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After one of our favorite chick-lit authors plugged Mary Gaitskill, we were determined to read Veronica. The fact that the book is a National Book Award finalist didn't hurt either. We finished the book last week and are happy to say it's worth all the hype. The story isn't an entirely pleasant one, but the book is written so damn lyrically and beautifully that we were glad to read it.
The actual action of Veronica takes place within one day, but flashbacks are a major part of the story. Ex-model Alison goes to clean an old friend's studio, hikes through a canyon, considers her past and changes her life. Alison lived a past-life of no real direction:
My ambition was to live like music. I didn't think of it that way, but that's what I wanted; it seemed like that's what everybody wanted. I remember people walking around like they were wrapped in an invisible gauze of songs, one running into the next -- songs about sex, pain, injustice, love, triumph, each song bursting with ideal characters that popped out and fell back as the person walked down the street or rode the bus.
The book is full of gorgeous language like this, whether Alison is remembering her father listening to his standards, reminiscing over her first sexual experience in Paris (be that what it may), or recalling being witness to the rape of a teenage model after a photoshoot.
The Veronica of the title is a major influence in Alison's life; Veronica is a copyeditor about 15 years her senior who befriends Alison. Veronica has a sharp wit, a bisexual boyfriend, and seems more of a 40's-era broad in comparison to Alison's contemporary 80's style. We expected the book to be mainly about their friendship, but it is really more about Alison's coming to terms with her past and realizing how her life has been impacted by others (and adversely, how she has affected the lives of other people). Did she really know what she was talking about in her life? Was she really that great a friend to anyone?
Although we weren't liking the protagonist throughout much of the novel, we left Veronica with a pleased feeling. The novel may not be for everyone, but we would recommend it to anyone who loves the English language. Is that broad enough? Seriously, if we had been highlighting all of Gaitskill's beautiful prose we liked, the book would glow in the dark.
* Image of Mary Gaitskill (c) SF Gate
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