 2017 at 5:33 am

    This was a DNF for me at 14% and I won’t be giving it another try. It’s too bad because the concept and the setting sounded so good. I thought your review was very fair with a good mix of points on what worked and didn’t for you!!

    Reply
    • Susie | Novel Visits says

      October 8, 2017 at 8:23 pm

      Thanks, Renee. It’s nice to know I’m in good company on this one!

      Reply
  3. Resh says

    October 6, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    I didn’t hear very good reviews about this one. Now I can see why. Underdeveloped characters are a bummer. I want to read her Visit to the Goon Squad some day

    Reply
    • Susie | Novel Visits says

      October 8, 2017 at 8:24 pm

      Thanks for stopping by and definitely try Goon Squad sometime. It was special.

      Reply
  4. JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing says

    October 7, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    Judging from other reviews I’ve read, you are not alone. Loved A Visit From the Goon Squad, but my revised plan is to hold off for a while…

    Reply
    • Susie | Novel Visits says

      October 8, 2017 at 8:25 pm

      Let me know what you think if you do read it. I knew it wasn’t just me who it didn’t work for, but some people have got to like it.

      Reply
  5. Beth says

    October 8, 2017 at 1:14 pm

    I never understood the appeal of Visit from the Goon Squad and I am even less likely to read this one based on this review. You may have saved me some time!

    Reply
  6. Susie | Novel Visits says

    October 8, 2017 at 8:26 pm

    I liked Goon Squad which added to my deep disappointment with this one. Thanks for stopping by!

    Reply
  7. Susannah says

    October 8, 2017 at 8:27 pm

    Thanks so much for saving me from this one!

    Reply
    • Susie | Novel Visits says

      October 8, 2017 at 8:28 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  8. susan says

    October 12, 2017 at 1:48 pm

    Ugh, I dislike like books with slow, slow pace. It’s mind-boggling all the hype surrounding this book — but I dont think I’ll be picking it up — too many bloggers KO’d it. thanks.

    Reply
  9. Matt says

    October 14, 2017 at 2:55 pm

    I think I’ll skip this one. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Susie | Novel Visits says

      October 14, 2017 at 6:48 pm

      Good call in my opinion.

      Reply
  10. Jane says

    December 16, 2017 at 11:17 am

    I didn’t not enjoy it, and finished it which is some commendation … since I’ve reached an age when I don’t bother finishing books that ready fail to grab me. I especially liked the window into that period of time, but at the end I thought, why was this written? I don’t understand the rave reviews or award nominations and I was glad to come across a review that was more critical. Glad I borrowed the book from the library rather than buying it.

    Reply
  11. Susie says

    December 17, 2017 at 3:10 pm

    Thanks for the feedback, Jane. It’s always nice to find like minded views on books.

    Reply
  12. catherine says

    January 29, 2018 at 12:13 pm

    i am so glad to have found this review, which expresses, to a T, so many of my feelings about this book. I didn’t understand the thought processes and motivations for many of the characters’ actions. The characters felt to me like paper dolls, well-colored on the outside, paper thin on the inside. And i found many aspects of the story to be totally implausible. I am confounded by the rave reviews. I liked goon squad and I finished this one because i wanted to find out how it ended, but i was so disappointed by it. thanks for your review.

    Reply
  13. Peggy Maryanski says

    May 12, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    Based on the buzz, I was eager to read this book. And while three are some beautiful sentences, images and descriptions ( especially about early days of diving), I kept waiting to feel like I was reading a great book. I too read to the end, eventually too far in to close it without finishing. Your criticisms are spot in. The pace, the underdeveloped characters and the bird walks were off-putting and even irritating. 50something pages about Eddie at sea?

    Reply

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Welcome to Novel Visits! I’m Susie and reading is my passion. Join me for new novel reviews, musing on all things books, and much more.

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