Title: Away
Author: Amy Bloom
Here's another immigrant story. Lillian Leyb is twenty-two when she arrives in New York City, after escaping the destruction of her Russian village and the massacre of her entire family. Using her pluck and her feminine whiles, she's quickly able to transition from a seamstress to the mistress of the most famous Jewish actor of his day (and his father!). Just as Lillian begins to feel comfortable in her new life, a cousin from the old country arrives to tell Lillian that her daughter, Sophie, is still alive. So Lillian leaves her new life behind and heads west, believing that it will be cheaper and easier for her to get to Siberia through Alaska. Away recounts Lillian's journey and the stories of the people she meets along the way.
Although some of the Amazon reviewers have reviled Away, I loved it. I was sucked in by Lillian, and loved all of the colorful characters Bloom created. But my favorite thing about the novel was the way that when a character exited the story, Bloom would tell us what happened to that person in the rest of their lives. I found that intensely satisfying, in much the same way that I loved the final chapter of Harry Potter 7. It rounded out the stories well and made each character feel fully rounded, not just a device to advance Lillian's story.
1 comment:
I'm going to my library to pick up this book.
Have you read The Known World, by Edward Jones? He also tells you what happens to characters after the story, sometimes even very minor ones. I agree, it's a very satisfying storytelling technique.
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