The Maze at Windermere: A Novel (edición 2019)

DNF maybe I'll give it a try again some other time ( )

The main narrative of The Maze at Windermere follows a mostly washed-up tennis pro, Sandy Alison, through a summer teaching and living among the very wealthy in Newport, RI. Gregory Blake Smith twists the straightforward novel by weaving four other time periods (1896, 1863, 1778 and 1692) and inhabitants of Newport into the novel. I’m not going to lie--it’s a lot to keep track of. Smith employs a variety of formats to keep the sections distinct--mostly by dated diary and journal entries, and he does a good job of fleshing out each character and time period. Enough so that even as his clearly defined chapters dissolve into briefer montages in the last section of the book the distinction and clarity remain. A number of contrivances that mesh the characters together--the house, names, Henry James--can be seen as clever or annoying...I liked it. The Maze at Windermere is a historically interesting novel that examines love, art, social class and outsiders during five time periods in Newport, RI. ( )

Recommended to me by a woman I hold in high esteem in D.C. Historical fiction mashed up with contemporary women's lit type book. 5 side-by-side storylines all taking place in Newport RI. Of course their themes come together in the end if their time periods can not. Written by a Carlton professor which pulled me toward the book. I've thought about it a lot since finishing which is always a measure of a good read for me. Universal truths, anguished hearts, independent spirits. Recommended to the right reader. K

Too many time periods and characters to follow. I found the writing engaging at the start, but found myself skimming to the end. ( )

In this novel, the setting of Newport, RI is the backdrop to centuries worth of characters. The modern-day setting is about Sandy Alison, an almost tennis star, and his relationships with several women in the town. Then there are 5 more characters/time periods: a gilded age gay man trying to marry money, Henry James as a young man during the Civil War, the diary of a British nobleman during the Revolutionary War, and a young woman in pre-Revolutionary days who finds herself on her own when her parents die young.

If it sounds like a lot, it was. I thought there were too many different timelines going on for most of the book. But about halfway through I started to accept the jostling around and realize how interestingly Smith was creating connections and parallels between the people and using the setting to create connections as well. These were done with subtlety and nuance and I started to enjoy the book more when I focused on those details rather than each of the different characters for themselves.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you happen upon it. ( )