This week's literary fiction offerings include Ann Patchett's "Whistler," Lisa Owens' "Natural Disaster," and Catherine Cho's "The Devoted," each delving into distinct aspects of family dynamics and personal upheaval.
Ann Patchett's "Whistler" centers on Daphne, an English teacher who, while visiting an art gallery, reconnects with her stepfather, Eddie. Eddie had been absent from her life for years following a car accident involving him and a young Daphne, an event that led to his departure from the family. The novel explores Daphne's long-held confusion about the incident and her subsequent estrangement from Eddie. Patchett's narrative weaves a story about resilience, reconciliation, and mortality, though the review describes the tale as "tender but insipid," with a "dreary narrator."
Lisa Owens' "Natural Disaster" tackles the disorientations of early parenthood with comic effect. The story follows a nameless mother attempting to orchestrate a "special day" for her two young children before returning to work after maternity leave. As the title suggests, her plans are disrupted. Owens uses "spiky wit and unsentimental pathos" to depict the delicate balance between domestic order and chaos, offering a "beautifully executed superior version" of a common theme that elicited laughter from the reviewer.
"The Devoted" by Catherine Cho is described as a lyrical thriller. The narrative features Eunha, a Hong Kong housewife trapped in a loveless marriage, whose life is irrevocably altered when her young son, Minsuk, is kidnapped. Although the child is returned through the intervention of Eunha's brother, Solomon, who is connected to the same triad gang their father once led, Eunha's ordeal is far from over. Her past life, including a former lover named Kai, resurfaces as she finds herself drawn back into the criminal underworld she had tried to escape by marrying into a respectable family. Cho, also known for her best-selling memoir "Inferno" about postpartum psychosis, is noted for her skillful portrayal of the entanglement between Hong Kong's elite society and its criminal elements.
