The God of the Woods

 "Sixty-five percent of people, said Calvin, "are less than twenty feet from a trail when they first begin to feel disoriented."

Somehow it is seven months since I last posted a book review and that one was also about being lost in the woods!  I've not read Liz Moore before but The God of the Woods is a real page- turner which is probably why it is top of the New York Times fiction bestseller list.  I do love novels about woodcraft and forestry.  Set at a camp for youngsters in the Adirondacks the narrative moves backwards and forwards chronologically, with many characters and quite a few red herrings.  It reminded me a little of Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings which was also set in the 1970s at a camp for gifted teenagers called Spirit in the Woods.

The God in the Woods features a spectacularly crass and wealthy Adirondack family who own the camp and their teenage daughter Barbara who goes missing in the woods fifteen years after their eight year old son Bear disappeared.  For me the most enjoyable chapters centred around the camp itself and the engaging street-smart camp counsellor Louise.  I also liked misfit teenager Tracy who is experiencing the agonising pangs of unreciprocated first love.  With an escaped serial killer believed to be making his way north never has the camp's mantra WHEN LOST SIT DOWN AND YELL been more pertinent. 

if I have a minor quibble it seemed to me that one or two of the red herrings were not explained but Liz Moore has created a beautifully written literary thriller.  I loved this quote:

For a bonus, she asked them: Who knew the origins of the word?

"Which word?" someone said.

"Panic," said TJ. But no one raised a hand.

She explained. It came from the Greek god Pan: the god of the woods. He liked to trick people, to confuse and disorient them until they lost their bearings, and their minds.

Great cover and pink endpapers, too!  If you've read it you will know that the drip of fawn pink paint symbolises a certain scene in the book.  I would love to know your thoughts.

The Female Persuasion

I loved Meg Wolitzer's last novel The Interestings.  Particularly the summer camp for gifted teenagers Spirit-in-the-woods and her evocation of the 1970s.  Her latest novel The Female Persuasion has just been published in paperback.  The reviews described it as a feminist or #MeToo novel and I wasn't sure if it was for me as I'm not keen on novels which are heavily based on issues. It's probably why I like Anne Tyler so much as her focus is usually on families who are out of step with each other and the passing of time.

I needn't have worried though, because The Female Persuasion is a big sweeping story with love, tragedy, ambition and compromise.  It starts off as a bit of a campus novel - I love a campus novel!  The central character Greer is bright and likeable but lacks confidence.  An introspective teen who was saved by books as a child.  After an unpleasant incident at a fresher party and a visit to her campus by a renowned and charismatic feminist Greer finds her focus and a heroine.

The feminist Faith Frank is an interesting character.  Active during the second wave of feminism in the 1970s she is now slightly out of step with social media and herself the target of snide internet comments.  Still glamorous and active in the movement she has had to learn to compromise.  I kept thinking she must be based on Gloria Steinem but it is never stated.

Everyone grows and changes in this novel - Greer's adorable boyfriend Cory and her best friend Zee and Greer herself learns that sometimes your heroines have feet of clay.

An immersive and enjoyable read.

The Interestings

As soon as I saw the reviews for the new Meg Wolitzer novel I wanted to read it. I loved the idea of a summer camp called Spirit-in-the-Woods which is specifically for creative teenagers. 

The Interestings begins in the 1970s with a group of teenagers who are would-be musicians, artists dancers and actors.  Six form a close friendship and call themselves The Interestings.  The novel chronicles their lives to the present day   I do like a 'how they turned out' story. Of course, life doesn't turn out fine for all of them.  Some do very well creatively and financially, some jog along and one spectacularly screws up his life.

I particularly liked all the cultural references which I could identify with being of a similar age to The Interestings - bands like the B52s and Talking Heads, Indian cotton shirts and Levis.  The lives of The Interestings are also influenced by notable events such as the rise and fall of Nixon, the Central Park jogger rape case, the Aids epidemic and, of course, 9/11.

Julie Jacobson is perhaps the most intriguing character.  A girl who is not exceptional but finds her niche among The Interestings as they hang out in teepees at Spirit-in-the Woods engaging in adolescent fumbling and drinking V&T (vodka and Tang).  Julie becomes Jools - popular, funny and accepted.

The Interestings is a big substantial novel.  The sort of book you can lose yourself in and I found myself reading late into the night unable to put it down.  That's not to say it's perfect, there are one or two clunky phrases and a couple of times a character uses an expression I'm pretty sure didn't come from the era they were supposed to be in at the time, but those are minor quibbles. I would highly recommend this book and I'm glad to have discovered Meg Wolitzer. 

I've read some exceptionally good contemporary fiction this year.  As always, I prefer American women writers and I'm now reading The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout.  There are new novels by Donna Tartt and Amy Tan to look forward to in the winter months and, of course, a new Bridget Jones novel by our own Helen Fielding.  Wonder how Bridget will cope with the Internet, blogging and Twitter?!