Thursday, August 3, 2017

Impossible Views of the World

Impossible Views of the World by Lucy Ives
Penguin Publishing Group: 8/1/17
eBook review copy; 304 pages
ISBN-13: 9780735221536

Impossible Views of the World by Lucy Ives is a so-so novel about a hipper-than-you-or-me art curator.

This is a week in the life of Stella Krakus, a curator at Manhattan's renowned Central Museum of Art. Her friend and colleague, Paul, has gone missing. Her mother, the world renowned glamorous art dealer Caro, wants to have lunch with her. Her soon-to-be ex-husband is stalking her. She's been having an affair/fling with her boss. And she's uncovered several different secrets, including an intriguing map, that she wants to research and solve the mystery.

Billed as a mystery, it really isn't, so if you are a fan of mysteries you might want to by-pass this selection. Sure she discovers some answers to the questions she raises about her discoveries/encounters  along the way, but it never has the feeling of a true mystery.  To make following the mysteries more challenging is the fact that Stella's not very likeable, or perhaps I'm just not as cool as she is.

I'll go with a so-so rating, conceding that small glimmers of  hope for the quality of future novels appear in the pages. Honestly, I struggled to finish this one but kept reading for one reason alone - some of the descriptions in the writing. Not all of the writing is worth the struggle, but there are small, subtle gems hidden among the dregs of way-too-much. The problem was in the way-to-much. It isn't always satisfying to read a novel that seemingly strives for pretentiousness. 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Penguin Publishing Group.

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