There is ‘having it all’ and then there is ‘having it all.’ Henry Hayden’s life might suggest the former. At the age of 9, his mother just walked out. That night, his drunken father falls down the stairwell to his death. In one day, Henry’s life went totally south. The rest of his adolescence would be spent in various orphanages and foster homes where he learns how to survive.
Once on his own, he meets the shy Martha, a quiet, observant, and tolerant woman who wants for little. She prefers to live simply, swimming or hiking in the morning and typing out stories late at night. Henry sends one of her manuscripts out blind to some publishers. Betty, a pushy intern at a small, barely surviving publisher looks it over and immediately takes it to the owner. Moreany Publishing House publishes Frank Ellis to great acclaim, with credits going to Henry as the author, not Martha.
That is perfectly fine with Martha. Henry if fine with the arrangement, too. He enjoys all the trappings that go with being a best selling author. The cars, the seaside home, the constant recognition, the groupies. Martha keeps turning out best selling mysteries, Henry relishes in the notoriety, and they live a decent life. Henry is, for all intents and purposes, a kept man. He takes care of the home, spends the money, and partakes of the occasional fan’s blessings.
After the continuous productions of winning books, Betty, the former intern who uncovered Frank Ellis, and Henry begin an affair. Martha may be a homebody, but she is not unaware. Henry and Betty are very secretive, carrying on for some time. But when Betty becomes pregnant, Henry appears to accept it with grace with plans on how to support the child, but deep down, he is seeing that his perfect life of leisure funded by his quiet genius wife is in jeopardy. The cunning, cold blooded liar schemes his way as he tightropes the narrow ridge between the truth and his lies.
This is a 2014 book that was originally published in German. It becomes available in the US in July 2015. The basic storyline outlined is, while still a mystery novel, well outside of the typical fare reviewed here at MRB. The book was suggested by our friend at Simon and Schuster who has yet to suggest anything but winners to us. His previous suggestions were Ordinary Grace (one of the very best books I have ever read) and I Am Pilgrim (the exceptional and acclaimed 2014 thriller) so I wasn’t worried about liking it.
Here we have a man who really does have it all - hell, he doesn’t even have to work for it - but manages to throw it all away, literally and figuratively. Aragon’s prose is extraordinarily elegant and decidedly readable. I sat down with this on a Sunday morning and was halfway through it before I had to put it down. No matter if you love Henry or hate him, Aragon presents him in a polished and refined narrative with practically every page littered with quotable or profound lines (which, because I was reading a pre-release galley, I am dreadfully sorry that we reviewers are restricted from quoting, and I highlighted a ton). The plot zigzags between Henry, Martha, Betty, and a few secondary characters that are in no way secondary to the development of the storyline and its eventual outcome. It’s killing me not to reveal much more about the story’s direction or to present some of the more memorable or poingnant lines.
I strongly suggest you put a note on your calendar for July so that you might make it a priority to find.
East Coast Don
No comments:
Post a Comment