Save Me the Waltz

Today I'm reviewing Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald as part of the America's Lost Generation Tour over at The Classics Circuit.

Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald

One of the great literary curios of the 20th century, Save Me the Waltz is the first and only novel by the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. During the years when her husband was working on Tender is the Night—which many critics consider his masterpiece—Zelda Fitzgerald was preparing her own story. The novel strangely parallels evens from her husband’s life, throwing a fascinating light on Scott Fitzgerald and his work. In its own right, it is a vivid and moving story—centered upon the confessional of a famous glamour girl of the affluent 1920s and an aspiring ballerina—that captures the spirit of an era. (description from The Book Depository)

My Review

Alabama Beggs is a wild Southern girl, the youngest of Judge and Millie Beggs' three daughters. She marries aspiring artist David Knight and the pair move to the Riviera where they enjoy a life of wild parties and excess. As her marriage shows signs of strain, Alabama dreams of dancing La Chatte and throws herself into ballet lessons.

I have read reviews of this book claiming it to be overwritten, messy, etc. It was not as I was expecting based on these other reviews. Sure the plot is a little sparce, the dialogue is excessive, and some sections are a little tedious, but overall I thought this was a sad contemplation on the beauty and tragedy of success.

I enjoyed the last section of the novel the best, especially the descriptions of the studio and Alabama's dancing lessons. Having danced myself, I fully understand and sympathise with the hard work and pain involved.

"The air grew damp with autumn maze. They dined here and there amongst the jewelled women glittering like bright scaled fish in an aquarium. They went for walks and taxi rides. A growing feeling of alarm in Alabama for their relationship had tightened itself to a set determination to get on with her work. Pulling the skeleton of herself over a loom of attitude and arabesque she tried to weave the strength of her father and the young beauty of her first love with David, the happy oblivion of her teens and her warm protected childhood into a magic cloak. She was much alone.

David was a gregarious person; he went out a great deal. Their life moved along with a hypnotic pound and nothing seemed to matter short of murder. She presumed they wouldn't kill anybody - that would bring the authorities; all the rest was bunk, like Jacques and Gabrielle had been. She didn't care - she honestly didn't care a damn about the loneliness. Years later, she was suprised to remember that a person could have been so tired as she was then." (p. 129)

I think it's good to read this book with at least some understanding of Zelda Fitzgerald's life and marriage. This novel (Zelda's only) was written in just 6 weeks whilst she was at a mental institution and came under close scrutiny from her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald as his Tender is the Night covered very similar material. It is said he forced her to make many revisions to her work as he felt it revealed too much about their marriage.

Many people read this novel to get a sneak peek into the marriage of this famous Jazz Age couple (I know, it's hard not to think about it), but I think it's important to consider Zelda's work for its own merits. It's quite an interesting novel to read - Zelda's writing style has a kind of madness to it and the novel is filled with excess, from the wild parties it describes to the abundance of figurative language.

I'm off to read Tender is the Night as a companion piece ;-)

My Rating: 3.5/5

In My Mailbox 42

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren.

From the library this week:

Annabel

by Kathleen Winter

In 1968, into the beautiful, spare environment of remote coastal Labrador in the far north-east of Canada, a mysterious child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor girl, but both at once. Only three people share the secret - the baby's parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbour, Thomasina. Together the adults make a difficult decision: to go through surgery and raise the child as a boy named Wayne. But as Wayne grows up within the hyper-male hunting culture of his father, his shadow-self - a girl he thinks of as 'Annabel' - is never entirely extinguished, and indeed is secretly nurtured by the women in his life. As Wayne approaches adulthood, and its emotional and physical demands, the woman inside him begins to cry out. The changes that follow are momentous not just for him, but for the three adults that have guarded his secret. (description from The Book Depository)

Sing You Home

by Jodi Picoult

Zoe Baxter has spent ten years trying to get pregnant, and just when she's about to get her heart's desire, tragedy destroys her world. In the aftermath of loss and divorce, she throws herself into her career as a music therapist. Working with Vanessa, she finds their relationship moving from business, to friendship, and then - to Zoe's surprise - blossoming into love. When Zoe allows herself to start thinking of children again, she remembers that there are still frozen embryos that she and her husband never used. But Max, having sought peace at the bottom of a bottle, has found redemption in an evangelical church, and Zoe needs his permission to take his unborn child. (description from The Book Depository)

The Piano Cemetery

by Jose Luis Peixoto

The Lazaro family are carpenters who would rather be piano-makers. In the dusty back room of their carpentry shop in Lisbon is the 'piano cemetery', filled with broken-down pianos that provide the spare parts needed for repairing and rebuilding instruments all over the city. It is a mysterious and magical place, a place of solace, a dreaming place and, above all, a trysting place for lovers. Peixoto weaves the tragic true story of the marathon-runner, Francisco Lazaro, into a rich narrative of love, betrayal, domestic happiness and dashed hopes. (description from The Book Depository)

And ebook received for review:

The Final Alice

by Alycia Ripley

The Lightkeeper's Wife

****

Sorry about the long absence! I've had laptop problems and only just got it back this past week (unfortunately minus everything that was on it!)

****

The Lightkeeper's Wife by Karen Viggers

“A woman at the end of her life. A man unable to restart his. A history of guilty secrets and things left unsaid. A powerful, moving novel that will steal your heart.

Elderly and in poor health, Mary has lived in Hobart a long time. But when a letter is delivered to her house by someone she hoped never to see again, she decides to return to Bruny Island so she can live out her last days with only her regrets and memories for company. Years before, her husband was the lighthouse keeper on Bruny, and she raised her family on the windswept island, until terrible circumstances forced them back to civilisation. Now, the secret that has haunted her for decades threatens to break free and she is hoping to banish it before her time is up. But secrets have a life of their own, and as Mary relives the events of her life, she realises her power over the future may be limited.

Back in Hobart, Mary's adult children are respectively outraged, non-committal and sympathetic about her escape from their care. But no amount of coaxing will shake her resolve. Her youngest son Tom loves Bruny, and can understand her connection to that wild island, a place of solitude, healing and redemption for them both.

As Mary's secret threatens to tear her apart, both she and Tom must face their pasts in ways they couldn't even begin to imagine. Mary finds that the script she's written to the end of her life has taken a few twists of its own.

My Review

Mary Mason is the lightkeeper's wife from the title and brought up her young family on isolated Bruny Island whilst her husband was lighthouse keeper. But this novel is set 25 years after the Masons left Bruny Island and the lighthouse to live in Hobart. Her husband, Jack is now dead and her children have all grown up, and Mary herself is very frail with declining health. Mary pressures her family to let her return to Bruny Island and live out the rest of her days in a cabin at Cloudy Bay. Mary thought she'd have complete solitude to reflect on family secrets she's been keeping all these years, but soon realises she needs the help of ranger Leon who seems gruff but is simply dealing with his own issues.

This is quite a sad, lonely book but it is ultimately quite uplifting. The solitude of Bruny and the isolation of Antarctica are explored through some beautiful prose:

'There's something about Antarctica that locks you in for life. Maybe it's the landscape; so wild and bare and sparse. Or maybe it's seeing so much white. Or the relationships, all so intense. Whatever it is, somehow, in all that vast space and luminous light, you become transformed. You discover a new self. An ability to melt into distance. An uplifting sense of freedom. At the same time, eternal yearning is born. You want to return. To reunite with the self you uncovered down there, a self unchecked by normal boundaries. When you go back to your old world, along with the other injuries Antarctica has inflicted, raw longing rules you. Your soul is in bondage. The healing takes years." p. 59

Although I didn't really connect with Mary's plotline, I thought Tom's story was fantastic. I loved the whole Antarctica storyline. Tom's struggle to fit in back in Hobart after overwintering in Antarctica was fascinating and moving. I guess I didn't really know a lot about trips to Antarctica and what it's really like for the biologists and mechanics who spend months on end there away from their loved ones.

The day after reading this book I watched the fantastic Aussie film South Solitary. This really did bring the isolation of lighthouse to life for me. I would recommend it - but only if you like your movies slow ;-)

My Rating: 4/5

In My Mailbox 41

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren.

I've just realised that this is my first IMM for 2011 and it's almost March! Seriously, where is this year going?!

So, I'm not going to list every book I've received this year so far...but here are a few recent acquisitions that I'm particularly excited about:

All of these books are by Aussie authors!

Queen of the Flowers

by Kerry Greenwood

What better place for the maven of fashion and elegance than the flower festival of St. Kildaas? All Phryne Fisher needs to do is buy dresses, drink cocktails, and dine lavishly. Or so she thinks....When one of Phryneas flower maidens vanishes, Phryne must put aside her flower crown to investigate. However, the case doesnat become serious until Phryneas darling adopted daughter Ruth goes missing. Phryne must confront elephants, brothel-life, and an old lover in an effort to save Ruth and her flower maiden before it is too late. (description from The Nile Online Bookshop)

This is #14 in Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series and will be my first! I've heard really good things about this series. Although series are always slightly dangerous for me because once I've read one in the series I can't stop until I've read them all!!

Thanks to Jo from Booklover Book Reviews for this one ;-)

The Lightkeeper's Wife

by Karen Viggers

Elderly and in poor health, Mary fulfils her wish to herself to live out her last days on Bruny Island with only her regrets and memories for company. A long time ago, her late husband was the lighthousekeeper on Bruny, and she'd raised a family on the wild windswept island, until terrible circumstances forced them back to civilisation. The long-buried secret that has haunted her for decades now threatens to break free and she is hoping to banish it once and for all before her time is up. But secrets have a life of their own, and as Mary relives the events that led up to the shattering revelation, she realises she needs to trust a later generation to put things right. As she steadily weakens, she imposes herself on the island's ranger, Leon, who is reluctant to become nursemaid to Mary and resentful that he appears to have little choice in the matter. He has problems of his own and the last thing he needs is another drain on his time. Mary's adult children are respectively outraged, non-committal and sympathetic, but no amount of coaxing, pleading or threats will shake her resolve.

Her youngest son Tom loves Bruny as much as his mother does, and can understand her primal connection to that wild island, a place of solitude, healing and redemption for them both. Years before Tom had spent a winter working on a base in Antarctica and had returned from that empty loneliness to find his marriage over and his life destroyed. Not for nothing do Antarctic regulars call that gruelling experience The Division of Broken Marriages and Shattered Lives. Still wounded, Tom lives a simple life in Hobart, unable and unwilling to make real connections with people in case he gets hurt again. But then he meets Emma, newly returned from Antarctica and as open and welcoming as Tom is not. Will Tom be healed by Emma's interest, or come to terms with his first trip there? As Mary's time winds down, both she and Tom must face their pasts in ways they cannot even begin to imagine. And Mary finds that the script she's written to the end of her life has taken on a few twists of its own. The Lightkeeper's Wife is a moving and redemptive story of love, loss and family, and what we have to do to live the best kind of life. (description from The Nile Online Bookshop)

The Indigo Sky

by Alison Booth

In 1957, when piano teacher Ilona Talivaldis arrived in the sleepy little town of Jingera, she was mocked as the 'reffo from Latvia'. Now, just four years on, she and her fourteen-year-old daughter Zidra are at the heart of the community. But when Ilona becomes involved in the plights of two very different children she puts this peaceful life in jeopardy. For Ilona's sensitive young protege , Philip, is slowly being crushed by relentless bullying at Sydney's exclusive Stambroke College. With his wealthy parents turning a blind eye, only Ilona can see the disturbing warning signs. At the same time, Zidra receives a cryptic message from her long-lost friend Lorna, who years earlier was snatched by the government from the Wallaga Lake Reserve. Now the gutsy Lorna has a daring plan - but she needs Zidra and Ilona's help. Ilona will do all she can to help these two vulnerable children on their difficult journeys. But will she be in time to avert a tragedy? (description from The Nile Online Bookshop)

Equator

by Wayne Ashton

The year is 1947. Carlos slips over the orphanage wall in search of the village girl who has captured his heart. From that moment, his is a life at sea, a life that moves across the globe and across generations, lived on the turning tides of love affairs, friendships and enmities. Equator is a glorious and intricate love story in the magic realist tradition. (description from The Nile Online Bookshop)