Manhattan Beach

The afterword to the novel testifies to the huge weight of research that lies behind it, but weighty research does not necessarily make for a convincing story or even a believeable setting. In this case it weighs down to narrative, causing it to crawl where it should jump, and paradoxically to leap in all directions when some kind of coherent intention was necessary to keep the reader involved.I write this reluctantly, as an admirer of A Visit by the Goon Squad, but the novel is for me a serious and puzzling disappointment: a book seemingly written more out of a decision to treat a historic subject than an original creative impulse. In virtually every area the book is hollow, based on material that has not been transformed by the writer’s imagination. The character of Anna is fair enough, but that alone is not sufficient to hold the book together. Both Dexter Styles and Eddie are cliched versions of ‘good’ men in a bad world, derived, I would guess, from gangster films. I also seem to have come across the self-sacrificing mother and the boozy aunt in multiple other iterations, A character like Charlie Voss — a thinly realised cliche of the closeted homosexual — is introduced early on in Anna’s career. After this the reader assumes that Voss will play some significant part resolving in the plot. He does not. Other characters enter and exit without purpose. The world of the shipyards and the men and women who work in them fails, despite exhaustive particularity, to assume any solidarity. The book is stodgy; finishing it was an effort.Others, judging by the praise which the book has attracted, see it very differently. I only wish I could agree with them.

This book was so much more than I expected from the summary. If i’d read more reviews I would have been better prepared for the way it drew me into to the lives of it characters. For the fun and the hardships, for the dalliances and the dismalness of ordinary life. The characters were interesting; people you’d like to get to know better.Worth a Read.

More formally constructed than the highly unconventional, multi-narrative "Goon Squad", this historical novel still addresses the issues of time, identity and suffocating social mores through the stories of several interconnected characters, led by the young woman who wants to become a diver working on war ships in the New York docks during World War 2. Written with real style, this is a most enjoyable read: precise description brings this world to life and there is plenty of tension in each character's story, with occasional near-fantasy development.

As with so many novels that are praised to the hilt, book of the year, or up for all sorts of weird and wonderfulprizes, I must sling Manhattan Beach into the bin of How To Cure Insomnia.It all starts off quite well with a young girl and her dad visiting a club owner, and then the story is sucked outinto a vague oblivion of other characters and narrative to bore the pants off you.I was waiting for something to happen, something of relative significance amongst the onslaught ofuninteresting narrative.It never came.And so, at page 94, I slung in the towel, and having closed the book for the final time, I wasinfused with a real sense of relief that the ordeal was over.Guess I'm in the minority with this negative review, but that's the nature of reviews, I guess.

This is the first book by Jennifer Egan I have read and I did enjoy it. The characters were well drawn and the subject matter, wartime New York and the changes to Women in the workplace that this created plus organised crime, was an interesting subject. There are a couple of tangents that the story goes off on without there really adding to the storyline which is one of the reasons I gave it only 4 stars. Worth a read.

Egan brings alive the atmosphere of both 1930s and wartime Manhattan with extensive colour and detail. The moral dilemmas of a man who becomes a bag carrier for the Mob in order to support his family are sensitively drawn, and the main character Anna is a sympathetically assertive woman who is determined to become the first female diver. There are some bravura passages of writing, such as the story of a boat load of shipwrecked sailors making their way from mid-Atlantic to the African coast. Epic in scope, it could perhaps have done with a tighter narrative structure.

I'm not sure if this book is really well written but it's an absolutely lovely and riveting read. It was a little slow to get going - but when it moves to the present day it's great. The main characters were interesting and rounded, the story gripping and the historical detail immersive. It paints a good depiction of wartime New York and the gangsters that made America.

Fantastically researched narrative weaving effortlessly between fact and fiction. An extraordinary female lead and supporting characters bringing NYC vividly to life during the 1930s and 40s.

Nach dem wunderbaren Vorgänger 'Goon Squad' hatte ich mich sehr auf dieses Buch gefreut, musste mich aber letztlich durch die Seiten quälen. Die Geschichte wirkt konstruiert, die Charaktere - obwohl in epischer Länge vorgeführt - bleiben seltsam leblos und hölzern und ihre Beweggründe (für mich) nicht nachvollziehbar. Das Setting - der New Yorker Hafen sowie die dortige Gangsterszene der 40er Jahre - hat mich zudem sehr wenig angesprochen; trotz der Länge oder gerade deshalb wirkt vieles verwirrend und unverständlich.Ist das wirklich die gleiche Autorin? Selbst der Stil - in 'Goon Squad' originell und auf den Punkt gebracht - wirkt hier angestrengt und seltsam farblos. Fazit: Dieses Buch ist viel zu lang für seinen dürftig konstruierten und wenig überzeugenden Plot; man entwickelt kein Interesse an den drei Hauptfiguren... schade, ich hätte in der Zeit besser etwas anderes gelesen.

Extremely well written and a very good but unusual story.I would be interested to know what happened to the characters in the future. The story has elements of the Godfather and family saga seen from a young woman's perspective . Also war time New York and how women worked to support the war machine and how one woman managed to enter the very masculine diving work that needed to be done.

Mir hat Manhattan Beach sehr gut gefallen - ich bin durch mehrere Empfehlungen in unterschiedlichen Zeitschriften darauf aufmerksam geworden, die alle schrieben, man würde so viel über Frauen im 2. Weltkrieg lernen. Das fand ich persönlich jetzt nicht, aber ich habe mich trotzdem gut unterhalten gefühlt. Ohne zu viel vom Plot zu verraten, entwickeln sich drei Sichten des Geschehens nebeneinander, am Schluss kommt dann alles zusammen. Auf jeden Fall gut zu lesen!

I found the writing to be very beautiful at times but the story did not interest me. The sequences were disjointed and it was difficult to follow the complex story. I was not interested in the relationship of the disabled sister, the details of deep sea diving & ship repair, the details of life on a submarine in World war II, gangsters in New York. The ending was a little too saccharine and unbelievable.

This novel started out well. Then became bogged down in historical research about diving...The story did not make sense, as no one would have an affair with someone they thought killed their parent. The ending was too neat and tidy, and I felt the author just wanted her book to end.

Avevo letto recensioni molto positive su questo libro di cui io però non conoscevo l'autrice né avevo mai letto qualcosa. In realtà l'ho letto in inglese e forse per quello, molto difficile con un linguaggio molto slang e settoriale. In ogni caso il libro non è organico. I personaggi non sono chiaramente tratteggiati.

Was reluctant to buy this book at first (read "Look at me" from the same author and wasn't that enthusiastic about it).But curiosity killed the cat and in this case it was a very happy ending because the book turned out to be absolutely fantastic.The story is thrilling in more than one aspect and the protagonists are very real. Plus it's written well. Actually I rationed my reading because I didn't want to end the book too soon.

Based around the story of a family starting around the end of the depression and running into the end of WW2 the story runs through the life of one main character. It’s a well crafted story with some interesting twists and turns and at times different sub plots. The writing style is engaging and the author has a great descriptive skill. A worthy read.

This is not a literary novel, but a popular one. Too junky for me.

Egan's new book is simply unputdownable, thanks partly, to the unique slice of world war history it sheds light on - women divers in service. Other than that, the book is a sprawling study of human relationships with layered characters in a significant time in the history of the world, brought to life with her masterly prose.

This is a rich and expertly told story with vivid characters, especially Anna, who is unforgettable, and her sister Lydia, who is touchingly painted for us. A sweeping tale of wartime New York.

A BEAUTIFUL BOOK, FULL OF SURPRISES, DIFFICULT TIMES AND LOVE. GIRL POWER AS OUR PROTAGANIST GOES AGAINST ALL ODDS TO FULFIL HER IDEALS AND GET TO THE BOTTOM OF A QUESTION SHE ASKS HERSELF CONTINUOUSLY.

Well written , unputdownable . Vivid account of survivors at sea is most thrilling . Anna , the protagonist hovers all along adding mettle to the book . Honestly, at times it looks autobiographical .

The plot spiralled out of control over the last fifth of the book. Dexter obliterated, Voss faded away, Agnes absent. Too many good characters thrown out like bath water.And the human insights that permeated the early part became rarer and rarer.

I missed an important clue Re her dads death. Liked the language, the women’s changing role and their struggle for acceptance