A big thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley and for inviting me to be a host on this tour.
Giveaway: Please write a note in the comments section if you would like to receive a free copy of this book courtesy of TLC Book Tours. I will randomly select the winner.
In the Land of the Living: A Novel
by Austin Ratner, Fiction (Released March, 2013)
Bottom Line: Skip it.
Summary: A family saga where Leo and Mack (the two sons of “great man” Isidore Auberon) fight internal battles to live up to their father’s legacy and build a functional relationship.
My Thoughts: I originally thought this book was going to be mostly about Isidore and his relationship with his bitter, Communist father who constantly complains in Yiddish. Some plot summaries I read describe the book that way. However, it ended up being much more about Isidore’s sons living in the shadow of his legacy. I can usually tell if I’m going to like a book within the first quarter, but my opinion changed during this one. I felt the storytelling in Part 1, which focuses on Isidore’s life and relationship with his father, was incredibly jumpy – it was basically the choppy life chronology of an under-developed character. The story skipped over huge chunks of the characters’ lives and went from Point A to B without telling the reader anything about how it got there (i.e. Isidore sees his lady of interest, Laura, across campus for the first time and the next scene has them out on a date, then you next read about Isidore asking Laura’s father for her hand in marriage. We missed the entire relationship!). I also had trouble latching onto the narrator’s (Isidore) voice – I just couldn’t get a feel for his personality. In Part 2, which focuses on Leo (Isidore’s oldest son) growing up, the story is more about his “coming of age” and dealing with his anger at his father’s death. Ratner (finally!) started to shine in this section when he wrote about regular experiences of growing up (i.e. awkward encounters with girls and Leo opening his college letters). I started to think I could like the book, but then he’d go off the rails again. The character development (mostly of Leo) is a bit better here, but resulted in a somewhat dislikable personality. Leo is one angry soul! Part 3 was my favorite – Leo and Mack attempt to mend their tempestuous relationship on a long road trip. The writing flowed and Ratner had some fantastic descriptions (i.e. L.A. is “just a bunch of ghosts of things that were supposed to be famous but looked like a gas station”) that gave me faith in him as a writer. It was almost like he stopped trying too hard and just let the story flow naturally. And, I finally started to really understand the dynamic between Leo and Mack and why Leo could never be truly happy with himself. I wish the whole book had been like the third section, but it did make me interested to read some of Ratner’s other work, even if this one wasn’t my favorite. Despite not recommending this particular book because it took me far too long to like it, I’m going to keep my eye on this author.
