Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox



The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell was another book I picked up at the B&N clearance sale.

This one I grabbed because I am a fan of Maggie O'Farrell. I have read two other novels by her and I liked them both.

She writes about female characters that I can relate to in some way. They are more human, more real, and more tangible than a lot of female characters in "chick" literature. Usually the women are fat and or ugly but by some miracle they get skinny and beautiful, they get fabulous jobs, a ridiculous bank account, and they marry the latest Bill Gates. Please, that just isn't real life. Bless her heart, Maggie O'Farrell makes characters more like the rest of us. In the case of Vanishing Act I found myself relating to Esme. In a time when girls were raised to be proper wall flowers that married at 16 and spent their lives being Mrs. David Smith, Esme danced to her own drum. She was wild, different, and fearless. She couldn't stand the girliness of her class mates. There were moments the Esme described that I found myself instantly transported back in time. And contrary to Esme's world, I have to be thankful that I grew up in an age when women were encouraged to get an education, live your own life, experience the world before you worry so much about settling down. Esme was ahead of her time. She was me. Wild, independent, and free.

The first book I read by Ms. O'Farrell was After You'd Gone. I loved this story. So I followed it up with My Lover's Lover. Another good story.

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