Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Norman Rush, Subtle Bodies ** 1/2

I am a major fan of Norman Rush's previous two novels, Mating and especially Mortals. Subtle Bodies is a less ambitious work, and it also manages to be less successful.

Ned travels to an estate in the Catskills to memorialize the recently deceased ringleader of his group of college friends. The friends have grown apart over the years, and Ned ponders what it was that brought them together in the first place. His wife Nina joins them, providing an outsider perspective on the group.

Rush's greatest strength is creating full-bodied educated characters who think just as much as they feel. He also captures the subtleties of relationships well. Subtle Bodies retains these strengths: Ned and Nina's marriage is realistically supportive (if a bit schematic), and the friends' nostalgic reminiscences about college shenanigans feel genuine. But the characters are caught in a contrived plot. I didn't believe any part of the present-day action.

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